Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Movie Review

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Buy Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle on Amazon Video // Buy the Children's Book
Written by: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers and Scott Rosenberg & Jeff Pinkner (screenplay by), Chris McKenna (screen story by), Chris Van Allsburg (based on the book "Jumanji" by), Greg Taylor & Jim Strain and Chris Van Allsburg (based on the movie "Jumanji" screen story by), Jonathan Hensleigh and Greg Taylor & Jim Strain (based on the movie "Jumanji" screenplay by)
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Starring:   Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Rhys Darby, Bobby Cannavale, Nick Jonas
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
Four teenagers are sucked into a magical video game, and the only way they can escape is to work together to finish the game.

Verdict
This was nowhere near as bad as I expected. The action is typical of big budget movies, but the story sidesteps the ridiculousness by being a video game and hand waving it. This has some absolutely hilarious moments. The cast is perfect, and movie has a little bit of depth as the characters simultaneously work together and try to overcome their faults. You can tell the actors had a lot of fun as they frequently get to chew the scenery.
It depends.

Review
The 1981 children's book was adapted into a somewhat faithful movie in 1995. This movie turns the board game into a video game. It's quite the leap, but allows this movie a less than subtle approach to work on the main character's faults as they become playable characters with different skill sets. The self centered girl is turned into Jack Black, the apprehensive kid becomes The Rock, and the big athlete becomes Kevin Hart. It's simple but it works. The characters have a nice report, and this has truly funny lines. Jack Black, much like the rest of the cast, is having a lot of fun. One of the funniest sequences is Jack Black's character leading an impromptu flirting workshop.

There's a lot of video game logic going on, but the movie set that up just so it can ignore explaining the details as the story progresses. It's the typical video game fetch quest, they need to find a treasure to stop the villain. Along the way they encounter adventure, and they meet Alex. He was also sucked into the game. He's got a twist in his story, and it was a nice moment. It's one that also helps soften the narcissistic character.

I assumed this would be a boring remake, but it's more sequel and surprisingly enjoyable. The character development is forced onto the characters and it's very simple and often cheesy, but it's not bad. With this type of movie, I assumed there would be no development. I wondered if this would mirror the ending of the 1995 movie. I like the changes, though it aims for maximum emotional manipulation. That and there is no logic to it, but this movie isn't about logic. It's about a fun time, and it delivered that.