I watched this in 4DX and I found it most exciting. The body switch/avatar part made me regret it didn't go on for like 4 more hours. I've not been that big a fan of Jack Black's (like I haven't actually seen him in anything ever), but him playing a teenage girl was the most unusual thing out there, unusual being another word for awesome, and also very very wrong. Dwayne Johnson playing a nervous awkward teenage boy was almost more hilarious. And does Kevin Hart make anything he plays in better by just being in it?
I went because Karen Gillan (well, she and Kevin Hart) has a part in it, and – biased as I am – she was absolutely splendid in the role. I found Ruby Roundhouse and Martha to be somewhat alike, so Martha's avatar wasn't as stark as the others. I even thought they looked slightly alike. So she ended up more like a Karen Gillan character who was much surprised how much she kicks ass. So while the other three constantly evoked the thought of who they were in the real-world, Martha/Gillan made me think of how in-game characters work in games. Especially the nonsensical clothing and skills like dance fighting. I also immediately guessed that venom would turn out to be a positive when it popped on the screen, poking fun at something I'm certain I have done in a game, but I can't recall.
And I haven't played games in like 10 years, but did I laugh my ass off at those NPCs? I actually felt a sense of complete safety each time they were there repeating themselves. Being in the vicinity of one of those broken records, you knew you were safe and you could just hang around them for years collecting your courage. You move 5 feet away and all hell breaks loose. Feeling that sort of dynamic in a live action film was so much gratifying. Having Alex (was it Alex?) spend 20 years/6 months in Alan Parsons' shed (a similar safe spot) was another example of it, and reminiscent of what I actually did in video games when I still played them.
I never saw the original Jumanji. I caught it on TV once just when a character turned off the radio when Locomotive Breath came on, so I turned the TV off for offending me with characters having such a terrible taste in music.
Speaking of music, I also didn't realise this was actually named Welcome to the Jungle until I after I came back home and looked it up.
ETA: I think an alternative body switch, with Bethany ending up (a more dressed) Ruby Roundhouse, and Martha ending up as Professor Sheldon Oberon, would have also worked for me. For one, it would have been more surprising (the moment I saw Morgan Turner I thought ‘oh, she turns into Karen Gillan, doesn't she’), for another, asking Bethany to fight instead of asking Martha to flirt would have been its own brand of awesome, and slightly less awkward, as that felt somewhat insensitive to Martha, and did too much of a caricature of her real life's self. Like, getting surprised that you can beat 5 guys is one thing, suggesting she would have trouble flirting with NPCs is quite another (the film did address this in a satisfying manner, though).
I went because Karen Gillan (well, she and Kevin Hart) has a part in it, and – biased as I am – she was absolutely splendid in the role. I found Ruby Roundhouse and Martha to be somewhat alike, so Martha's avatar wasn't as stark as the others. I even thought they looked slightly alike. So she ended up more like a Karen Gillan character who was much surprised how much she kicks ass. So while the other three constantly evoked the thought of who they were in the real-world, Martha/Gillan made me think of how in-game characters work in games. Especially the nonsensical clothing and skills like dance fighting. I also immediately guessed that venom would turn out to be a positive when it popped on the screen, poking fun at something I'm certain I have done in a game, but I can't recall.
And I haven't played games in like 10 years, but did I laugh my ass off at those NPCs? I actually felt a sense of complete safety each time they were there repeating themselves. Being in the vicinity of one of those broken records, you knew you were safe and you could just hang around them for years collecting your courage. You move 5 feet away and all hell breaks loose. Feeling that sort of dynamic in a live action film was so much gratifying. Having Alex (was it Alex?) spend 20 years/6 months in Alan Parsons' shed (a similar safe spot) was another example of it, and reminiscent of what I actually did in video games when I still played them.
I never saw the original Jumanji. I caught it on TV once just when a character turned off the radio when Locomotive Breath came on, so I turned the TV off for offending me with characters having such a terrible taste in music.
Speaking of music, I also didn't realise this was actually named Welcome to the Jungle until I after I came back home and looked it up.
ETA: I think an alternative body switch, with Bethany ending up (a more dressed) Ruby Roundhouse, and Martha ending up as Professor Sheldon Oberon, would have also worked for me. For one, it would have been more surprising (the moment I saw Morgan Turner I thought ‘oh, she turns into Karen Gillan, doesn't she’), for another, asking Bethany to fight instead of asking Martha to flirt would have been its own brand of awesome, and slightly less awkward, as that felt somewhat insensitive to Martha, and did too much of a caricature of her real life's self. Like, getting surprised that you can beat 5 guys is one thing, suggesting she would have trouble flirting with NPCs is quite another (the film did address this in a satisfying manner, though).
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