Rating (4 out of 5 stars)

This is not a fine work of art, but a nice simple fun movie. You know in the first 10 minutes exactly how the movie will transpire. But like a rollercoaster you keep riding over and over, it’s the ride that is fun and that is Jumani.

The cast was perfectly suited for their roles, nerd in a muscle man body, Duane Johnson, a muscle man in a nerds body, Kevin Hart, a female nerd in a hot woman’s body, Karen Gillian, and finally the hot selfie girl as the plump male scientist, Jack Black.

Jumanji uses the framework of the old movie, but as the video game environment to refresh story. The bars on their arms with 3 lives, the pop up screen with their super powers, the map that lead to the next challenge, all were nice touches.

What I liked was something just a little different. Death by hippo was something I don’t think I have seen before. When Mouse exploded from eating cake, because yes cake was a weakness, The smoulder strength of The Rock’s character. The writers did these little pieces throughout the movie, and it kept the pace of the film moving along. This plus some good laughs, made for a fun ride.

I can’t forget to mention Nick Jonas who makes an appearance. I thought the 90’s references were funny and made a nice touch. Bobby Cannavale is also worth mentioning as well, and he turned in his solid performance. The bugs crawling in and out of his ears was pretty gross, but again a nice touch.

The only part I did not like was after the returned to the normal world. That part was to neat, especially meeting the Nick Jonas’s character in current day. Almost too Hollywood perfect.

You know what you are going to get with Jumanji, but it is an entertaining ride, and I will watch it again.