It's really difficult to understand how it's possible to destroy a brilliant original idea. This movie is simply an offense to the original Jumanji. I can't understand how DeVito and Glover accepted to be part of this. What a waste of talent! I love fantasy-adventure-action movies, loved the original movie. The reboot was ok, decent, entertaining. But this one... I ask myself... WHY?

The Rock gives the best performance of Danny DeVito's career. Also, Chekhov's Gun shall hencforth be referred to as Chekhov's Nunchucks.

What? You need more than that? Fine....

Jumanji : The Next Level is a direct sequel to the 2017 Jumanji : Welcome to the Jungle which was a soft reboot of the 1995 film Jumanji.

Spencer, the lead from the previous film is having a hard time at college and finds himself back in the video game Jumanji. However things don't go as planned and his friends have to jump back into the game to rescue him. This time the game also sucks in Spencer's grandfather, played by Danny DeVito and his old business partner Danny Glover (in the best role he's had in well over a decade).

This time however, the players don't get to choose thier characters and this creates an interesting fish-out-of-water situation that the film employs to it's absolute best use. Moreover, the dual roles pull some surprisingly good impressions from our main video game cast and showcases a range you might not expect from stars like Dwayne Johnson or Terry Crews.

Jumanji has a tricky line to walk. Adventure/Comedy is a tough sell, yet Jumanji manages to craft a rollicking good adventure with action and peril, while never completely abandoning the humor. There are of course a fair amount of cheap shots and pratfalls,the movie does feature Jack Black after all. However there's a lot of smart jokes, and humor that doesn't rely on the lowest common denominator. It's exactly the kind of comedy that I love and it never lets up.

Throughout the film, there's a lot of heart, exploring interpersonal relationships against the backdrop of the adventure and ends with a genuine punch the air moment. The film is unfettered by politics and agendas and may actually be the most fun I've had at the movies this year.

Mild, mild spoilers ahead....

I was scared they'd somehow screw up the sequel to the "reboot" they did, but I was greatly surprise at the new elements they added: the grandpa's subplot and the way it was executed and their contribution to the jumanji gaming experience (they were both hilarious); and all the new additions felt exactly how a sequel to a 90s sequel game would feel like: new abilities and weapons and scenery (or the would-be "levels" of the game) they still felt like they'd actually be levels of a game! It's exactly what I hoped they'd add on because that's the kind of thing the first movie did, it tried to work with the stereotypes and elements found in those good old adventure games like Tomb Raider.

I also liked that they brought back the WHOLE gang, the reason why movies like this where the most logical thing would be to make it anthologic, that is, with different kids experiencing the game; so when they try to use the same characters that supposedly learned something from their past experience in it, is a recipe for disaster because it's hard to bring all the gang together without it being forced. But i liked the way they did it, it felt controlled and fulfilling in the end.

In conclusion, it was a funny, entertaining and creative action adventure movie, it's not gonna win any Oscars but it's so wrll thought of that it's a delight to watch and I feel it never grows old, you can rewatch it and enjoy it all over again