Welcome to Jumanji’s ‘Next Level’

Posted on December 20, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

There have been enough poorly-made movie sequels over the years that we can’t be blamed for rolling our eyes when yet another is announced. And, when the sequel arrives years (or even decades) after the original, the odds of success are even less. So, back in 2017 when it was announced we would be getting a sequel to the 1995 action comedy “Jumanji,” we were right to be skeptical.

Fortunately for all of us, “Welcome to the Jungle” turned out to be one of the surprise hits of 2017, nearly earning Honorable Mention in my Top 10 list for that year, a position reserved for the year’s biggest surprise.

Now, two years later, we have “Jumanji: The Next Level,” which attempts to capture lightning in a bottle a second time. Like with the first sequel, there were reasons to be skeptical. “The Next Level” was greenlit shortly after the box office numbers began rolling in for “Welcome to the Jungle,” and the production was fast-tracked, with post-production being finished in near-record time for such a special-effects-laden film.

Somehow, director Jake Kasden and the entire cast and crew managed to pull it off again, because “The Next Level” is a wildly-entertaining film that not only manages to bring the action and the laughs we were hoping for, it doesn’t forget the emotional heart that made “Welcome to the Jungle” so special.

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