Jumanji: The Next Level - Review : More of a stand alone expansion than a sequel

Image from IMDB

Warning: This review will contain mild spoilers though not much specific detail beyond what the trailers have hinted at plot wise. Even so if you wish to go in fully blind don't keep reading. 

This review will contain spoilers for Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle because they are kind of part of the plot in this film.

So Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle was a very unexpectedly good film that felt like it was made with real heart rather than being a soul-less cash grab by Sony desperate to do something with the IP name. I really enjoyed the first film and am glad it made close to as much as Star Wars The Last Jedi. The question has to be how does Jumanji: The Next Level compare? The answer it felt like while they tried to put heart into it at some point part of the master copy of the script got coffee spilled on it and the behind the scenes person responsible just pulled the ruined pages out and hoped no-one would notice. That's not to say it's a bad film, it's very enjoyable and I could easily watch it again. The issue is either the script wasn't fleshed out enough really or some 15 - 30 minutes of footage is on the cutting room floor somewhere which fleshed out some of the plot.

The overall plot is Spencer has gone back into Jumanji the game due to feeling not great and it's up to his friends Martha, Fridge and Bethany to go back into the game to save him. The problem being Spencer's grandfather Eddie and Milo Walker, Eddie's friend get sucked into the game too and end up as Dr. Smolder Bravestone and Franklin 'Mouse' Finbar with Fridge ending up as Professor Sheldon 'Shelly' Oberon and only Martha ending up as the character she previously played, Ruby Roundhouse.

All images for the rest of this review taken from the official trailers.

The mission this time in Jumanji is that a warlord of sorts has stolen a McGuffin gem that brings fertility to the lands of Jumanji and without it fields of crops will fail and the plants of Jumanji will die. The team must recover the gem and hold it up in sunlight while saying the name of the game, Jumanji.

New this time round (and hinted at in the trailers) is a way to switch characters as Bethany ends up in Jumanji as Cyclone (a black horse) initially. Also Jefferson the pilot returns as a character in game as does new character Ming Fleetfoot. The 'in game plot' feels very much more in video gamey with distinct levels and an epic final boss fight complete with almost boss mechanics and a hook to give a basic emotional motivation to further hate the villain. 

I will say however I think the lives idea feels poorly utilised this in this film compared to the previous one. The idea of having video game lives in the previous ones allowed them to break the rules of action films slightly by having characters able to be killed by a stray bullet or other such things that would kill people only to have the character be able to return in this one the deaths mostly felt like either joke events or big moments they didn't manage to pull off the same sense of the deaths being sudden or impactful for the most part. The biggest illustration of the deaths not being done as well is one character throwing away 2 lives solving a puzzle. In Welcome to the Jungle it's played as each life matters because each brings them closer to being trapped in the game forever, in The Next Level it feels like the film maker wanted to rush to get to the tense part of people only having 1 life left from the get go rather than having the lives ticking down help build that tension. It's also a little bit of a shame they didn't go with the idea of an extra life being possible to acquire as that is a video game trope that could have been implemented well.

In terms of the overall narrative hinted at in the trailers, Spencer's story doesn't feel fleshed out very well with a number of opportunities for character development seemingly wasted and the whole story being resolved pretty much in one scene. It's an interesting idea however I think it was one that had potential to have more ideas explored e.g. The idea you don't have to be the super tough Dr Bravestone to be brave. The film does touch on the idea that to an extend the particular people work better as particular character but it would have been a nice idea to see a "The real courage / Strength / Knowledge etc comes from you not entirely the character" idea where the characters get to bring some more of themself and how they've changed into the game beyond just being their avatars in game. Yes the film does have the actors for the in game avatars show different characteristics depending on who is meant to be now controlling said avatar but that feels more like personality quirks than anything more substantive. E.G. what if the characters knowledge in the real world was able to be somehow utilised in game as their avatars. Or what if Spencer was able to be brave as an avatar other than Dr Bravestone by using the avatars skills in some interesting way?

The better plot is the one the trailers didn't really show regarding the history and friendship between Eddie and Milo which is probably the more fleshed out narrative in the film with plenty of scenes dedicated to it. Milo and Eddie's story it really is the A plot while Spencer going back into the game feels very much like a B plot. I won't say much more because it really will spoil some of the moments the trailer doesn't tell you.

