I’ll be honest, when a follow-up film to the classic Jumanji movie was announced, I was extremely sceptical. I thought it was a franchise that should be left alone, especially since the passing of Robin Williams, and so when going into new movie Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, I had low expectations. Thankfully, I was proven wrong.

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle is out on April 30

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle is out on April 30

Director Jake Kasdan, working on a script from Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg, and Jeff Pinkner, manages to breathe new life into the property, rather than relying on all of the good parts of the original. Here, the kids playing Jumanji are taken into the world of the game, which has transformed into a video game for modern audiences, rather than having the dangers of the world brought into their real lives.

Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black and Nick Jonas take on the leading roles of the video game avatars in the film, and the chemistry they share on screen is unrivalled. They’re incredibly adept at playing young teens trapped in the bodies of people they never thought they’d become, with Black especially making a brilliant impression of a pretty girl who’s converted into a chubby middle-aged man.

Johnson, as is the case with the majority of the films he’s a part of, steals the show, though Gillan isn’t far behind him thanks to a genius sequence in which she learns to flirt from Black. There are honestly so many moments throughout this movie that will have you laughing, that a rewatch is essential to make sure you didn’t miss out on anything.

As an avid gamer, what really impressed me throughout the film was the hilarious conversational pieces the four heroes would have with characters that served as quest markers, or start points. If they attempted to talk to the characters more than once, they’d simply be given the same spiel they heard the first time around, mirroring the experience players have in the real world when they talk to the same NPCs in video games. It’s something filmmakers didn’t have to include, as not everybody watching Welcome To The Jungle will also be a video game fan, but it really showed their commitment to turning the story into something unique this time round.

A beautiful moment also comes when the film first introduces Jonas’ character, who says he has been hiding out in Alan Parrish’s jungle house. Parrish is of course the young boy turned man, played by Robin Williams in the original movie, who spent many of his years stuck in the Jumanji board game.

Certainly one of the most surprising new releases of the modern day, and a fantastic start to what could now be an intriguing and compelling series for some time to come. If those behind-the-scenes can keep reinventing Jumanji, then bring on more sequels!

Check out a first look clip from the film’s gag reel below:

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle is available on digital download now, and on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD from April 30, 2018.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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