Review: Jumanji: The Next Level’s cast makes it a worthy sequel

Although Jumanji: The Next Level doesn’t quite equal its predecessor, there’s still more than enough enjoyment to make it a shaky but still worthy sequel. 

When it first hit theaters in 2017, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a surprise hit – both a critical success and a box office smash that churned out more than $1 billion worldwide for Sony, making a sequel all but inevitable. Although we had our suspicions that the magic of the original was a fluke that couldn’t be replicated, Jumanji: The Next Level has enough committed performances and funny moments to make it a worthy sequel, even if it’s a little shaky at times.

The film sees the original foursome of Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan reprise their roles as video game avatars, although not all as the same characters from the original.

When Spencer (Alex Wolff) is trapped in the game, the original group reunites to come to his rescue, but  accidentally suck his grandfather Eddie (Danny DeVito) and friend Milo (Danny Glover) into the game as well. As such, an integral part of understanding this sequel is having seen the first film, because The Next Level takes the original’s premise and shoves it in a blender, jumbling characters left and right.

The gimmick of adding elderly, tech-averse grandparents to the video game has its ups and downs, much like the movie as a whole.

On the bright side, involving DeVito and Glover’s characters give the entire cast the chance to flex their comedic (and at times dramatic) muscles. Johnson and Hart, in particular, spend a majority of the film as the two new additions, and they are impressively committed to their characters.

However, through no fault of the actors, the humor does run dry very quickly. There are only so many “elderly people don’t understand video games” jokes to be made before the material becomes repetitive, and the gimmick feels like it’s being beat over the audience’s heads after about 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, Jumanji relies heavily on the new additions for both humor and heart, which is a shame, because the first film had a strong set of characters, all of whom could have been explored in a much more meaningful way in this sequel.

The original group of Spencer (Alex Wolfe), Martha (Morgan Turner), Bethany (Madison Iseman) and Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain) each had conflicts and turmoils alluded to in the opening act of the film, but in a bizarre move, they are all pushed aside in favor of introducing DeVito and Glover as a pair of jilted ex-business partners who spend the whole movie bickering over their old restaurant.

As previously mentioned, the humor runs out quickly when it comes to those two characters, and there isn’t enough emotion behind their drama to justify just how much time the movie dedicates to these guys that weren’t even mentioned in the first film.

Thankfully, however, Eddie and Milo aren’t the protagonists of the film, and thus the weakness of their characters is supplemented by the time spent with returnees Fridge (now in the portly body of Professor Oberon) and Martha (still Ruby Roundhouse, killer of men). Jack Black, as ever, is the highlight of the film and shines in the multiple roles he plays, including football star Fridge.

Although a white man doing an imitation of a black man could have quickly gone into bad territory, Black is as charming as ever and gives a convincing performance. However, just as in the original, Black is truly at his best when his avatar is inhabited by the ditsy Bethany, who thankfully reappears towards the back half of the film.

Gillan is given the least to do out of the main four, so she is serviceable but tends to fall to the wayside, and even though he takes front and center in many scenes, Johnson is also fairly forgettable, especially when he’s being out-performed by Hart, who plays a character in the same vein. Although Eddie and Milo do overstay their welcome, Hart’s imitation of Danny Glover is spot-on and delivers the best comedy that comes out of the pair.

Rounding out the cast are Nick Jonas and Colin Hanks (yup, of Tom Hanks fame) who play the in-game and real-life versions of Jumanji veteran Alex Veerke. Alex was another surprisingly enjoyable element of the first film, especially given his complicated relationship with Bethany, so his return was a welcome one, albeit brief. Awkwafina is the last of the new cast members, and although we can’t give away who she plays without delving into spoiler territory, she is a strong addition, much more so than DeVito and Glover.

Just like welcome to the Jungle, the plot and villain of The Next Level are forgettable almost the second you leave the theatre, but it’s not a major issue, given that the entertainment comes from the characters and the humor, not the story. That being said, the elements that made the first installment so good are all present here, and with the exception of Milo and Eddie, the humor here is just as strong, resulting in a sequel that is a little shaky, but still very worthy of it’s original, and enough to warrant a third installment.

Have you seen Jumanji: The Next Level? What’s your favorite video game? Sound off in the comments below.