Jumanji: The Next Level Is Fun But Doesn’t Level Up

Two years ago the world was shown a promo picture of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and it was immediately met with a plethora of mehs and groans. Fast forward to the premiere and I as well as many of my colleagues were pleasantly surprised. I was rolling on the floor by the end and left feeling good after. Now we have a sequel that I am not certain if anyone asked for. Does it hold up to its predecessor? This and other questions will be answered in this review of Jumanji: The Next Level.

In this second sequel to the original Jumanji, Spencer (from the previous movie) kept the pieces of the Jumanji video game which is unknown to his friends and one day repaired the system in the basement of his grandfather’s house. When Spencer’s friends Bethany, Fridge, and Martha arrive, they find Spencer missing and the game running and decide to re-enter Jumanji to save him. Spencer’s grandfather Eddie and his friend Milo Walker hear the commotion and inadvertently get sucked into the game too before any of Spencer’s friends can select their avatars. 

With a new quest offered to them by Nigel Billingsley who claims that one of them will not make it out of this adventure alive, the teenage friends must help Eddie and Milo, get used to their in-game avatars, get them to help find Spencer, and escape Jumanji again, once and for all.

Next Level is like putting an old pair of shoes, comfortable, but not giving a particularly unique experience.The entire cast clicks very well, both in-game and in the real world; Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman all have great chemistry but nothing remarkable.

Danny Devito (Grandpa Eddie) displays some superb physical comedy, and makes the first act much more entertaining. Danny Glover (Milo Walker) was there — while his role was important — it had little to do with his ho-hum performance.

The heart of the film’s performances were hands-down the in-game actors; Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Karen Gilliam, Kevin Hart, Nick Jonas, and Jack Black return to their roles with relative ease, and they show a good range character acting this time around.

Newcomer Awkafina has a gift for character and comedic acting and she’s a hilarious impressionist. And I want to give some kind of award to Rory McCann for bringing some God Tier cheese to the role of Jurgen. He was definitely having fun with it. 

Henry Jackman returns to provide a pretty score that gives off a bombastic jungle vibe. The visuals were awesome, yes it was 95 percent cgi but they environments looked amazing. The story was fine; it’s not gonna win any awards but it’s funny and that’s okay. 

So, in the end, Next Level doesn’t exactly live up to it title, but it’s entertaining. It’s an okay movie, with a mediocre story and a lot of laughs to be had, it’s also a fine sequel.

I give Jumanji: The Next Level (Sony Pictures Entertainment, PG-13, 2hrs 3min) a 3.5 out of 5.