Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
My Grade: B+
I saw the original/first movie. Once. Like nearly 20 years ago when it first came out on VHS. It was okay, but I was sort of that age/mood and point where I was getting over these type of movies and Robin Williams's shtick he was stuck in when doing movies. So, I have no real connection or sentimentality to the movie. It was fine, what it is, but not sure I'd fully regard it as a "classic" that's untouchable like other properties from my childhood that've been remade/rebooted/sequeled recently.
That said, given that this movie appeared to be one of those remakes/reboots/sequels I didn't have really high expectations for this movie given how these remakes/reboots/sequels go, usually trying too hard to copy the original and, sometimes, play up some of the flaws or oddities in it in order to have some kind of comedic beat. (Though, to be fair, this tends to happen more with theatrical remake/reboots/sequel of old TV shows. ) But, as I saw more trailers and read more about the premise, I had to admit it looked interesting.
The Internet, being the Internet, of course had to make a fuss over the movie being made because, apparently, Jumanji is sacred and then set/cast photos came out showing actress Karen Gillan in short-shorts and halter top and people had to cry sexism about a movie putting an attractive woman in revealing clothing because we're not allowed to find the genders we're attracted to attractive. (Yeah, yeah, you *could* argue sexism and the illogic of the circumstance but it's still a damn movie and, sorry, we have to look at these characters for two hours so why can't they look good? The Rock wasn't exactly wearing clothing entirely appropriate for the jungle either but rather a shirt designed to show off his pecs and arms. But, sorry, I'm not going to be ashamed of finding Karen Gillan hot and welcoming her wardrobe in this movie.) People continued to harp on this even after the creators of the movie came out and said her clothing makes sense in the context of the movie and when we finally got the trailers and detailed plot info it was made clear what the circumstances were and they fit/made more sense and even with that, the movie having came out, and the movie itself pointing out the illogic of it all people still bitch. Ugh.
Anyway, neither here nor there.
The movie has four teenagers given detention for various misdeeds in school and as part of that detention they're made to clean up a storage room in their school set to be remodeled into a new computer lab (specifically, they're told to pull the staples out of several boxes of magazines set for recycling and the metallic material needs to be removed) while there they come across an old cartridge-based video game console set off to the side among other items to be donated. (We see the origins of the console at the beginning of the movie, set in 1996, and tied to the end of the original Jumaji movie) Bored, they hook up the device and decide to play the game, they're made to select their characters and when they press "Start" they game sucks them into it, placing them in the "game world" and they're now in the bodies of their chosen avatars.
Spencer is the nerdy, hypochondriac, kid afraid of squirrels and he finds himself now in the body of Dr. Smolder Bravestone (The Rock) the "leader"/"tank" of the group, a man of strength and fearlessness.
Anthony is the tall, muscular, football star/Alpha male and he finds himself now in the body of "Mouse" (Kevin Hart) the equipment carrier of the group with few to no physical attributes of note.
Bethany is the social-media, shallow and self-involved, "popular girl" of the school and she finds herself in the body of Dr. "Shelly" Oberon (Jack Black) an overweight, middle aged, man and is the brains of the group.
Martha is the "cute girl"/social outcast of the school who's unsure of herself and she finds herself as Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) a Lara Croft-like attractive female action-game trope wearing skimpy clothing and with a number of fighting skills.
The teenagers, in their avatars, find themselves against their own personalities, the scared kid is the muscle, the muscular kid, is the weak one, the popular girl is Jack Black, the shy girl is a scantly clad "man-killer" and all of the actors have fun playing against their own type as well being these teenagers. (Notably The Rock as the afraid kid and probably the most brilliant performance Jack Black has ever done playing the popular girl which he manages to do with the "grace" of it without resorting to too much... "Jack Black"-eness, so it comes across as believable.
They're initially confused on what is going on but find themselves soon collected by a "guide" who exposits on them their mission, the "villain" has acquired a sacred stone that protected the island and, as a result, the island is mad and all of the animals are now of great danger, they have to collect the stone and return it to its original location in order to win/leave the game. With this scene, and the one following it, we learn some of the interesting rules of what is happening.
First of all, the guide that collects them is unresponsive to much questioning and often repeats the same lines of dialogue as responses to their questions, Spencer figures he's an "NPC" (Non-Player-Character, only there to provide exposition and mission objectives so unable to answer any questions beyond his reason for being) when they're dropped off they also learn they each have certain abilities, and weaknesses, to their individual characters (things they can now do and use without effort) as well as each having three "lives." It's assumed that dying on their last life will lead to actual death.
It's with these various videogame tropes that the movie has most of its fun, even at one point the characters are all forced into envisioning some backstory through a "cut scene" seen from the perspective of an observer of the villain and, with this, is the reason for Gillan's inappropriate jungle wear, she's a video game character.
The movie follows a pretty predictable and formulaic story for both a movie and a video game but it manages to have fun with it with the game elements and the characters and the movie actually has a good level of "heart" to ti as you feel for the characters and want to see themselves grow and be better when they re-enter the real world. (It's suggested, all of these kids have known each other since grade school, and some where actual friends, but the dynamics of high school changed their relationships.)
The movie is fun. There's good action scenes, some sort-of decent CGI, and all of the actors do a good job in their roles (even if Hart is playing his usual Hart-self.)
The movie is fun. I sort of wish, however, it played on the various videogame tropes a bit more as they had more difficult encounters with NPCs and such. I'd say most people will likely get enjoyment out of it and it doesn't do anything to "erase" the original movie and, infact, out-right acknowledges it.
