A group of teenagers really get into a video game.
Review 2017 by Flytrap
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Jack Black (Madison Iseman), Karen Gillan (Morgan Turner), Kevin Hart (Ser’Darius Blain), Dwayne Johnson (Alex Wolff), Nick Jonas, Rhys Darby, Bobby Cannavale
Complete cast and crew here
Rated PG-13
Running time: 119 Mins
Because, “Who plays board games anymore?”, our favorite scary game evolves into a video game that sends a detention class into a Multiplayer Role Playing Game that gives new meaning to “immersive”.
The real challenge here was getting the adult actors to channel their teenage counterparts and Jack Black was the very best, perfectly stepping up to the role of a teen-age vixen in a middle-aged fat man’s body; this should have been the hardest and he really came through. Karen Gillan, playing the nerd turned into a wiry superhero was spot-on. Kevin Hart played himself, as he usually does and The Rock just kind of strode around trying to emote and not being very impressive at it.
This movie was way more fun than I anticipated. Gorgeously shot (in Hawaii, rough life some actors have), it used the video game tropes (numbered lives, cut scenes, Non Player Characters) just enough for reference, without distracting from the story. The quest was simple enough, but as we know, it’s about the journey, not the destination.
I’ll recommend this one. I did not see it in 3-D; I can see where it might have had some impact, but this movie was so colorful, I’m afraid that the glasses would filter too much of that out. There are no post-credit scenes, so you can exit the game when they start to roll.
Flytrap rating: 7.5/10
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