The second/third Jumanji is exactly what you expect: a funny but cookie-cutter experience. If you liked the first/second one, then you’ll probably like this one.
The twist here is that The Rock and Kevin Hart get to give their best Danny Devito and Danny Glover impersonations, which allows for a small change of pace from the previous entry. Kevin Hart’s impression is especially funny as the slow talking Glover – he takes Jack Black’s place as the comedic standout.
However, when this joke is stretched to its limit, there’s not much else here that’s new to the story. For every punchline, there’s unnecessary exposition to sit through (which could be summarized as “Hey – remember this from the other movie?!”).
Like 2017’s Welcome to the Jungle, there is never a real sense of danger. The set pieces are entertaining and varied enough, but the constant quips and overabundant CGI make the stakes feel incredibly low. For some reason, both films have too-long endings as well, suddenly halting the jokes and expecting the audience to suddenly care for the characters.
And yet, the theater was packed and laughing throughout, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some fun with it. While The Next Level doesn’t accomplish anything new, its cast additions and character twists keep the entertainment level just high enough to be watchable.
The Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina
The Elevator Pitch: Fun drinking game: take a shot for every piece of Sony product placement.
The Score: 6.5/10
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