When Spencer returns to Jumanji, his friends go back into the game to rescue him, but the game has changed and they don't know what to expect.
COMEDY/FANTASY
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Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)Directed by Jake Kasdan
Written by Jake Kasdan, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg Starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Rory McCann, Alex Wolff, Ser'Darius Blain, Morgan Turner, Madison Iseman Sequel to 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Based on characters created by Chris Van Allsburg |
Talk about being pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. A movie which honored the original, gave us a great cast of characters, and was beyond hilarious. By the end, I was more than welcome to the idea of another sequel. Cue to now and we have Jumanji: The Next Level. A film which builds on the previous installment and goes bigger with everything. New characters mixed with the previous ones, bigger set pieces, and even more hilarious moments makes The Next Level a worthwhile sequel that will leave a huge smile on your face. Who knew that Jumanji would become a huge movie series? I definitely didn’t.
This installment sees the return of the original cast members, kids and avatars alike. They all do another fantastic job, bringing forth the same chemistry and laughs we loved before. But they’re not alone this time. Danny DeVito and Danny Glover join in for this new adventure and both are wonderful. I’m a huge It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fan, so I was really happy to see DeVito in this. Seeing these two veteran actors also brings up the other thing I really like about this movie. And that is the switch up of who ends up in the avatar bodies. This time around, Dwayne Johnson is DeVito and Kevin Hart is Glover. Both do a fantastic job and share some of the movie’s biggest laugh. They are clearly having the time of their life playing a different character than they previously did. If there is seriously only one negative thing I have, is that I find this one not as funny as the previous installment. With that said, this is still hilarious, and I had a great time. The Next Level continues to prove why it was such a good idea to revisit such a beloved classic. It continues everything I loved about the last movie and adds welcome additions that only enhance it. With an ending stinger which points to the direction of a possible fourth movie, I would be more than happy to return to these characters and wonderful world. Maybe we’ll even see some more surprise cast members from the original. |
2017's Jumanji reboot was a surprise hit that shattered expectations, and I don't think anybody expected the follow-up to even come close to that. But Jumanji: The Next Level is a hilarious sequel that builds on the massive world of the supernatural game and kept me laughing harder and harder the entire time. This may be the only movie ever where we get Dwayne Johnson playing Danny DeVito and Kevin Hart playing Danny Glover. It's a gem, possibly the funniest movie of the year.
The film starts about a year after the last one, with all four of our teenage heroes going off to college. Spencer (Wolff) is lonely, lost, and not fitting in at NYU. When he returns home, to find he's bunkmates with his Grandpa Eddie (DeVito), he remembers how it felt to be brave and strong in Jumanji. So, he rebuilds the broken game and goes back in. When his friends realize, they go back in to save him, dragging Grandpa Eddie and his friend Milo (Glover) in with them accidentally. The avatars are all messed up, leading to the main source of the film's comedy. The ensemble simply couldn't be better. All four leads knock it out of the park in some of their best work, and Awkwafina does a great job of blending in with the established heroes. I couldn't believe how witty and smart this sequel was. I expected a decent follow-up at the most, but this was something special. Plus, the surprise cameo at the end scored major nostalgia points and warmed my heart. My favorite thing about these new Jumanji films is that they've never forgotten the beginning. They continue to build on the 1995 Robin Williams classic, and I'd be excited if they decided to continue with a fourth entry. |