By Alice Micheli
Who would have thought that a reboot of an old classic would end up, not only surprising audiences, but delighting them and leave them wanting more?!
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was the surprise hit at the box office a couple years ago, delivering big laughs, an interesting story and some fantastic characters. Most importantly, the premise was one that could easily lead to many a sequel in a way that felt natural and not necessarily like a purely financial decision. Therefore when The Next Level got announced and released to cinemas, it was a pleasure to go back in and see what our loveable video game avatars had gotten themselves into this time.
This is certainly a film of fun, there’s no two ways about it. Everything is meant to entertain, or lead to a moment of laughs and enjoyment. However, it also resulted in a messy structure at times, with the conflict being shoe horned to progress the story in any way possible.
That said, the main cast are once again exceptional, with each taking on their “player’s” persona in a way that is interesting to watch and fun to experience.
The MVP of the hour, however, is definitely Jack Black who fully embodies every different persona he’s asked to take on with ease. You never question who it is under there, as he develops certain tics, changes his voice and curtails his reactions so as to better suit the character he’s playing.
The other actor also worth noting is Kevin Hart, as he takes on the persona of an octogenarian who is a far cry from his usual ‘firecracker’ personality. Embodying a calm, patient older gentleman, he slows down all his usual cadences and even lowers his tone to truly embody this new person he has become. It’s impressive and down right hilarious, while also being a nice change of pace for the comedian.
Once again, the story really takes second place to the main characters, acting as a vessel for them to get into hijinks with their different interactions. In fact, if you asked me in a month to relay the mission they’re all on, I could probably tell you a little bit here or there, but would mostly recount it using funny lines or moments I remembered from the film. While this could be construed as a con, I think this type of film definitely benefits from the lighter touch to the story. People are there to witness the Rock and his pals get into shenanigans, and that’s exactly what they get. Throw in a curmudgeon Danny DeVito and an almost too calm Danny Glover and there’s enough there to keep anyone entertained for its run time.
The main question, really, is does it live up to the success and delight that the first one brought? The answer, yeah. The reality is, that the surprise factor that gave the first one its insane boost is not there. If anything, audiences would definitely be going in with much higher expectations than the last time. However, the delivery is on par of what we received the first time around. With a couple of new characters, some new scenery and a whole lot more adventure, it’s enough for the entire family to enjoy.