Review of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) by Charlie P — 29 Mar 2018

Set twenty years after Alan Parrish's fateful encounter with the dangerous board game Jumanji, the game has since then evolved into a plug and play video game designed to ensnare new players into playing new games. When four teenagers end up sucked into this new game and transformed into their avatars, they must use their new skills and abilities to win the game and escape Alan's world...

Originally planned as a straight-up reboot of the 1994 Robin Williams cult classic, Jumanji, but ended up being retooled as a loose sequel after the tragic passing of Williams in 2014, this more comedic take on Chris Van Allsberg's story of a game coming to life may not always land in it's comedy, but the screenplay's clever knowledge revolving around video game tropes ironically makes this unwanted sequel, a more faithful adaptation, than 3/4% of most video-game film adaptations in the entire industry.

Another aspect that makes this film extremely funny is the comedy revolving around the teenagers having to adapt to thier avatar bodies with the biggest laughs coming from a valley girl being reincarnated as a Jack Black Professor or the school sports star being turning into a wimpy Backpack-carrying Kevin Hart. Although these character arcs pale in comparison to Alan's arc in the first film, the actors all have such funny chemistry, that it's hard to compare them to the more serious character arcs of the first film.

Overall, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle may lack the intensity, surprises and character development of the 1994 film, but the funnier than expected humour, the impressive use of the video game setting within the screenplay and the solid acting, makes this stand-alone sequel, a game worth replay value...