Jumanji The Next Level Still Brings The Laughs

By Darlene Donloe

The gang’s all here in Jumanji The Next Level. This time it includes hilarious newcomers Danny Glover, Danny DeVito, and Awkwafina. This next installment of the franchise opens Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, and when it does, back in the fray are Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, and Alex Wolff.

It’s wonderful to suspend disbelief for almost two hours while watching Jumanji The Next Level.  The fantastical world of Jumanji is a romp full of laughs and hilarious moments – especially when the avatars are flip-flopped and you hear various voices come out of the wrong body.  It’s sometimes confusing, but always a hoot and a holla.

This time around Spencer (Alex Wolff) willingly goes back into the video game to regain the fun and excitement he had the first time, not knowing the game has changed.  When his cohorts – Martha (Karen Gillan), Fridge (Jack Black and Kevin Hart) and Bethany (Jack Black) realizes he has gone back into the game, they decide to rescue him.  But what they don’t know is that Spencer has taken the form of a pickpocket (Awkwafina) and somehow Spencer’s uncle (Danny DeVito) and his former restaurant partner (Danny Glover) have also been sucked into the game. It’s a hilarious outcome with DeVito inhabiting the body of Dwayne Johnson (Eddie) and Glover (Milo) inhabiting the petite body of Kevin Hart.

What ensues is hilarity from both Johnson (Smolder Bravestone) and Hart, whose comic turns are on point and side-splitting.  What sends the crew into a tailspin is when they realize they have not been sent back to the jungle – where they know what to expect from the world’s most dangerous game.  This time they land in the desert where they are caught unawares.   They then have to make their way through snowy mountains and lots of bad guys to retrieve a jewel that was stolen.

Along the way they fall into glowing water that changes their avatars into another character. They also meet up with mean ostriches and monkeys, not to mention a very bad – bad guy.

Jumanji The Next Level is great fare for the holiday season.  Although it's predictable, there are some moments that keep the franchise fresh. For instance – the addition of Glover as Milo and DeVito as Eddie proves to be a winner.

Jumanji The Next Level is packed with action, laughs and a whole bunch of welcomed silliness.  The B side of this story, which is touching, is about friendship and family.

This is a great, holiday family film.

Jumani The Next Level, directed by Jake Kasdan, written by Kasdan and Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Sr’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, and Alex Wolff with Danny Glover and Danny DeVito. Based on the book Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg.

On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (oh, yeah) and E (excellent) Jumanji The Next Level gets an O (oh, yeah).