Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Who would have thought that the sequel to a much-loved classic would, in my opinion, turn into such a stand-alone powerhouse!?!

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle, does just that.

Not only is it a virtual non-stop ride of hilarity and laugh-out-loud moments, and it is, but the chemistry among the adult cast members is practically flawless and lends to the easy banter and overflowing, genius, COMEDIC DIALOGUE which just SHINES. Every look, every gesture, every note from The Rock, Kevin Hart and Jack Black are perfection in that at no time do you doubt they are who they are supposed to be. Karen Gillan is adorable and gorgeous at the same time. The obvious fun they are having, despite what I imagine to be uncomfortable filming locales, is palpable, and as an audience member, _if you allow yourself to be_, you WILL be swept up and transported by it.

So, why ANY low ratings?

While the first Jumanji was 'fun', underneath the fun, there were dark layers. There is none of that here and perhaps, this is where some of the disconnect from its detractors comes from. Unlike the original Jumanji, Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle is a fun, and funny, film throughout.

In closing, quite to the contrary of what a couple of reviewers are saying about Robin Williams, such as: 'he'd be rolling over in his grave (over this movie)', Robin Williams was one of those rare and amazingly special individuals who found joy and humor in most everything, and who chose to share that with those of us who are lucky enough to be witness to some of the favorites he left behind. Personally, I find it in very bad taste and verging on offensive, that those who seem to not share the capacity to laugh or live the way he did, or the ability to laugh with the rest of us, and who lack the gift of both being able to give or receive the very humor which exuded from Mr. Williams, would dare say he would be doing anything other than laughing riotously while munching on some popcorn and watching this film.

Thank you, Robin Williams, for the precursor which was so fantastic, it brought about an equally wonderful sequel.

You are missed.

Reboots can be tricky. While some click, most of them crumble under the pressure to shake off the barrage of comparisons that would be thrown at the movie. Last couple of years saw such horrible reboots like Jurassic World, The Mummy, Kong: Skull Island. But much like Spiderman: Homecoming, Jumanji succeeds to impress the viewers. Jumanji gets a modern age makeover where now instead of a board game it is a video game. Four teenagers with varying personalities are put together in a detention. Here they discover the Jumanji video game and enter the world of Jumanji as their avatars. Then starts the fun ride. There are enough plot holes like how did the video game end up in a high school from Alex's freak house. The movie uses time tested cliche - Four teenagers with some flaw realize their shortcomings when (literally) seen from some other's point of view. But the fun parts of the movie makes us forget them, at least till the movie ends.

The movie does not take itself seriously, and that is a huge plus point. The plot of the movie is crazy, there are man eating albino (what?!) rhinos on one side and villainous henchmen with crazy mud racing bike skills on the other side. But such craziness has been ridiculed in the movie itself, which makes you fall in love with it more.

The bigger plus for the movie has been the performance of the lead actors. All of them have created niche for themselves in the film industry. Jumanji has used such niche beautifully and built very funny characters. Parts where Dwayne Johnson(Spencer) stops to admire his own physique will have you in splits. Not to mention his hilarious display of 'smoldering intensity'. Kevin Hart is Kevin Hart and Jack Blake as a women in a man's body is perfect. Karen Gillan, who is this mean Nebula in MCU, comes up with a very charming performance.

All in all, Jumanji is a movie that you can watch without any regret. It will make you gasp, wonder and laugh hysterically. It is definitely worth a watch.

The steady and impressive box office success is well-deserved. This movie is pure fun! Actually, it's more than fun; it's clever and perfectly 2018.

No one plays board games anymore, so what did the filmmakers do? They changed Jumanji into a video game. Simple, yet smart. This change not only made sense, it also opened the doors for the characters to possess and exhibit wildly over-the-top skills and physical abilities that would only make sense in a video game setting.

Also perfectly 2018, the handling of Karen Gillan's short shorts. The film earnestly attempts to comment on how video games exploit female characters in blatantly sexual ways. "Why am I wearing short shorts in the jungle?!" she exclaims. This scene is well done and could have made a worthy statement if the movie did not proceed to display her booty in the short shorts at multiple junctures throughout the film. The intentions were good; the execution, not so much.

Gillan plays a powerful female badass exceptionally well. She even nails the necessary nuances required in playing a shy, unconfident student who is merely inhabiting the avatar of the female badass. Each star in the movie plays the embodiment of an avatar assumed by the high school kids after they are sucked into the Jumanji video game. I understand that the last sentence sounds ridiculous. That's Jumanji. You have to tolerate a bit of ridiculous. Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black all deliver in their roles. Hart is hilarious. Black reminds us that he is still funny. Jack Black should be in more funny movies. Johnson is equal parts funny and charming to such an obscene level that it almost doesn't make sense. He's at the point now that he can still be wonderful and charming, even if the movie around him falls woefully flat (shout out to Baywatch).

Setting much of the film in a video game also excused an exceedingly simple plot. The movie embraces this. With all the funny lines, the best one comes when at one point someone asks a video game character in a car "why can't you just drive us where we need to go?" At that moment I realized that this movie knows exactly what it is.

Still, the movie is not perfect. Bobby Canavale's villain character is strange in a strange way, rather than strange in a cool way. The dialogue has its flaws too. At one point, Jack Black's character gives a pep talk to Karen Gillan's character about confidence. At first, it seems like a lovely speech that tells a teenage girl that she has value because of who she is as a person. Then it abruptly ends with "I'm just saying you're a babe." Oh, so physical attractiveness is what gives her value? Ugh. Once again, they were so close to delivering a worthwhile message, but fell just short.

These faults are only slight hiccups. Most viewers probably will barely notice them. They certainly didn't ruin my enjoyment of the movie. Above all else, the movie is about fun. And on that aspect, it comes through with flying colors.

I took one look at the trailer and was certain it would be rubbish

Finally watched it on TV and was surprised that it's good solid family entertainment.

Not outstanding but a respectable 7 stars.

It's good. I had no idea what to expect in all honest. I am not huge fans of other movies by these actors, but this really worked. You could see the great chemistry between them all and it paid off.

What I liked: I enjoyed how it didn't dither about at the beginning and got right into the action. Jack Black especially was brilliant and hilarious! All the actors/actresses were great but Jack Black stood out. Good mix of action and comedy throughout. I was on the edge of my seat (metaphorically) wanting them to escape the game.

Negatives: not many to be honest, couple of scenes were slightly cringe, but not off putting. Same logic goes for a couple of scenes which felt dragged out.

I think people need to forget about this being a remake of a classic film and treat it as a separate movie altogether. If you start comparing the 2 that's when it goes wrong.

Ps.. Karen Gillan. Marry me please?

Worth watching and will be going cinema for 2nd instalment.