Review of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) by Old_Skool_Gamer — 01 Feb 2018

Surprise family hit. Even Sony was surprised that Jumanji is a smash at $822mil world-wide as I speak. I have to mention that even though I saw the screener several months before it came out, I was surprised that I actually liked better the second time around.

Regardless of missing some effects, music, etc. it was still the same story and acting...although the ending was slightly different. Basically highschool teenagers that don't get along discover themselves and each other after getting sucked into the experience of the Jumanji video game world.

You can do this with any indifferent highschoolers-don't-get-along story and put them on a fantastic quest to discover themselves. It's cliche but it's mostly well done and enjoyable. I have to congratulate Sony because even though the screener was "incomplete" and initially felt like a below average "cliche" video game avatar movie.

..the final product was a milestone improvement in comparison. The beat, cuts, timing felt better, even the humor felt enhanced, the acting felt more believable even though it wasn't their best performance I've seen out of any of them.

All the pieces were put together nicely although not perfect. But you don't need perfect with a Rock movie. You just need fun, action and enjoyable story and then go eat popcorn and get entertained.

LOL The "cliche" being sucked into video game world ended up being an afterthought. It was an enjoyable movie overall...especially if you go with your family. My 6 and 7 year old really enjoyed it and their favorite characters were Jack Black and Kevin Hart.

When you have likeable and memorable characters then in my opinion half the battle is already done. I wasn't frustrated with any actor/actress, the story, the plot, etc. I love Transformers but Jumanji 2 was better than the The Last Knight movie.

I love Jurassic Park but Jumanji was an overall better movie than Jurassic World. All CG and FX aside. It's not going to win an Oscar by any means but that's what Dunkirk and Pixar movies are for. This is a fun family movie and a good excuse to go out with the kids.