Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle - Review

I loved this movie. I was not expecting that when I walked into the theatre. I thought to myself, "I mean, it's ben out a while and I didn't intend on watching it. Hey, what the hell? I got a free movie ticket. I'll give it a shot." Boy am I glad I did. Not only was this movie a ton of fun, it was also exciting and hilarious. Everything you'd want in a Jumanji movie. Something I didn't get with the original. First thing I loved about this movie were that all of the main characters were acting against their general castings. Meaning that instead of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson acting like a tough bad-ass who is super charismatic, he is acting as a teenage nerd inside of an action hero's body and you know what? He really pulls it off. I really believed that he was a dorky kid sucked into a video game and was trapped inside an action hero's body. Karen Gillan also personifies a shy, quirky outcast girl in a sexy action girl's body very well and Kevin Hart, although doesn't act too much outside of his other performances, does pull off that he is really a football star inside of a short man's body. However, the person who pulls it off the best is Jack Black. This is one of the best roles I have ever seen Jack Black in. He captures the essence of a teenage white girl obsessed with her phone and being popular to perfection. This leads to great comedy and amazing chemistry between the characters. I also love how this movie explored the video game aspect. Each character had a certain number of lives as well as certain strengths and weaknesses. Not to mention that there were some great "levels" for our characters to go through which were really exciting. This is what I have been preaching to newer movies. Action scenes aren't exciting unless we like the characters. Sure, take some of these action scenes and put them next to some of the best actions sequences of all time, they don't stand up so well. But, since we love these characters and really want them to succeed, these action scenes are a thrill to watch and a ton of fun. That's what this film is. Fun. And I loved every second of it!