Jumanji: The Next Level
Ratings: 3/5
Duration: 2 Hrs 02 Mins
Director: Jake Kasdan
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Release Date: 13 December, 2019 (India)
Star cast: Karen Gillan, Dwayne Jonson, Madison Iseman, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Danny DeVito, Alex Wolff, Nick Jonas, Danny Glover, Colin Hanks, Dania Ramirez
Plot: The sequel film Jumanji: The Next Level an action-adventure sequel sees the players Martha, Bethany, Fridge and Spencer from the first film sucked back into the game. It is when Spencer goes back into the fantastical world of Jumanji, pals Martha, Fridge and Bethany re-enter the game to bring him home.
Review: Director Jake Kasdan returns, along with the star cast of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black and newcomers Danny DeVito, Danny Glover and Awkwafina.
With the efforts of a remarkable returning cast, and some fun scene-stealing performances from its new cast members, the director has managed to elevate the strengths of his squad to great effect, and that shows!
With a new twist, the body-swapping theme, they get to play different personas, but the lead actors Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan instantly find their groove again within the game world. And once again, Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart makes a great pair!
Though the new personalities brought in by Danny DeVito and Danny Glover forms the emotional backbone and adds more depth to the story, the plot invariably becomes familiar after a while. The major problem with the movie is that the film is clinging so closely to the previous film, as many of the funniest and the most memorable moments from ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ are reused here under the guise of "call-backs." Though Next Level manages to get away with it, all thanks to the cast.
Even the visuals of the Jumanji: The Next Level are striking, pleasantly colourful, and cheerfully fashioned. A lot of effort was put into making the action sequences look realistic, but due to the number of lengthy, overindulgent dialogue scenes, the film desperately needed another pass in the editing room before hitting the screens, as it could have made the film a breezier sit.
However, The Next Level is spectacular to look at visually and must be enjoyed only in IMAX and is at least as good as we could hope for every franchise-friendly studio biggie currently.
