Jumanji 2 was great teenage entertainment! This time the players are transported into the game's electronic cassette version, and again play Jumanji with their lives on the line.
I liked it more than the first one, as we are sucked into the Jungle. A great potion for success was bringing in serious Hollywood muscle as Spencer (the Rock), Fridge (Kevin Hart), Alex (Nick Jonas), and Bethany (gender crossing as Jack Black). This troupe was hilarious. The crowd responded to these icons' every gesture. The action kept rolling, evolving into a climactic treasure hunt. The villain, Van Pelt (Cannavale), was graphically violent. He also wants the iridescent gem that our fab celebs are trying to return to the Jaguar's head mount. The writing embellished the acting even more, by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. My younger teenager never cackled so much.
I side with the masses, but the movie kept rehashing and making me cringe. The fourth player Marth (Karen Gillan) appears and acts more like the Mockinjay (Lawrence) from the Hunger Games. They actually mention that they are playing in "avatar" bodies, ala Avatar. The CGI leopards sucked, looking more like Chicken Run animals. Jack Black, more overweight, scrappier than ever, and middle-aged, gives CPR to a young hunk Jonas at super zoomed slow lens. Did we need to see that in any gender?
Still, I appreciate a sequel that tops the original. The grand finale was a crazy helicopter stunt akin to Mission Impossible. Then again, the whole flick was built to laugh about and ends with positive morals. I give it a Winning 25 yd. Line, pushed forward by my kids and the cinema crowd.
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