‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (2017, PG-13, 119 minutes, MATT TOLMACH PRODUCTIONS/COLUMBIA PICTURES)

Occasionally, the wunderkinds of Hollywood can take a great thing and turn it into poo.  You can have a great concept and screw it up with a horrid cast.  Or, a horrible script and a great cast.

And then sometimes, that fabled Hollywood machine actually knocks one out of the park: great script, great cast—those films usually make a ton of money, and many are lauded with awards.  The long overdue sequel to 1995’s JUMANJI is one such indomitable beast; from concept to casting, the only thing one could possibly complain about is that it is better than the original.

Yeah, I know—if Robin Williams was still alive, he would probably hunt me down for that one.  But what director Jake Kasdan (son of the infamous Lawrence Kasdan—director of THE BIG CHILL, writer of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and several STAR WARS films—who cut his teeth on “Freaks and Geeks”) accomplished is something that should not be ignored.  He has pulled a complete James Cameron—hell, he pulled a freaking Lawrence Kasdan here, kids!  His father’s first claim to fame was writing THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, one of the greatest sequels in movie history in that it surpassed the first film by delivering a complete change of pace.  Whereas A NEW HOPE was essentially a story about the good guys winning, EMPIRE was all about the bad guys winning the day by beating the tar out of the Rebellion.  So it is with JUNGLE; the first film did not utilize Williams’ comedic skills enough, which lent a serious overtone to the proceedings.  JUMANJI seemed tonally overbearing at times, not to mention the fact that the special effects weren’t ready for such a large endeavor.

This time around, the casting is spot on.  Four teenagers serving detention happen across a video game titled (you guessed it) “Jumanji”, and are transported into the game itself.  Only, they have become the characters in the game, to great comedic effect.  The kids represent your basic cliques from high school, only the game crank things up a notch: the nerdy kid becomes a muscle-bound hero (played by Dwayne “Still The Rock” Johnson), the football jock gets turned into a mousy sidekick (Kevin Hart), the female wallflower becomes a Lara Croft type heroine (Karen Gillan, also known as “Nebula” to all of you GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY fans), and the pretty preppy girl turns into…well, Jack Black.  It isn’t just the reversal of stereotypes that makes the film work, but also what the lead actors do with their parts.  Each encompasses their avatars with the trepidation and fears of teenagers, perfectly capturing their mannerisms and attitudes.  And the cast plays well off of each other; this is not the first time Johnson and Hart have appeared in a film together, but it is the best.  And Black seems to be having a ball playing a teenage girl trapped in a man’s body; his delivery never wavers, and while there are several laugh-out-loud moments in the film, ‘The Pee Scene’ nearly had me in tears.

The cinematography by Gyula Pados is magnificent; he captures the rolling plains and mountainous regions of Hawaii with a dramatic flair, most notably whenever the villain (played by Bobby Cannavale) is onscreen.  His use of shadows and color adds greatly to the storytelling element, and the matching score by Henry Jackman makes it even better.  Even behind the scenes, Kasdan has assembled a group of all-stars!

The special features are a must, except for the music video (not Guns N’ Roses, FYI).  The best is the making-of featurette, although the original is mentioned throughout many of the documentaries.  The filmmakers bravely tackle the No Robin Williams topic, and do so with grace and humility. 

My only real complaint is how quickly the studio is ready to make a follow up; the four leads will be back for what is being billed as JUMANJI 2, although I’m sure the casting—and the cliques—of the kids will be different.  As it took twenty-two years for this sequel to come to fruition, it looks like we should see another entry in the next year or two.  I just hope it doesn’t diminish what the cast and crew pulled off this time around—a film better than its predecessor, and something that should not be overlooked.

Grade: A      

Special Features: A

Blu-ray Necessary: Most definitely

-- T.S. Kummelman