Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

As a sequel to the 1995 Jumanji, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle takes us back to the Jumanji world with a quartet of teenagers and a few modern updates.

The most surprising thing about Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is that although it bears the title of Jumanji, it aspires to be more than a vehicle for nostalgia. In Welcome to the Jungle, the board game becomes a video game console. The changed concept allows the film to toy with the mechanics of video games which gives the proceedings an inventive touch. The body swap trope offers plenty of opportunities for the actors to flex their comedic muscles.

That being said, both the teenage protagonists and their older in-game counterparts are as stereotypical as they come. It’s a blast to watch them throw jabs at one another in millennial vernacular and the novelty effects of the video game element is enough to amuse you for a while. But apart from that, the story has no real suspense and tension. The jungle they are trapped in only serves the function of providing transitions or backdrop for each set piece. The film is built around attempts to satirises many clichés in action movies, yet, their self-awareness is nowhere to be found when they put Karen Gillan in a skimpy outfit and make her do a seductive dance.

It may not be a classic like the original, but Jumanji: Welcome to the jungle is exactly the quirky, family fun-fair (with a slight hint of sexism) that you would expect.

(Originally posted on 29 Dec 2017 @projectunwrapped)