Jumanji : Welcome To The Jungle (dir. Jake Kasdan)

The long awaited "sequel" to Joe Johnston’s muddled and slightly peculiar 1995 hit Jumanji isn’t actually a sequel at all; it’s more of a reboot masquerading as a sequel. Luckily for us however though, even if director Jake Kasdan originally planned his reboot/sequel for a summer release in 2017 - execs at Sony pushed for a Holiday season release as a form of subversive counter programming to "Disney’s" "Star Wars: Last Jedi" juggernaut - . thankfully for them, and for us, it resulted in a holiday treat - a dazzling and regularly hilarious and inventive take which has franchise written all over it.

Taking certain liberties but keeping it’s reverence to the original, local Brantford, New Hampshire teen Alex is given a board game by his father. It’s 1996 and he’s not interested in entertainment that isn’t computerized, so typically responds “Who plays board games?”. Upon opening JUMANJI, he’s met with a 16-bit cartridge for a video game console. Cut to 20 years later; a misfit group of "Breakfast Club" wannabe’s sit sullenly outside their Headteacher’s office awaiting detention. It’s our titular heroes; nerdy-teen Spencer (Alex Wolff), football-star Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain), Instagram-addicted Bethany (Madison Iseman) and shy bookworm Martha (Morgan Turner). Their punishment for an array of different infractions is to remove staples from magazines before they’re turned into pulp. But rebel teen Spencer has other ideas however and finds the dusty and ancient looking video game console with a strange watermark: Jumanji!

Before long, he persuades the rest of the transgressors to play the game with him, adopting cheerfully named avatars as a prerequisite for the game. But this is no ordinary Atari-like console, their bodies have been transported into the actual game and they awake to find themselves in the amazonian jungle, and things get worse, they’re their game counterparts. Introduced as their avatar counterparts is Spencer, now with an extra 2 feet, building biceps and no hair, he’s famed archeologist Dr. Smoulder Braveston (Dwayne Johnson) - his reaction to this newfound appearance kicks the film off with equal delight after a lackluster opening. Joining him is the new Fridge, this time as zoology expert Mouse Finbar (Kevin Hart). Rounding off their avatars are Martha, now Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) and the butt of the joke, Bethany is now a man in the shape of world-famous cartographer Dr. Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon (Jack Black).

The comedic timing between the titular characters is the most welcoming aspect of Kasdan’s surprising holiday hit. Not only is the chemistry between Hart and Johnson akin to their underrated roles in "Central Intelligence" of yesteryear, but the body-swap motif allows Jack Black to show his comedic range in a role which doesn’t border along pastiche. Add to the mix some cheesy and zingy one-liners from all involved - a particular scene in which Jack Black, as Bethany, attempts to urinate for the first time as a fledgling male is humorous to the point of whimsy but garners a few laughs. Seasoned stand up comedian Kevin Hart reiterates his usual schtick of talking very fast with equal amounts of neurosis and pumped up aggression - and gathers many a chuckle whilst doing so.

But their situation is far from humorous; thrust into the game, they must travel to the other end of the forest (Rhys Darby as an exposition character Nigel informs them of their impending adventure) and return a gem which cannot fall into the wrong hands of baddie Van Pelt (Bobby Cannavale), but here’s the catch, they only have three lives each as their new Avatar’s and if they want any chance of returning to their real lives as teenagers, they must find a way to return the gem!

Filmed on location in Hawaii, Kasdan’s visually arresting landscapes give heart and authority to the set pieces, even if they do feel clunky and forced during some instances. The cat-and-mouse exchange between the heroes and Van Pelt are at times tedious and though Cannavale’s black eye-shadow and creepy crawlies out of every orifice complexion, he’s hardly the most sinister of villain. This isn’t the only misstep; ham-fisted attempts at a romantic sub-plot are somewhat incidental, and the idea of the characters learning lessons about themselves during their jungle-ordeal and transferring them back to reality is unfortunately too underwhelming. Add to that the return of a previously-thought deceased character played by a well-known Jonas brother seems to be too much on screen to process.

Dwayne Johnson, now the worlds biggest movie star, has triumphantly removed the shackles of the wrestling champion to become a charismatic leading man, and the renaissance with which he commands action sequences and those more delicate, work hand-in-hand. Outshining it’s predecessor with an array of inventive and exciting new traits which will for sure enable it to become the franchise it so desperately aims for, Jumanji : Welcome to The Jungle is a gift-wrapped Christmas treat with a chunk of belly-laughs and some well-drawn characters.

Rating 4/5