By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan and Jack Black are back with even more outlandish antics in
?Jumanji: The Next Level,? the sequel to 2017?s box office hit ?Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle.?
In ?Jumanji: The Next Level,? from returning director Jake Kasdan and screenwriters Jeff Pinkner/Scott Rosenberg (TV?s ?Limetown?), familiarity breeds more laughs.
The stakes are higher this time around too for separated college students Martha (Morgan Turner, ?Avengers: Endgame?), Fridge (Ser?Darius Blain, ?Seberg? and TV?s ?Charmed?), Bethany (Madison Iseman, ?Annabelle: Comes Home?) and Spencer (Alex Wolf, ?Human Capital?).
Spencer is the only one of the bunch who hasn?t had a good year. He misses his girlfriend Martha (Turner) so much that he hasn?t been able to adjust to living in New York City or to campus life at NYU.
His friends want to hook up with him during the holiday break and try to cheer him up. Spencer is staying with his mother and grandfather Eddie (A funny Danny DeVito), but when he doesn?t arrive for breakfast with his friends at their favorite diner, they suspect something?s up.
They?re right.
While nosing around the house, Spencer found some broken parts of a video game console and decides to repair it. And just like that he?s soon swept back into the world of Jumanji.
When the gang heads over to Spencer?s house to check on him, they arrive at the same time as Grandpa Eddie?s old friend Milo (the always funny Danny Glover).
These two have a bit of history together.
When Spencer?s friends notice the video console, they realize what?s happened. Reluctantly, they take the plunge back in to rescue Spencer. Eddie and Milo also get sucked in to the digital world.
This is when the fun starts. While Martha remains in the same body of Karen Gillan, Milo inhabits Kevin Hart and ?The Rock? takes on DeVito?s grumpy old soul. And when Awkwafina (?The Farewell?) shows up as a gaming avatar, complications and hilarity ensues.
Since most of ?Jumanji: The Next Level? is so far-fetched ?although those angry ostriches deserve their own movie--it?s best if you don?t overthink this one too much, but rather go with its wild and crazy flow.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Check Out This Trailer For
"JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
