Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle

‘Tis the season for Blockbusters and seasonal fare but the biggest surprise of this chock-a-block month could well be a jungle-set remake that no one was really calling out for: Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle.

Power Rangers take note, this is how you update a 90’s favourite by leaning strictly on the family-fun side of things, rather than veering down a self-serious tween path. OK, yes, we still get the outdated teenage stereotypes lazily drawn together in a quick-dash character introduction that threatens to derail the film before it starts but, as they find themselves in detention and discover a NES-esque gaming system with a ‘Jumanji’ cartridge (yep, the board game has become a video-game) we're sucked back into the jungle.

Here’s where we’re introduced to the A-listers; The Rock, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black take on the characters we meet in the first quarter but as their in-game avatars. Here’s where the funnies come in as each actor pulls out a scene-stealing performance against type.

The Rock and Kevin Hart continue their easy chemistry in a satisfying twist on their usual action-comedy shtick, Gillan is fantastic as a shy girl in a Lara Croft-esque action heroine body but Jack Black is the MVP here as phone-obsessed, popular Bethany. Black turns on the camp in an outre performance but never forgets the subtleties and roundness of the character, bringing laughs with every scene (particularly when going to the toilet in an early highlight.)

The scripting is tight and pacy which makes the two-hour run time a breeze, but the action lets it down somewhat. Partly because we get most joy from watching the characters interact, but also because, if they are going for a twist on a video-game formula, it feels a little off and by-the-numbers. We don’t really feel a true level of threat (despite the nice introduction of ‘lives’) and Bobby Cannavale is underused in what should be an interesting villain role.

It also, just simply, isn’t very video-game-y. The character’s skill sets are laid out early on and promise much but, when the proverbial flying stuff hits the fan, they’re mainly limited to just, merely, running away from things. The Rock gets one fight scene to shine in (with spoken ‘dodge’, ‘jab’, ‘uppercut’ etc. which echo an earlier scene showing the character playing Street Fighter) but the continuous chat of ‘levels’ and ‘difficulty’ never really rings true; it’s like the producers have never picked up a controller before.

Nit-picking aside, it’s a fun adventure romp, and, like last year’s Jack Black-starring Goosebumps, far better than it has any right to be. Old-skool family adventure fun which presses the nostalgia buttons and leaves a grin on the face. I’d advise steering clear of the trailer (as, typically, it spoils the funniest scenes) but this is thoroughly entertaining. Sure, it’s not the original, but it's a pleasant distraction.

3 stars ***