Review of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) by Chesterftof — 06 Jan 2018

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is an interesting, if seemingly confused film. Directed by Jake Kasdan, the film seems uncertain as to what it wants to be. Upon googling the genre, one can find five listed by the search engine: Action, adventure, comedy, fantasy and Family. Already, that’s a handful. Romance subplots are also attempted, in addition to moments which seem to be attempting to invoke horror. Despite it’s 12A rating, it seemed determined to squeeze as many curse words as they could, and while there was very little actual blood, the violence was cranked up as far as they dared. You see a man get mauled by a hippopotamus, another erupt into an explosion, a gunshot wound etc. I feel it’s rather safe to say it attempted to please everybody. In doing so, it’s failed to please me. I would much rather a film focus on a few things and excel, rather than trying to do everything and winding up mediocre at best.

Boasting a very respectable 77% on rotten tomatoes, at first glance it may seem that i’m the minority in my low to middling opinions on the film. Upon further examination, however, it seems that many critics were instead rather uninterested by the film. Currently, it’s average critic rating is a 6.1. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad film by any means, but it instead shows how the ‘Tomatometer’ can occasionally be misleading. Were it rated at a 5.9, I believe the film would no longer be eligible for a fresh rating, let alone the ‘certified fresh’ it has received.

Overall, I feel the main issue was the writing. I feel very little effort was put into the writing, particularly regarding the dialogue. Much of it felt clumsy, and painfully cheesy at times. It was so distracting that at one point my sister, who had seen (and enjoyed) the film at a previous date, leaned across to let me know I might cringe at the next scene. for myself personally, I didn’t find it any more painful that the rest of the film. For other viewers, however, it may be an issue.

The performances, overall, were actually one of the stronger points of the film. While the actors had to deal with the previously mentioned poor dialogue, many of the actors were able to do their job well. Jack Black, though I found his character infuriating at times, was consistent, and the audience I was with seemed to enjoy his antics. Karen Gillan portrayed a shy teenage girl notably well, and I was even pleasantly surprised by Nick Jonas (yes, I had to google which brother it was). Jonas’s character of Alex was even given a mature, bittersweet ending. Without spoiling specifics of the film, his character’s end was different to the rest of the team. Unfortunately, it also raised some questions about the other character’s conclusions, and the specific rules within which this world operates. Regardless of the confusion, I also found the ending unsatisfying, and feel the film would have benefited by cutting off the last three minutes or so.

Many of the CG effects were rather disappointing, that may be attributed to the budget. Hiring a handful of big-name stars presumably took a big chunk from the $100 million or so budget. The animals looked poor at times, and some of the CGI stunts were lacklustre, rather ironically looking more at home in a video game. Additionally, the villain was entirely forgettable. Bobby Cannavale’s portrayal wasn’t bad, the writing just made him feel almost entirely useless. The plot would have worked just as well if he wasn’t present.

With this being said, many of the shots were actually quite impressive. The one that stood out to me was quite a simple one. At one point in the film, a row of torches light up through the jungle. Though simple, the contrast between the blazing torches, and the inky blackness of the jungle at night was truly impressive, particularly due to the staggered ignition of the flames. It seemed as though the pathway was carving itself through the trees when the film cut to a wider shot.

Overall, I found this film a real mix. Ultimately, out of ten, I feel I have to give it a five. That isn’t to say it’s a consistent, comfortable five, however. At times, the film sinks to a three. At others, the moments you’d go to see the film for, it raises to perhaps a seven. I’m simply giving what I feel would be an average for the film as a whole. If you’re a fan of the cast, I’d imagine you’ll enjoy the film; both Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart barely seem to be playing characters, and while I don’t particularly enjoy them, they have good chemistry and work well off of each other. Obviously, if you’re looking for a serious film with a strong moral, this film isn’t for you; it ultimately boils down to ‘be happy with yourself’. Whether you look like a WWE superstar or not.