Jumanji: The Next Level

DeVito’s Rock is excellent, better than the last one. Jack Black enjoys his role as a loudmouthed, racist black guy and the rest of them are just OK. The action scenes are inventive, especially the on in the desert and the climax with the airship. The end returns to the original plot from the first film, sowing the seeds for another sequel, but I’m not sure if they’ll be able to convince the main stars to do it. (03/21/2020)

At first I thought I was mistaken and I’m watching the first movie of this quasi reboot which shouldn't be even called a reboot according to the creators. I think that this is a standard Hollywood way of making the most out of something that was already there and worked and it doesn’t really matter if it is a remake or a reboot. Nevertheless one thing that cannot be denied is that this movie has a good cast. Their performances were perfect again. But the pity is that what I laughed at the most in this movie was a joke about Andrej Babiš created by translation. Otherwise it is just average. It doesn’t offend, the action scenes are really childish but overall it is quite OK. But for this movie to become a record-breaking blockbuster it should have a totally different premise with different dialogues of that kind that you don’t want to forget. But Hollywood has probably already forgotten how to make this kind of cinematography... (08/17/2020)

We are on the same track as two years ago with lots of adventure, some humour and overall a relaxing film for the whole family. Unfortunately though, it plays by slightly different rules, with the characters switching avatars, and it turns out that Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart may be likeable, but they don't pull off everything as well as they should. Still, this sequel is fine harmless fun for the whole family that doesn't put the first film to shame. (12/07/2019)

Compared to the first film, the sequel is a step backward. Why? It seems to me that after the commercial success of the first installment, the creators didn’t put in as much effort with the sequel. There were a few fresh ideas to be had, no doubt, but it feels like the creators rode the wave of the first film's success, capitalized on everything that was positively received, tried to tweak it a bit (but I saw right through it), and shoved it into Jumanji: The Next Level (like, seriously, another dance scene with Ruby Roundhouse to the same song?). It’s a shame... On the plus side, I must definitely praise the decision to swap characters, with The Rock as DeVito and Kevin Hart as Glover. Many of the jokes landed well, and I enjoyed their mutual teasing; this was not a problem. Overall, the cast remains the biggest draw, and I’m increasingly falling in love with Karen Gillan as an actress. What didn’t please me, though, was the story. It lacked originality, and I expected a more thought-out spectacle. The CGI occasionally descended into a digital mess. The ending, with its post-credit scene, piqued my interest; I wasn’t initially keen on a third installment, but now I see potential in it. So, we’ll see how they handle it. I’m giving it 65%. (04/12/2020)

A big step backwards compared to the previous part. Jake Kasdan ruined the film by a bad decision, when he changed the characters, which significantly reduced the humour (Bethany in Jack Black’s body was perfect and it was a sin to change that), and the tasks are also significantly less interesting than last time. Apart from the ostriches and monkeys, there wasn't much of anything proper. The finale is quite nicely action-packed, but I suffered quite a bit in the cinema and was looking forward to going home. Three stars by grace, but only by a whisker. 5/10. (01/09/2020)