JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL

Release Date: Malaysia, 05 Dec 2019

Genre: Adventure / Comedy

Running Length: 2:02

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Awkwafina, Nick Jonas, Danny Glover, Danny DeVito, Alex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain, Morgan Turner, Madison Iseman, Rory McCann, Colin Hanks

Director: Jake Kasdan

Screenplay: Jake Kasdan and Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg, based on “Jumanji” by Chris Van Allsburg

Those who enjoyed 2017's hit Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will definitely enjoy JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL. The content is practically a regurgitation of its predecessor; it's more of the same. At least, it's entertaining on a popcorn level.

Everyone from the 2017 movie returns in this sequel with additional cast of Awkwafina, Danny DeVito and Danny Glover.  

This time round, there is a change-up in the "pairings of the virtual avatars". Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson plays Danny DeVito's character, Kevin Hart plays Danny Glover's character and instead of playing the millennial girl character, Jack Black plays the character of the buff black dude. Yeah, it sounds all so confusing if you've not seen Welcome to the Jungle but trust me, it's easy to follow. (Eventhough my parents have not watched the 2017 movie, they recently went to see this movie in a 4DX cinema and they thoroughly enjoyed it!)

The fun part of the movie isn't seeing how these avatars survive in the Jumanji world but seeing the likes of The Rock, Kevin Hart and Jack Black (and even Awkwafina) inhabiting and impersonating other characters. In fact, I felt like I was watching a film version of the improvisational comedy TV show, Who's Line Is It Anyway?

The least convincing "impersonation" is The Rock playing Danny DeVito's character. I mean on paper it sounds hilarious but not so from paper to film. Surprisingly, the best impersonation goes to Kevin Hart playing Danny Glover's character! (In the last movie, my money went to Jack Black). Kevin Hart was playing Kevin Hart in the last movie, but in this outing, he's really good here as the subdued zoologist. Another standout is Awkwafina playing a particular character very much later in the film.         

Although The Next Level is entertaining and has some solid LOL moments (and a touching ending), it does feel a little too much like a money grab move. 

RATING: 7/10