Review by John M. Delia, Jr.
The world of Jumanji comes alive with much adventure and tons of laughter. Instead of playing the game and the creatures coming to you, this time the players become the preset characters and enter the world of Jumanji.
Four high school students with different social status end up in detention and recycle duty after school. The nerdy shy gamer, Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), the athletic football jock, Anthony “Fridge†Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain), the scholarly bookworm, Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner), and the popular selfish prom queen, Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman), end up somewhere these social classes should never end up. Together they discover this ancient artifact, an old video game system and discover a way to make things worse.
When they inadvertently start playing the game, they find out that they are becoming part of the game. In this new world they each become one of the games important characters; Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), an archaeologist and explorer who is Spencer’s avatar, Professor Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black), a cartographer, cryptographer, archaeologist, and paleontologist who is Bethany’s avatar, Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), a commando and dance fighter who is Martha’s avatar, and Moose Finbar (Kevin Hart), a short zoologist and weapons specialist who is Fridge’s avatar.
While in the video game they discover that they must play together and follow the map to safely return to their own world. They must do all this before they lose all three of the awarded lives that they were given when they began the adventure.
Directory Jake Kasdin produces this exceptional story and presents it in such a funny way. With the addition of great comedians as, Black and Hart, he takes advantage of their talents and brings the storyline to life. The adventure he creates brings you into the video game and plays it out as if it was going through the real dialog. Along with the special effects, Kasdin puts together a comedic masterpiece that is sure to succeed.
This fun and hilarious look into this mysterious domain brings a different look into this interesting literature. A definite hit for the younger crowd, and sure to entertain the Jumanji fans from the past.
Final Comment: My grade is based on the exceptional and funny storyline and the hilarious presentation by the actors. (4.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jake Black, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas.
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, and Fantasy
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for adventure action, suggestive content and some language.
Running Time: 1 hour and 59 minutes
Release Date:Â December 20, 2017
Distributed By: Columbia Pictures
Released In: Dolby Atmos, DTS, and Auro