Originally written January 17, 2018

As a franchise, there’s literally no reason to make Jumanji into a series of movies. However, at the same time, the original Jumanji movie is the perfect kind of movie to reboot in my eyes, because it’s not like it’s some sort of sacred property that shouldn’t be touched. Really, the original Jumanji is fun, but it’s not really anything special. So, if someone wanted to bring the property back to life, they really could do whatever they want with it and it wouldn’t really offend anybody. This is how Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is. It brings back an old franchise in a new way, and for what it’s worth it’s honestly a really fun movie.

If you’re not familiar, the original Jumanji movie was all about being getting sucked into the world of a board game called Jumanji, which they were then trying to escape from. Welcome to the Jungle quickly dismisses the board game concept with a throwaway line about how nobody plays board games anymore, and instead introduces the world of Jumanji as a video game. Four high school students that find themselves in detention together wind up discovering the game and get sucked into its world. Each of them has transformed into the characters of the game that they selected, and they must use the abilities of their characters to beat the game. Only then can they return to their own world.

Honestly, I think that the world needs more movies like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. It’s just a dumb, fun movie, which I mean in the best possible way. It has a plot that doesn’t really mean anything important, but it’s just a fun journey to go on nonetheless. I absolutely loved how they modified the concept to be about video games, because they play with this premise so well by poking fun at concepts like extra lives, NPCs, and cutscenes in games. It’s also a fun journey to take on with the characters. Each of the four teenagers has a character flaw, and they find themselves as characters in the game that are totally unlike themselves, so they must overcome their weaknesses to beat the game. It’s a fun idea, for sure. In the end though, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is just a good time. It’s not like it’s a masterpiece or anything by any means and probably deserves any criticisms that might come its way, but it’s also really funny and entertaining, so that makes up for any flaws it has in my opinion. It’s the kind of movie that’s best enjoyed if you try not to think too deeply into it or scrutinize it. Every so often I enjoy a movie where I can just turn off my brain for a while and enjoy myself, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle provided that.

3.5/5