Certificate – 12A
Directed By – Jake Kasdan
Starring – Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Madison Iseman, Ser’Darius Blain, Nick Jones.
Running Time – 123 Minutes (2 Hours 3 Minutes)
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle was one of the biggest surprises of 2017 to the point it successfully went toe-to-toe with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and nearly reached a billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
Now fast forward, Dr Bravestone and his team are back to bring a new adventure and save the video game world of Jumanji, this time with the help of Danny DeVito and Danny Glover.
What Is Jumanji: The Next Level About?
The gang return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.
Is It Any Good?
Yes. Honestly, before going to the press screening I was in a bad state in regards to my mental health and this movie was exactly what I needed.
This sequel was a fabulous follow-up and added to world Kasdan and co have created while also handling serious topics.
With the inclusion of DeVito and Glover, there’s a discussion about growing old and making peace with the world before it’s too late and also the chemistry between the two before turning into Johnson and Hart.
Their spirit is continued and is helped by Johnson and Hart, who both deliver possibly my favourite performances by the duo. Once again they’re the comedic heartbeat and you can see they had a ball being the alter ego of their veteran actors.
Meanwhile, the film also tackles a sense of being and handling self-esteem and it’s brought ahead by a decent Wolff performance and in a lot of ways, it’s his coming-of-age movie.
The film is headlined by a terrific performance by Gillan who has to lead the film and have more chances to show off how fantastic and kick-ass Ruby Roundhouse and it seems she’s gotten more connected to Turner’s Martha.
Gillan would’ve stolen the film if it wasn’t for Awkwafina who killed it in the third act and was easily my favourite of the film.
Finally, Black once again enjoyed himself playing a young black man and returning to Bethany.
One last thing, stay for the beginning of the credits.
Anything Bad About The Film?
I have one little nip-pick and that’s about Bethany, who’s clearly the character who has grown the most between the two films and it’s a lovely performance by Iseman.
Yet, Black plays the character similar to the first film. On the other hand, you could say that Bethany was excited to be returning to Black again.
Verdict
A fantastic sequel and matched by great performances. It’s just a wonderfully fun, funny, action-packed time to spend at the cinemas.
The Bear Cave 