大象传媒

Four teenagers are magically transported inside an old video game console, becoming the adult avatars they chose: Dr. Smolder Bravestone, an archaeologist and explorer (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon, a palaeontologist and cartographer (Jack Black), Ruby Roundhouse, a commando and dance fighter (Karen Gillan) and Franklin "Moose" Finbar, a weapons specialist-cum-zoologist (Kevin Hart). But what makes the game of Jumanji so special is that you don’t play it, you survive it. To beat the game and return to the real world, they'll have to work together to defeat rampaging hippos, stampeding rhinos, venomous cobras and much, much more besides.

Pros:

• Jumanji 2 – or, as I like to call it, 2manji – is FUN. Breezy, slick, smart, funny and… fun. A proper family-friendly adventure that demands little and gives a lot. It’s a laugh. It might not have the same emotional punch as the original 1995 Robin Williams classic, but it is by no means a youth-ruining rampage over your fondest cinematic childhood memories. Whether or not Jumanji 2 would have worked just as well without the “Jumanji” label – as a body-swap, trapped-in-a-video-game high-concept family comedy – is something we’ll never know, but for what it is, it’s good. Good, a bit old-fashioned, fun.
• We’ve haven’t seen a good body swap comedy in a while, and you can’t help but love the Freaky Friday fun of seeing Jack Black playing an Insta-obsessed head cheerleader inside the body of an overweight map specialist in a safari suit. The gawky nerd in the body of The Rock, the seven foot American football prodigy in the body of Kevin Hart, the awkward girl in the body of Karen Gillen’s capoeirista… it’s an old joke, but one we haven’t seen for some time, and it’s all delivered so gamely, and so well, you can’t help but laugh.
• The cast is superb, and it’s their innate charm that helps smooth over the cracks in the formulaic plot. Jack Black hasn’t been this good for some time, while Kevin Hart’s occasionally overbearing nature is perfectly dealt with by the charmapalooza that is The Rock in ‘take charge’ form, much like Central Intelligence from last year. Doctor Who’s very own Amy Pond, meanwhile, finally gets the chance to impress in a blockbuster as Karen Gillen stars in a movie where she isn’t caked under half an inch of purple plastic, a la .

Cons:

• There really isn’t much new here, and if you’re looking for something genuinely surprising or progressive, run away now. This is multiplex comfort food, a big bag of sweet ‘n’ salt popcorn with The Rock’s big shiny head on the side of the packaging. If you like popcorn, and you like The Rock, fill your boots. Otherwise… avoid like an overexcited elephant.
• Kevin Hart remains, despite the best efforts of his co-stars, impressively annoying to many people. If he’s got your back up before, he’ll get your back up here.
• The way they turn the original board game into an old school ‘80s console game is… loose, to say the least. I mean, it’s pretty much MAGIC, bright green lights and wooshing noises. That’s it. There really isn’t much connective tissue between this at the first film at all.

Three word review: Polished popcorn entertainment