The latest big screen Jumanji chapter has some very good moments and just as many disappointing
ones.
Here are three of the most exciting things about Jumanji: The Next Level, and three things
filmmakers could've skipped.
Best: Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart is obviously a funny guy the man's a professional stand-up comedian and he's
made a lucrative second career for himself as a movie star.
Hart usually plays the same kind of characters, and they tend to act and sound exactly like
Hart does on stage.
In Jumanji: The Next Level, Hart's screen persona is wildly different, because it has
to be.
Since the avatar he plays, weapons keeper and zoologist Franklin "Mouse" Finbar, spends
a lot of the film inhabited by easy-going, talkative, retired restaurant manager Milo,
played by Danny Glover, he has to act like Milo by way of Mouse.
It's a tricky balancing act, and Hart succeeds, elevating his performance beyond just an impression
of the soft-spoken Glover.
That would grow tiring after 45 minutes of screen time, so Hart doesn't try to do the
voice exactly, but rather nail the vibe of an old man getting a huge kick out of traipsing
around a video game and suddenly knowing dozens of animal fun facts which he'll spout off
at random.
Hart brings the comic relief, as is his way, but he also brings a sweetness and softness
that's otherwise lacking in a movie full of action.
Worst: Johnson's DeVito impression
Dwayne Johnson can do it all: action, comedy, animated musicals … So, what can't "The
Rock" do?
He can't do Danny DeVito.
The plot of Jumanji: The Next Level calls for Johnson to perform an extended imitation
of the distinctively voiced star of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
"If you're dealt a bunch of lemons, you gotta take those lemons and stuff them down somebody's
throat!"
While Johnson tries admirably, he just can't pull it off, and the results are awkward.
Sometimes he just speaks loudly to evoke the spirit of DeVito, ignoring the New Jersey
accent entirely.
Sometimes, Johnson forgets to do any sort of accent at all.
While his comic timing is on point, Johnson's swing-and-a-miss at the proper voice is hard
to ignore.
"I just passed my driver's test last month, again."
Best: Karen Gillan
Since leaving behind her breakout role as Amelia Pond on Doctor Who in 2012, Karen Gillan
has certainly worked steadily.
She's a supporting player in the vast Marvel Cinematic Universe, almost unrecognizable
as blue-skinned alien Nebula.
She also starred, however briefly, in her own ABC sitcom, Selfie.
Portraying video game heroine Ruby Roundhouse in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle increased
her profile, and while that was a big movie, it still amounted to a supporting role.
But Gillan, and Ruby, take center stage in Jumanji: The Next Level.
She's arguably the most prominent member of the all-star cast, leading the expedition
through the game world and enjoying a couple of showcase action sequences.
Gillan also provides the emotional center of the movie with the personality of Martha
inside, she tells boyfriend Spencer that he's going to be okay, and that their relationship
will be okay, too... all while scaling a mountain made of ice.
Gillan completely steals the movie, making good on the promise she showed a decade ago
on Doctor Who.
Worst: A leering camera
Karen Gillan triumphs with a positive, winning performance despite the way the script and
filmmakers treat the Ruby Roundhouse character.
It's understood that her character is supposed to be an example of unnecessarily provocative
female video game characters.
Ruby engages yet again in a lot of stunts and combat dressed in a crop top and short-shorts,
putting Gillan on display.
"Why am I wearing this outfit in a jungle?
Tiny little shorts and a leather halter top.
What is this?"
Showing off a little skin is something to be expected from major movies, but it seems
inappropriate for Jumanji: The Next Level, a family film in which the young female characters
are just as viable as warriors and adventurers as the male characters.
Making things seem extra sleazy is how Gillan is filmed.
There are plenty of shots of her bare midriff and rear end, with next to no comparable exploitative
photography of musclebound co-star Dwayne Johnson.
Best: Rhys Darby
There's a whole different level of Jumanji: The Next Level: a gentle satirization of video
game conventions and cliches.
The film is structured like a video game, arranged into different worlds and areas,
including a desert, the jungle, mountains, and naturally, at the end, a remote and punishing
castle.
The funniest video game send-up in the film, the one thing that makes viewers realize how
ridiculous and unrealistic video games can be, is the return of Nigel Billingsley, an
NPC, or "non-player character" that serves as a guide to the characters.
Comic actor Rhys Darby is once again all in on his portrayal of the soulless, smiling,
helpful Nigel as he moves the action along, urging characters to read instruction-giving
letters out loud and congratulating the heroes on a job well done.
And when he's in the scene but doesn't have a line, Darby quietly and perfectly stands
on the periphery doing and saying absolutely nothing, just like a real NPC.
Worst: So much wasted talent
Jumanji: The Next Level debuted in theaters in December 2019.
The end of the year is second only to summer in terms of the big movie studios rolling
out their biggest, flashiest blockbusters, and to get noticed in a crowded marketplace,
Jumanji filmmakers stacked their cast with a number of major movie stars.
The main cast consists of heavy hitters like Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart,
and their adventure through video game deserts and castles takes up the bulk of the film's
runtime.
Other well-known, well-liked, and bankable actors round out the Jumanji: The Next Level
cast, but there just isn't enough for them to do.
It's disappointing that the producers hired such notable people if they were barely going
to use them.
The great Danny DeVito and Danny Glover appear early in the film as Spencer's grumpy grandfather
Eddie and estranged friend Milo, respectively.
Then, when their souls take up residence in the bodies of video game avatars, they disappear
in favor of the avatar actors doing impressions of DeVito and Glover.
Nick Jonas and Colin Hanks reprise their roles from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, but only
show up when the film is nearly over.
Additionally, recognizable and reliable sitcom stars John Ross Bowie and Lamorne Morris appear
inexplicably in tiny parts, delivering just a few lines each.
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