Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

"Jumanji" was a memorable film from my childhood but as time passed, it lost some of its appeal. Maybe because it was the dated special effects but for whatever reason, it no longer has the same power that it did in the late 90's. When I heard of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and saw the first trailer, I had my reservations. Other Dwayne Johnson action movies in the past have bombed at the box office. I wasn't the only one who had concerns over a new Jumanji film and what really fed our fears was that it was being released a week after "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". There is one reason why a studio would release a film in competition with one of the biggest franchise is Hollywood history when both appear to be targeting the same audience. Regardless of whether the less popular film is a complete dud or actually good, Sony wanted to piggyback on the success of "Star Wars". "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" was made an alternative for moviegoers when their showing of "Star Wars" was sold out. As December 2017 passed however, "Welcome to the Jungle" began to sell out in January 2018 just as much as "Star Wars" did weeks earlier. In the same way that "Sherlock Holmes" in 2009 found success despite the competition from "Avatar", "Welcome to the Jungle" held its own as it played alongside "The Last Jedi". This alleviated many of my reservations and after seeing the film, I was impressed because it was better than the original film. It is rare these days to find a movie that is unappolgetically fun outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This film is basically a combination of the 1995 movie, "Indiana Jones" and a video game.

Throwing in a little "Indiana Jones" in for the sake of originality worked pretty well. It is one thing to obviously steal from another movie (I hope "Avatar" just came to your mind) but when you can borrow elements from one classic movie and properly mix them with another, you can create something quite original. One of the filmmakers on "Welcome to the Jungle" actually had good cause for looking to "Indiana Jones" for inspiration. When I saw director Jake Kasdan's name, I wondered if he was related to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. Not only are they father and son but also they are working together on the upcoming "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (now I am even more excited for that Star Wars Anthology film). Getting back to "Welcome to the Jungle", in my opinion, this film is a spinoff and not sequel but an argument could be made that it is a stand-alone sequel. I think it is a spinoff because none of the original characters make an appearance and the setting is different. I think we can all agree that "Welcome to the Jungle" is a reboot and has made "Jumanji" a franchise. Seeing the gamers go into the game did even more for creating originality. We get to experience what Alan lived through for 26 years (and one moment in the new film proves this). I was hoping for more exposition at the start of the movie so as to better connect emotionally to the four teenager protagonists. The 1995 show had what seemed like a long period of exposition for Alan, Judy and Peter. This was important for the story but the focus of this new movie was less on adventure and more on comedy. I don't see that as a flaw after even after the first time I saw this movie because "Welcome to the Jungle" was pretty funny. I loved it when Bravestone used his smoldering charisma. The story did a great job of setting up a gag quite discreetly and then paying it off later in the film such as with the bowling ball. Because Jumanji is now a video game, the filmmakers incorporated the frustrations one has when playing a video game for comedic purposes. There are seemingly unhelpful NPC's and impossible game levels. I feel like comparing Jumanji to Skynet/The Terminator because it can't be stopped, not even by the unpopularity of board games. The game will just adapt itself in order to be played so be careful if you come across a Jumanji app online. To effectively balance the comedy, the story has some character-building moments that were well crafted. The relationship between Spencer and Fridge worked in the real world. We see this all the time in real life where one friend becomes popular and leaves the other friend reluctantly out. As with the original film, the gamers are the ones "to leave their world behind" as they become better people through their adventure. Spencer & Martha gain confidence and Fridge & Bethany become less selfish. The team building moments likewise felt genuine. We also have a love story to enjoy just like last time. All the fight sequences were awesome. Bravestone calling out his moves was a lot of fun and Roundhouse's dance fights were just as enjoyable. The plot had its unpredictable moments, such as when Alex is bitten by a mosquito. As I sat in the theater, I could hear people react to that as well as to Van Pelt's creepy-crawlies. I find it interesting that people can be so mentally affected by CGI but I guess just the idea of a bug crawling in your ear can be enough to induce a vocal reaction. Speaking of Van Pelt, I felt he didn't work as well as the character played by Jonathan Hyde. Being an NPC, this Van Pelt didn't feel very threatening. As a wrote this, I realized that this franchise has changed genres from fantasy to science fiction. Normally when a movie franchise does that, like with the third film of "Pirates of the Caribbean", it has a negative effect on audiences. I suppose treating "Welcome to the Jungle" as a spinoff helps. I always hate it when the marketing department uses a song in the trailers to advertise the film and then the song is misused in the actual movie. "Suicide Squad" for example made great use of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in its trailer but then missed an opportunity by including the song at the end of the show. "Thor: Ragnarok" had "Immigrant Song" in its marketing but after using it twice in the actual film, the song lost its freshness. "Guardians of the Galaxy" did it perfectly when it employed "Hooked on a Feeling" because there were other great songs in the film to enjoy besides that one. I was afraid that the filmmakers were going to overuse Guns N' Roses but its lone use in the end credits was perfect, having already applied the song effectively in the marketing.

The cast and their performances were for the most part well done. I still find it amazing how easy it is for Dwayne Johnson to entertain audiences. All the avatar actors were great at emulating their teenage counterparts except Kevin Hart but that wasn't his fault. Hart is a funny actor and if he's in a movie, we want him to provide what we're used to because it has worked in the past in making us laugh. What the filmmakers should have done is found a teenage actor who was more reflective of Hart. Johnson and Hart didn't have too work hard to find chemistry because they performed together in "Central Intelligence" the year prior by the way. The most hilarious Jack Black moments were also the most inappropriate comedy moments of the whole movie and that put me off. Karen Gilan's experience and persona from the aforementioned "Guardians of the Galaxy" made her perfect for her character. It was cool to have Colin Hanks show up at the end of the film. Henry Jackman was a good choice as the musical composer but I kind of wish James Newton Howard would have stayed on. I attribute most of the film's humor (including the crude humour) to co-screenwriter Chris McKenna.

Even though "The Last Jedi" slipped off the list of the top ten grossing films of the week as the months passed, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" remained on the list for two and a half months. Word of mouth really came into play here as well as Sony's decision to piggyback off of "Star Wars". Despite the ending of the movie, a sequel is being planned with all the major filmmakers behind and in front of the camera set to return. I think the film's level of entertainment was a nice surprise to everyone, to critics and audiences. It will be classified alongside other reboots, spinoffs, sequels or film adaptations that we didn't ask for but didn't know we needed. The filmmakers were affectively able to make this film original, fun and worth it. I can't say it is a family adventure comedy unlike the original movie but it is better at this point that the 1995 film. However, just as "Jumanji" did not age well, we will have to wait and see whether "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" will. After two viewings though, I am confident that this spinoff will continue to entertain for awhile to come.

4 Stars out of 5