Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
2017  PG-13  FANTASY  1h 59min
CAST— Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale
MUSIC— Henry Jackman  DIRECTOR— Jake Kasdan

     "You know where you are?"... Tremendously entertaining action comedy that takes the premise of the original '90s film and retells it for the modern audience. Four teenagers (the nerd, the jock, the popular princess and the quiet girl), in detention for various reasons, are given the assignment to clean out the school basement, soon to be a new computer lab. Boredom sets in, until they unexpectedly find an ancient video game console. Plugging in the console, they expect some 8-bit juvenile nonsense but are instead sucked into the world of the game, the game being Jumanji. Now in a lush, tropical and dangerous setting the four kids must acquaint themselves, not only with this new world, but also with their new selves. Upon entering the game their real world bodies are replaced with those of the game characters; the nerd becomes the muscle-bound adventurer, the jock becomes the comic relief sidekick and miss introvert becomes the kick-bottom brawler. The real shock is that the pretty drama queen becomes... Jack Black. Yep, there's definitely gonna be some adjustments to her self image. Anyway, the point of the game is to return a sacred jewel to a mountainous jaguar idol, all the while evading dangers of the jungle and the ruthless tactics of a madman. But honestly, the plot is barely noticeable. The real attraction is the cast of adult kids; their acclimation to this jungle world, the discoveries of their respective strengths and weaknesses, just their performances in general make this well worth a viewing. Dwayne Johnson shows that he can play more than the hulking bruiser and Black's scene-stealing performance is priceless. So whether you come to see a modern interpretation of Jumanji or you just want to have a good time, you're in for a treat. ..."You're in the jungle, baby!".
OUR RATING— ***
PRECEDED BY— Jumanji (1995)