The kind of dopey performance funfair that one might expect from a contemporary reboot of a family classic, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is yet another cash before creativity blockbuster, proving just a tad better than the average Christmas turkey but far from in the realm of tasteful viewing.Watch Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Online, Appealing to the lowest common denominator with impossible made-for-3D action sequences and rustic comedy, the film sees a jungle kerfuffle set to the familiar stomp of a popular mid-90s adventure movie, doing the bare minimum to earn its title while languidly referencing a familiar subject matter and letting the advertising do the rest of the work.
Asserting its place as part of a newly envisioned franchise yet stumbling at the first hurdle with an in-game universe that pales in comparison to Chris Van Allsburg’s original picture book, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” feels inadvertently blasé in its disrespect for the story’s primary selling points, utilising a well-known game and a recognisable name but struggling to justify its relocation to a once off-screen jungle setting.Watch Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Online, Missing the mischief of table-top monkeys and small town stampedes, the film relies almost entirely on the interactive qualities of its players, acing it on a gender-swapped Jack Black whose fabulous performance is matched only by the tangible discomfort seen on Dwayne Johnson’s face as he struggles to feel at home inside his Action Man body.
An embarrassing reminder of how times have changed and what we’ve lost in the process, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” scoffs at the past and hides from a ludicrous comic villain, jumping between levels without a concrete structure and encapsulating almost every aspect of a distracted, self-obsessed millennial culture.Watch Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Online, Written for the bargain bin and likely to date easily as the years go by, “Jumanji” is the product of a spit-up screenplay with few ambitions; a container for two hours of heroic tomfoolery, a few forgettable laughs and some predictable out-of-body romance.
The sequel to the much loved original Jumanji is due to be released this December. With a release date of the 20th in the UK, it’s firmly set it’s eyes on the demographic of young children and the families over the Christmas holidays. After the sad passing of Robin Williams, the sequel looked set to be dead but with a new direction and cast, Jumanji is back.Watch Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Online, But does it follow on well from the 90’s family classic?Starring an all star cast of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black, the film has done well to cast the big stars of now. Following a bunch of school kids in detention, they discover an old school gaming system with a game cartridge in the system titled “Jumanji”. After they all decide to play the game and pick their characters, they are sucked into the game and become the characters they chose.
Dwayne Johnson, as always, leads the film and is the big hero that everyone looks up to. He doesn’t add anything special in particular to the film, he simply is the muscles of the movie. Kevin Hart, who for me is very hit and miss actually entertains. His character struggles to adapt from being a 6ft+ jock to a very small and useless character.Watch Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Online, His constant put downs of himself were one of the films biggest laughs. Karen Gillan comes across as a strong, bad ass woman that doesn’t pull back the punches, slightly undermined by her skimpy outfit in the film whilst everyone else is covered is an issue that did seem to bother me. Even though they try to make a valid excuse as to why she’s dressed the way she is, it still doesn’t feel right. Jack Black is a standout though, not having all too much to do and is slightly overshadowed by others as they provide more screen time, Black does well whenever he’s on screen and provides many laughs.
For the film itself, I actually think it’s a great concept. Adapting the film towards a more modern feel by changing it from a board game to a video game. But one of the greatest things about the original was seeing the actual board itself cause magic and mayhem. Not seeing the physical form of Jumanji itself is one that does bother me.Watch Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Online, You could easily take away the title of Jumanji and you would never really know that it’s a sequel to the Robin Williams classic.The film, to its credit, does do its job by entertaining you and providing frequent laughs. Whether it’s a film that will age like its predecessor is another matter but it’s one that will provide entertainment for all ages this Christmas. 3 out of 5 stars.
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