Welcome to Corne... Jumanji!

This post may contain some spoilers for "Jumanji" and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle". Feel warned.

There is an unscripted rule that sequels tend to be more or less horrible. The reasons may vary (and TV Tropes has a whole article about it, bless the authors), but from what I've observed, most movies with much worse sequels just didn't need any. They were good on their own and dragging the story was a really bad idea. Even worse situation is, when the sequels are made years after the original. Usually they are just shameless cash grabs, which feed off nostalgia people feel towards the first movie. Usually.

Due to the fact "Jumanji" has become some kind of a cult classic, I was sure its next instalments would be at least mediocre attempts to recreate original charm. Fortunately, they weren't. More, they were totally different. And that's why "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and "Jumanji: The Next Level" are so good.

Don't understand me wrong: I like the original movie. It has a nice plot, likeable characters and Robin Williams (may he rest in peace) just steals the show. However, there is one big problem with this film: it aged. It aged horribly. I don't only mean the fact old movies (it was produced before I was born, so for me it's old, okay?) have this very peculiar vibe, which is probably a side effect of the way they were shot. It's the fact the special effects look atrocious. Okay, maybe twenty five years earlier they blew up viewers' minds, but now they are extremely out-of-place and look artificial. Especially animals. Especially these goddamn monkeys.

They will haunt your nightmares for the rest of your life.

Another reason I didn't believe in sequels: first "Jumanji" is a self-contained story. Of course, at the end the game still exists and they could make another movie about children finding it, playing and having adventures, but... Why? Even with new characters and set in different place and time, it would be exactly the same film. People play board game and weird things happen. They face dangers, there is a happy end and then they dump the game somewhere. Then other people find it, play it, have adventures, get rid of it, someone else finds it, plays it et cetera, et cetera, usque ad mortrem defaecatam. You get the idea.

Actually, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is exactly that. Characters find the game, play it and things happen. So, why is it so different from the previous instalment?

The answer is pretty easy: it's not the same game.

Okay, maybe I exaggerated a bit. It is the same Jumanji, but in a completely different form. The board game has turned into a video game and, instead of spawning shit, it sucks people into itself. And I'll be honest: the filmmakers couldn't have a better idea. Changing the medium has brought so much freshness it's hard to believe. Damn, at the first glance it seems "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" isn't related to the '95 movie at all. It is. Once again we have a magical game that puts people into dangerous situations and makes them cooperate in order to bring everything back to normal. And there is a jungle. And some easter eggs. And that's enough.

Unfortunately, Bear Grylls not included.

The freshness isn't only thing that makes "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" a great film. It's placing the story in the video game. While this concept is pretty unpopular, there are movies that used it before – the first one that comes to my mind at the moment is "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" (I loved watching it when I was a child). However, while the execution of said concept wasn't bad there, it wasn't as good as in "Welcome to the Jungle". In "Spy Kids" the game was mostly used as an excuse to throw in some crazy stuff (brutal racing? Giant robots? Lava? Why not?). "Welcome to the Jungle" not only exploits the idea, but also plays with it. While learning the rules, the characters often comment on the situation and believe me, what they say is extremely relatable to anyone, who has ever played games. The scriptwriters definitely knew what they were writing about. Because of it the movie often pokes fun at various game mechanics: there are NPCs, who constantly say the same thing, player characters with ridiculous abilities, strange ways to lose lives and much, much more.

Of course, the movie can be watched by non-gamers. While kinda silly (but let's be honest, it's because of a video game setting and many action-adventure games suffer from it), the plot is enjoyable. The acting is marvellous – the main cast had to play completely against their types and they nailed it perfectly. I also don't have any reservations about the audiovisual side, it's good. However, being familiar with video games and seeing how much love for them was poured into this movie makes the experience hundred times better.

At the first glance "Jumanji: The Next Level" lacks previous instalment's freshness. It's a direct sequel with similar environment and the same characters, with only two new addictions. Because of that, I expected this film to be "Welcome to the Jungle 2.0". And it was the nicest disappointment I've ever experienced.

The game has changed. While "Welcome to the Jungle" was set entirely in, well, a jungle, "The Next Level" has great variety of locations with different tasks to accomplish. The main villain has also changed – the new one is much more menacing. To match it, player characters' have received new abilities (and weaknesses). However, the most important thing: the game is broken. This time it doesn't let heroes choose their characters. Also, along with the recurring cast, it sucks into the console two elder men.

And then the best stuff happens.

In previous part the acting was marvellous. In this one it's even better. Because the player characters got swapped, actors had to portray completely different people, than before. And it's brilliant. The most amusing are Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart, who got to play elder men. Elder men, who have no idea about video games. All scenes with them and their antics are hilarious. Of course, due to the character swapping the rest of the cast had to face some challenges too... But I won't say more about it, you have to witness it.

I've never thought I would say it, but The Rock is glorious in this movie. Glorious.

Actually, "The Next Level" is more comedic, than it's predecessor. In "Welcome to the Jungle" the main characters got into completely new situation and were pretty terrified. Here the recurring cast knows what to expect (at least for most of the time) and is only annoyed. This makes their reactions to the events funnier and gives more opportunities to laugh at video games. And there is a lot to laugh at – the game is even more absurd and over the top, than previously. The plot is one big excuse, player characters' traits make even less sense, NPC's line delivery is hammy, the Chekhov's gun is just dumb (I won't say more 'cause spoilers, you need to see it... But I expected something more sensible I know, I know, silly me), all explanations of the events can be summed up as "because game"... And you know what? It works. It just works. Yes, Jumanji is a fucking crazy game. But it was meant to be. And the characters are aware of it. The movie is aware of it. And this awareness is pure comedy gold.

Okay, I know some jokes require at least basic knowledge about video games. And some are just stupid (*cough, cough* the elevator scene *cough*). But I still think this film should be watched by everyone, if not for the humour, then for the technical side. Because the technical side – acting, visuals, audio, montage, just everything – is awesome. Simply awesome.

You may have noticed this post is quite general. The reason is simple: for your enjoyment I avoided as much spoilers as I could. "Jumanji: The Next Level" is the best, when you don't know any details. Just watch it and let the film surprise you. And have fun. Because that's what sums "The Next Level" the best: it's crazy, unconditional fun.

And I loved it.



Image sources:
All movie stills were screenshot by me from the official trailers and belong to Sony Pictures Entertainment.
"Jumanji" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p18zqZmeiI
"Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKg5SZ_35I
"Jumanji: The Next Level" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBxcF-r9Ibs