by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor
The drums have started beating again, which means that it is time to return to the world of Jumanji! Taking place a year after the events of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, this new iteration fills viewers in on the latest whereabouts of Spencer, Fridge, Martha, and Bethany. Having split up on their own individual journeys, our heroes find themselves thrust back into the game in order to help their missing friend. Why has Spencer re-entered the world of Jumanji? Who else has been brought along for the ride this time? And most importantly, what is going on with the game? All this and more will be answered in Jumanji: The Next Level.
If you enjoyed Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, you will probably enjoy this latest story. The Next Level features the return of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Jack Black as Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon, Kevin Hart as Franklin “Mouse” Finbar, Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse, Alex Wolff as Spencer Gilpin, Ser’Darius Blain as Fridge Johnson, Morgan Turner as Martha Kaply, Madison Iseman as Bethany Walker, Rhys Darby as Nigel Billingsley, Nick Jonas as Jefferson “Seaplane” McDonough, and Colin Hanks as Alex Vreeke. The gang from the previous film is now joined by Danny Glover as Milo Walker, Danny DeVito as Eddie Gilpin, Rory McCann as Jurgen the Brutal, and Awkwafina as Ming Fleetfoot. While the original film featured Johnson, Black, Hart, and Gillan playing with stereotypical archetypes, this latest story featured our heroes channeling impressions to demonstrate that the game had changed. Without going into spoilers, body-swapping plays a big role throughout the story. Hart provides audiences with a well delivered impression of Danny Glover for the majority of the film, while Johnson attempted to channel his inner Danny DeVito with an over-the-top take on the noted actor. While both were amusing, the use of the impressions would have been more effective if used sparingly, as the writers selected to focusing on two senile characters and caused the story to drag a bit. Sometimes less is more, and the creative team decided to use this element to an extreme. Black and Gillan proved to be the MVPs of the film, delivering the best action and consistent comedic timing. Gillan also received another epic fight sequence that will surely have you cheering. The other standout for this story was Rory McCann, who thrives in the world of Jumanji as the villainous Jurgen the Brutal (you might even want a pair of hyenas afterwards as well). Awkwafina was an entertaining addition to the cast, but felt underutilized in the story.
From a story perspective, Jumanji: The Next Level features some new elements, but spent a lot of time on things that we have already seen before. There are a lot of plot points that carried over from the first story, and while this worked in some cases (allowing for surprise twists on expectations), it also caused the move to drag at certain points. The biggest disappointment of the film actually came from the narrative itself, as the trailers lead us to believe that the game was glitching, resulting in the need for the new storyline. The glitch concept is shown several times in the trailers, specifically tied to the appearance of certain animals, new game elements, and the body-swapping. While the last piece still is in place, the rest of the glitching element is almost completely absent from the film. If this piece had been kept in place, I think it would have helped with some of the rougher areas and made for a more entertaining adventure.
