Jumanji (2017) : Movie Review

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

I just watched the movie Jumanji, and it was a fairly enjoyable movie. I however, think that it is overrated, considering the many good reviews that read or heard about before I watched it, including from Wikipedia. It is a a far cry from its predecessor, the famed Jumanji starring Robin Williams.

The first Jumanji was slightly more dark with a serious tone albeit with slight comedy. It was a story with deeper overtones. The latest Jumanji which is though of as a standalone sequel, is more fun and had more comedic value to it. However the story-line is quite simple, rather straightforward and at times can be quite a bore. Four friends are magically sucked into Jumanji and had to figure out the clues in order to escape back to the real world. I was rather expecting there to be difficult riddles to be solved, and viewers could also participate in, but there were really none. The riddles are not anything deep, nor did it leave any marked impression on viewers to think about. 

The comedy was OK, I do not want to comment much on that, as this could be more of a subjective thing. Most of them are quite decently funny, especially for younger viewers. Kevin Hart plays the stereotypical funny black guy in the movie, the one character that talks loudly and always utter funny lines even in the middle of romantic or serious moments. Although quite common, I personally can accept this kind of characters still, and some would say that it does add to the comedic value of the movie, which is does, although to me, some times they overdid it. 

In any case, if it weren't for the great actor/actress line-up, the movie would not have sold. If only they could replicate a more serious and deeper kind of movie, rather mimicking its predecessor than creating a more family friendly type, that would be a more interesting move by the makers of this movie.