Who knew that a reboot to a 22-year old cult classic starring the late Robin Williams that changes the concept and formula in order to modernize the franchise almost made a billion dollars despite all of the pessimism leading up to its release? That's the magic I tend to find out as I discuss "Welcome to the Jungle" as "The Next Level" will be released this week. Set in modern-day, a group of teens who find themselves in detention find an old video game console that is secretly the board game known as Jumanji, which changed its properties over the years. As the four begin to play, they get sucked inside the game, portraying the characters that they selected. Using their abilities and teamwork, they try to find a way to beat as well as leave the game. It's a refreshing idea to see the players inside Jumanji rather than Jumanji forcing itself into reality for the second time. I like the idea that the game world had to be more modern and change its world due to transitioning into a video game. With that said though, that means that some elements of the original are altered or removed. Some creatures or hazards are not seen such as quicksand or man-eating plants, but I feel that's due to the attempt to avoid cramming nostalgic callbacks into the face of the audience. Another thing that is removed is the amount of drama, as the original had a very dramatic feel whenever we focus on Alan Parrish and his realization about being stuck in the game and thrown into the future. Instead, the reboot focuses on adding a much needed dose of comedy that was not highly present in the original, despite William's involvement. The humour is very effective with plenty of witty dialogue, but also some good physical comedy. It rarely comes across as annoying to my surprise.
A film like this can only succeed if the characters are likeable and enjoyable, which they soar highly on. Dwayne Johnson plays the avatar of Spencer, a nerdy teen who is afraid of a lot of things yet choose a character that is meant to be very brave and strong. Kevin Hart plays the avatar of Fridge, a jock who bickers with Spencer a lot as he's in the body of a rather small and weak character. Jack Black plays the avatar of Bethany, the popular girl who unknowingly picks an intellectual, but fat male. Karen Gillian plays the avatar of Martha, a shy, insecure girl who embodies a female warrior and also happens to be Spencer's crush. Lastly, Nick Jones plays the avatar of Alex, a teen that was stuck inside the game since 1996 and is afraid of losing his last life. All four of the characters are really well-written as they grow as people throughout the film. The acting is extremely well-done as the actors portray the teen characters not only well, but the dialogue always matches to the age and personalities of the characters, which is credit given more to the writers, but the actors also convincingly pull off the lines to make it seem natural. If there is one character that can't match the main cast, it is Van Pelt, played by Bobby Cannavale. He just comes across as a generic villain that the characters need to defeat, which is inferior to the 1995's version who is a crazed hunter trying to kill Alan Parrish. You can argue that he is mainly generic due to the video game nature, but it still doesn't save an extremely forgettable character in a cast of memorable performances.
Jake Kasdan did a decent, though safe, directing duty as he takes us into the world of Jumanji. Though Kasdan is not considered a great director, you can tell that he has passion for the film he's making. A good portion of the film is shot on location in Hawaii, while some sets were made for specific set-pieces. The lighting and colours are also great as the world breathes a lot of luscious greens and the nighttime scenes are shot well for the viewer to make out what's happening onscreen. The camerawork can range from being pretty good to being amateur-level, which is a bit of an issue, since there can be a bit of shakiness during some scenes. The visual effects are not very good though, as it's pretty fake and not rendered very convincingly. The original Jumanji also had some awkwards effects to the point where they are kind of bad at some points, but they at least have some personality behind them. The CGI here is just typical, cheap, bland effects. The action sequences are executed well though, as they not only use plenty of stunts and on-camera effects, but they are also fun to watch to the point that many can overlook the bad effects. Like, how can you not smile by Johnson's overpowered strength and Gillan's drawn-out fighting style? One last issue to point out is that while Kasdan did a good job, it didn't feel very stylistic enough to make his directing truly stand out. Regardless, Kasdan had enough passion in the project to pull off a well-made film.
"Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle" is how you do a reboot and comedy-adventure well with a funny script, enjoyable acting from the main cast, solid directing, and a sense of entertainment joy from the jungle exteriors to the light-hearted tone. True, the villain, effects, camerawork, and lack of style to Kasdan's directing can damper the quality, but the film itself was mainly meant to be a fun time that doesn't take itself too seriously. As for comparing to the original, you shouldn't. The original is beloved due to the imagination of the story, the very dramatic moments, William's charisma, and Joe Johnstan's directorial vision. The reboot is simply too different to directly compare, but rather treat it as a film bearing the name, but delivers a different type of quality. Hopefully, the sequel can be as good, if not, better than before.
Verdict: 7.5/10. Very good, could have been great if it wasn't from some issues that could easily have been fixed. A blast of enjoyment whenever the time calls for it!
No comments:
Post a Comment