In “Jumanji: The Next Level,” the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to rescue one of their own, the players will have to brave parts unknown from arid deserts to snowy mountains, to escape the world’s most dangerous game.
The original “Jumanji” inspires many nostalgia-tinged sighs from older audiences. Recounting Robin Williams’ lost boy and evil vine monsters brought strength to those memories of the past movie. After such a strong performance, how could the reboot measure up? Surprisingly, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” did a fantastic job of bringing quirky teens together, all while having a wild adventure. This time around the team doubles down on what made its predecessor work falling into the trap of all sequels: too much of the same old thing. “Jumanji: The Next Level” derives most of its laughs by hitting the same jokes over and over again all while offering hastily cut action-adventure sequences in an all-too-meta experience offering a much weaker form of the evil board game we all know and love.
Back from his freshman year of college Spencer (Alex Wolff) ignores the invites of his previous Jumanji friends, fearing he doesn’t belong anymore. Instead, after misinterpreting advice from his grumpy grandfather, Spencer cracks open the old videogame case hoping to get back his mojo. When the gang follows after him this time the game drags Alex’s Grandpa Eddie (Danny Devito) and his friend Milo (Danny Glover) along with them. Together, the ragtag group must rescue Spencer, beat the game, and cure dementia apparently. Oh! And Colin Hanks comes back. And a girl plays a horse. Then Danny Glover plays a horse.
Look, nobody goes into this movie expecting some nuanced character study. We’re here for the adventure rides! The “how did they do that” action sequences and even for some of the cheesy heartfelt sentiments. The first one was syrupy enough to rot my teeth and still, I felt that kick in the gut. The second one doubles down on all of these things but to its own detriment.
Yes, it’s a new level of the game (literally) and yes there are new characters to bemoan the confusing world of a videogame. This time, however, it’s just Kevin Hart doing an impression of Danny Glover and whatever the hell The Rock is doing. Yes, the fish out of water elements continue to supply laughter, but man do they run those jokes into the ground. I can’t count the number of times the film cross-cut between The Rock and Hart just doing clichéd impressions of things grouchy old men say. I laughed from time to time, but it’s fair to say the extra layer of jokes add little more to the preexisting humor and tend to stake the narrative down to the floor for just one more crack before finally moving on.
I’d say the elements that made the original work failed to mesh well in this fever-dream sequel. The edits come hard and fast during action sequences. A necessity when working with CGI ostriches sure, but still cutting hard enough can give me whiplash. It certainly did after the abrupt stop for yet another “I’m old and forgot what I’m doing” joke. Look, I can’t stress enough how much they joked about being old. The action happens so rapidly it’s hard to gauge exactly what’s happening and even as you want to cheer you struggle to see what exactly you’re cheering for.
Even the saccharine emotional throughlines of the first get muddled. Where in the first movie the characters played to each other’s strengths and weaknesses, this sequel shuffles the deck by adding new characters. It’s ironic, then, that this new formula muddies the successful attachment we feel to each character. At best half of the players of the game have a genuine reason to be in it. At worst they’re shoehorned plot moments wrapped around elaborate action sequences. I think it’s fair to say I’m not the audience.
I will say this: this sequel deserved its shot purely on the merits of its predecessor. The first rode the line between fun and funny, serious and silly. Even though Jack Black made weird jokes about being a woman in a man’s body, it still countered with a plot derivation. There was a reason for the jokes. Here it all feels rapid-fire and haphazard as if the movie was partially written on-set by The Rock, showing off his impression of Danny Devito (subsequently, I’m sure, how this movie got made in the first place.) It’s a cheesy adventure rollercoaster rides, and it functions on some level. It just dysfunctions so much it’s hard to appreciate or even understand. Take kids if they like this thing, but otherwise, pass. You’re not missing much.
In Theaters Friday, December 13th
