Courtlin Gives the ‘Jumanji’ Sequel Two Thumbs Up

It was another very cold weekend here in The Corridor, so I had the brilliant idea to stay warm by heading to the movie theater. Apparently my idea wasn't as brilliant as I thought, because pretty much everybody in Eastern Iowa was thinking the same thing. I headed to the theater yesterday to see Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the most popular movie at the box office, and it was PACKED. You would think that a movie that's been out almost a month would have significantly less viewers, but that definitely wasn't the case.

I really tried to go into the new Jumanji movie with no expectations, because I am a big fan of the original and I didn't want to compare the two too much. I did read a few reviews beforehand, but I did my best to keep an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised.

Jumanji: Into the Jungle acts as a sequel to the original Jumanji from 1995. IMDB's summary states: "Four teenagers are sucked into a magical video game, and the only way they can escape is to work together to finish the game." They directly reference the first movie in the sequel, even including a little tribute to Alan Parrish, originally played by Robin Williams. I really like the way the movie was written, because I don't feel that they were trying to overshadow the original. Not that they ever could, but I got the sense that everyone who worked on the movie had a real respect for the 1995 classic.

One of the main reasons I wanted to see the movie was for the star-studded cast. The five teenagers' video game counterparts are played by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas. I especially loved Jack Black and Karen Gillan's characters. Jack was absolutely hilarious, and Karen was a total bad ass.

Overall, I was very happy with the new Jumanji movie. Was it a little cheesy and predictable at times? Absolutely. But there were some great laugh out loud moments and some really fun action scenes. Based on their reactions, everybody in my completely full theater seemed to enjoy the movie as much as I did (and those new reclining seats!).

Have you seen Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle? What did you think? Share your review in the comments!