Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

There actually isn’t anything truly bad about the movie. The actors are pretty okay, the locations are also quite solid, here and there the action has nice ideas, which, when it comes to Hollywood, is quite a miracle. I just don’t know if I am getting old and prefer older movies that are more authentic, entertaining and the actors are a few notches better. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart are pulling the comedic aspect of the movie as hard as they can. They also nicely twisted the premise for the new version of Jumanji so you don’t get the same movie in a different shade of blue. I just cannot shake the impression that in the past similar movies were better. And no, I don’t want to complain that the grass was greener then, but I don’t know if I am onto something and if I am not aging together with the movies. (20/09/2018)

That was good. The introduction is very bland and all the characters (except perhaps the sexy Bethany) are rendered unimaginatively and boringly, but the game is a lot of fun and almost constantly entertains by contrasting the newly created avatars with their real-life counterparts. And so it happened that I didn't mind The Rock, who is even more over the top than ever, or Kevin Hart, who was really funny most of the time, and of course not even Jack Black, who has never bothered me and also has perhaps his funniest role ever. The pacing is right on and I loved the overall concept of the narrative, which perfectly evokes the video game world and feels fresh and imaginative; the characters robotically saying their in-game lines, the gradual loss of lives and the system of several levels with new obstacles that didn't feel repetitive at all, which was something I was worried about. Sure, it's ridiculously digital and poorly edited at times, and there could have been even more humour, but I still had a great time, and I have to appreciate that Kasdan keeps an eye on the development of the story and characters and doesn't just relegate it to a mindless adrenaline rush across the digital environment (which is partly what killed Valerian). One of the nicest surprises of this year. (27/12/2017)

I was hoping it would turn out exactly like this. It was already clear from the trailers that the new Jumanji is not a very ambitious project, and that it would be ideal if it turned out to be a good two hours of fun. And that's pretty much what it did. Four classmates are transported into the world of the video game Jumanji, each taking on their own avatar and having to somehow make it to the end and survive. Of course, the whole thing stands and falls on the fact that the nerd looks like Dwayne Johnson and the self-centered beauty finds herself in the body of Jack Black. But it's actually quite enough. The quartet of stars are all tuned into the same wave, Kevin Hart only has his third role so he doesn't get to be overly annoying, and Jack Black is downright hilarious. There's just enough action, just enough humour and just the right amount of adventure to keep the 119 minutes running smoothly and still manage to learn some lessons. I don't expect to remember anything from the film in a few weeks, but I really enjoyed the two hours. Despite the visual effects, which are very sad to look at at times. (27/07/2018)

While the original Jumanji is a classic in the family film genre, the Zathura variation was aimed exclusively at younger children, and then the modern Jumanji is pure entertainment for fans of Jack Black and Dwayne Johnson. If you enjoy those two, you'll be satisfied, if not, you can safely skip it. (22/05/2022)

It does not hurt to give it a single watch, but the original film remains and will remain unsurpassed because its adventurous atmosphere has not been invoked or imitated by anyone else. It's also a shame that when it comes to humor, the new Jumanji benefits the entire time from just making the players and characters look completely different, and how they behave. Not that it doesn't lead to good comic situations, but there's too much going on, and it's more or less the same thing over and over, only with little changes. And when even the action scenes don't really dazzle you... It is average, but not terrible. (25/12/2017)