Effects & spectacle:

The CGI effects do their job and the idea of it being in a video game will mean the effects aging won't be a huge issue for the film. The effects are serviceable and fulfil their function. Though credit to the effects for the environments as they steal the show far more.

The fight scene with Ruby Rose is especially worthy of praise as it's feels directed and well shot rather than how many films do such scenes these days by doing shakey cam and jump cuts. There are camera cuts but it's often to follow the action or get a better angle or more impressive shot rather than seeming to cut after every impact this lends an amazing flow to the fight scene and camera rather than it being the confusing mess a shakey cam fight tends to produce.  

Comedy:

While all comedy is subjective I did enjoy the comedic moments in the film. The obvious ones pointed out in the trailers being related to the two older gents ending up as Dr Bravestone and Mouse but there are other moments later on which land quite well. It is also worth noting that the whole cinema I was in did near spit takes / burst out in uncontrolled laughter at a very specific dick joke in the film but the lower brow humour (which I do also enjoy) is only the odd moment in the film not the entirety of the humour.

Cast & Acting:

Alex Wolff (best known for Hereditary), Madison Iseman (Goosebumps 2, Annabelle Comes Home), Ser'Darius Blain (The Charmed Reboot) and Morgan Turner (um.....Jumaji: Welcome to the Jungle) all return as Spencer, Bethany, Fridge and Martha respectively.  Joining the 'real world' cast are Danny DeVito as Spencer's grandfather Eddie and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon 1-4 & Predator 2) as Milo Walker, Eddie's friend. 

In the game world Karen Gillan (Dr Who, Guardians of the Galaxy 1&2, Avengers Infinity War & Endgame), Dwayne Johnson (WWE, Hobbs and Shaw), Jack Black (School of Rock, Goosebumps 1&2) and Kevin Hart (Central Intelligence) all return as Ruby Roundhouse, Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Professor Sheldon Oberon and Franklin 'Mouse' Finbar respectively. Joining the game world cast is Awkwafina (Ocean's Eight, Crazy Rich Asians) as Ming Fleetfoot.

The Jumanji sequels / soft reboot have always really been a showcase for the skills of those playing the in game characters though Danny DeVito does steal the show as such in terms of the real world cast. For the 'in game' cast everyone does a great job of portraying the 'real world' counterpart characters. With the addition of character swapping in game this does push the 'in game' cast harder as they're often called on to differentiate their performance based on which 'real world' character is now inhabiting which of the 'in game' avatar characters and this is pulled off really well by all the cast, however special credit has to go to newcomer Awkwafina who manages to feel like she is portraying two completely separate characters not merely changing some mannerisms but her posture, movements and way of speaking such that she does a stunningly good impression of a certain other member of the cast. As I'd not heard of her prior to this film it really was very surprising and a clear display of talent. Honestly what Awkwafina manages in this film I'd say should be grounds to be nominated for a best supporting Actress Oscar, she goes that far above and beyond what she needed to.

Awkwafina as Ming Fleetfoot.

Themes

Thematically there's a lot to unpack and this is a review avoiding major spoilers so I guess I'm going to have to do a critical floor on this, or put it and other things into one critical floor that talk about similar elements in different media or maybe do a 2nd review in the future that goes full on spoilers. Suffice to say it's not entirely new ground being broken save for one plot point but it is soil that is still fairly fresh and hasn't been churned over many times. It does have a deeper commentary to make on things but it's not going to ask you to question the nature of being human. So it's posing relevant dilemmas to the modern age not giant existential questions to the audience.

Verdict

 Quite good effects and very good acting feels like it's let down slightly by a plot that while it takes its time with one story and character arc it rushes another arc making it feel somewhat unsatisfying when it's resolved basically within a single scene. The film feels like it wanted to be 15-30 minutes longer just to squeeze in a bit more development in terms of Spencer's story.

Ultimately a satisfying film that unfortunately falls just short of the previous entry but is far from a let down. In video game terms it's more of the new Jumanji but doesn't feel like it surpasses the first one so more of a standalone expansion than a full on sequel aiming to explore more of the possibilities of the new Jumanji world and logic.

Should You go see it?

Yes, it's definitely still good film and a satisfying rather than a disappointing sequel. Also given the reactions to Rise of the Skywalker and Cats it seems like Jumanji: The Next level is flying high at the moment by comparison.