Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle

When "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" was first announced, it faced quite the uphill battle. Fans of the original "Jumanji," most having seen the movie as children, placed the film up in an ivory tower. It was perfect and need not be meddled with. Even louder were those banging the memorial drum of Robin Williams. From all appearances, nobody wanted a sequel to "Jumanji." The thing is, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" totally gets this and is better for it.

The film picks up right where we left things at the end of "Jumanji." Still in Brantford, New Hampshire, Alex Vreeke is given a board game in 1996 that his father found on the beach. However, where the board game found willing participants in the past, its newest host has no desire to play the old school game. Sensing this, Jumanji transforms into a video game, the perfect vehicle to entice Alex into its mysteries. Twenty years after Alex has gone missing, four high school students are forced into detention together. It's there that they stumble across the old Jumanji video game and are transported to the world of Jumanji, a world they can only escape from if they win.

In basic structure, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is the same as its predecessor. But other than that, the film is entirely its own. Our four leads are sent to the mystical other world of Jumanji, the same world that Alan Parrish found himself stuck in for years before Peter Shepherd's dice roll freed him (a nice nod to the original). The film and the adventure itself are heavily inspired by those of Indiana Jones and the serials that came before it. So, while the emotional core that drove the original "Jumanji" so well is a bit thinner, the new film amps up the action to meet the challenge.

What results is a completely different kind of movie, that only vaguely feels like it belongs alongside "Jumanji." The cast is clearly enjoying themselves, with Jack Black easily stealing the thunder of current box office draws Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson. But it does all feel a bit fluffy, with the game's rules and riddles coming off as even more convoluted than the original. It makes for a film that would be more accurately described as fun than good.

The Blu-ray release is a bit slim on the special features. This release decides to completely forego the inclusion of a DVD copy, sticking with Blu-ray and Digital only (which is fine, I suppose since DVD is a dying medium). The audio and video quality is excellent, but the special features leave something to be desired. The majority of the features are of the kind that you can easily find on YouTube. The only feature of real note is "Journey Through The Jungle: The Making of Jumanji," a 15-minute look at the conception and execution of the film, as well as some of the connections to the original. Plus, it features more of Rhys Darby, which is always welcomed. While "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" isn't quite the classic that the original "Jumanji" has come to be accepted as, it has plenty of solid action and laughs to make it worth your time.

"Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle"
Blu-ray + Digital
$19.99
http://www.sonypictures.com/