Jumanji shakes up the jungle with a fun new retelling

After the first film 22 years ago, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle debuts a new way of entering the game determined to please fans, new and old.

22 years ago, audiences sat down to play a game with the Robin Williams-starring family adventure film, Jumanji. An adaptation of the Chris Van Allsburg children’s book, Jumanji remains an amusing bit of nostalgia for those entering their thirties. The nostalgia goggles came out in force when it was announced Jumanji was being given a sequel, but the finished product, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, understands the original audiences’ reverence for the original. With moments borrowed from the likes of The Goonies and The Breakfast Club heaped on top of the film’s original source material, the sequel stands alone well enough for newcomers while creating something enjoyable for those old enough to remember.

Four teens spending an afternoon in detention are sucked into the world of adventure board game turned video game, Jumanji. Desperate to leave the group must work together to restore a sacred jewel that will lift a curse, ending the game and releasing them. Along the way they must outrun the villainous Van Pelt (Bobby Cannavale) and conserve the three lives they each have.

The ’80s love keeps on chugging right to the end of 2017. Director Jake Kasdan, along with four credited screenwriters, stick to the simple idea of putting teenagers of disparate backgrounds and clearly defined personality tropes in close proximity and forcing them to get along. Like the aforementioned Goonies, once the group is in the game, they’re forced to tread softly around a variety of booby traps that threaten to kill them.

It’s evident the male writers know their video games as Jumanji sets out clear objectives and an internal logic for its characters that reminds you of how inherently flawed the video game industry is. Each of the four have specific weaknesses, from the rightfully frightening weakness for venom to the more hilarious avoidance of cake culminating in a fun, though heavily CGI-ed, explosion. Concurrently, the movie lampoons ’90s video games like Tomb Raider through the character of Martha (played by Morgan Turner) and her video game avatar Ruby Roundhouse (played by Karen Gillan), whose skills include “dance fighting” and wearing a skimpy costume. The film’s worth the price of admission just to see Gillian kick butt to UB-40’s “Baby I Love Your Way!”

Each of the characters have established personality tropes as opposed to actual personalities. Spencer (played by Alex Wolff as a teen) is friendless and so afraid of the outside world he wears Purell like cologne. Ser’Darius Blain is the cocky football player Fridge who needs to cheat on his homework in order to stay on the team. Bethany (Madison Iseman) is an Instagram-obsessed mean girl content to flash her body because boys tell her to. And the aforementioned Martha is the typical “unattractive girl who doesn’t realize she’s pretty.” The young cast capably play their roles well, but playing types doesn’t make them particularly memorable. It’s only once they become their adult counterparts, where the fun is seeing the Rock scream like a girl, that the plot kicks into gear.

Dwayne Johnson finds the perfect character to send up his arched eyerow Rock person as Dr. Smolder Bravestone (whose skills include “climbing, boomerang, and smoldering intensity”). The humor derives from this man of confidence being inhabited by a scared weakling who enjoys being tough. The dynamic finds its foil in Kevin Hart’s character, a valet with the nickname of “Mouse.” Their relationship isn’t defined aside from their once being friends, so it’s a bit insane that they take to nearly murdering each other in one scene only to find forgiveness by the end. Hart keeps his shtick controlled. The standouts are Gillan and Jack Black as Dr. Shelley Oberon/Bethany. Black gives this role everything he’s got, and unlike his performance in the other nostalgic retread, Goosebumps, Black knows where to channel his humor. He’s playing a teenage girl, so much of the fun comes from hearing him act like a girl. Cries of “YAAS, QUEEN” elicit giggles and sometimes it’s just watching his face. Because the film is skewed towards its male characters there is a fair bit of penis humor — and I mean actually talking about the mechanics of having one — that, while funny, are a taste risqué for a movie aimed at children.

Unlike the original film there are no deep, existential questions — people forget the original Jumanji was about appreciating parents who will one day die. Where Jonathan Hyde’s Van Pelt in 1995 was an NRA-loving great white hunter and Captain Hook stand-in, he was at least memorable. Here, Bobby Cannavale’s interpretation is a Gollum-esque treasure hunter who looks like Billy Zane but acts like a take on Universal’s Mummy. This version works so well by putting the onus on the kids to escape the game before they stupidly get themselves munched on by hippos that you don’t need an additional Big Bad.

It is unfortunate that the movie forgoes something relatable to kids and teens in favor of a weirdly existential discussion about living life to the fullest. The group fears losing their three lives only to come to the stupid realization that they only have one life to live. What made the first Jumanji quaint was its discussion of finding one’s individuality themselves, and how parents’ expectations can be overwhelming. Since the kids are so ill-defined in this sequel, and their parents are non-existent, there’s little that particularly sticks in terms of a message. Just sit back and enjoy the aforementioned jokes.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle — and let’s get it out of the way, they do play the song at the end — is an imperfect film, but what it does do, it does well. It’s funny, entertaining and the cast is willing to make fun of themselves. The script understands how to please the audience and provides a film that’s heavy on jokes, though short on narrative resonance. If you’re seeking something fun to take the family to this holiday, you’ll do well to watch this.

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