I'm on holidays at the moment. Yay holidays! Here is a blog post I prepared earlier:
Good morning, Readers!
A friend knew I was feeling down, and so he kindly took me out to the movies. I requested Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, because I wanted something light and silly. Here is my review of the movie.
A friend knew I was feeling down, and so he kindly took me out to the movies. I requested Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, because I wanted something light and silly. Here is my review of the movie.
My Quickie Review
Okay, this movie is dumb. But it's the great kind of dumb, the kind where you can turn off your thoughts and laugh at the silly moments, cheer at the awesome moments and just have a good time.
Turn off your brain, though. It's not needed here.
Turn off your brain, though. It's not needed here.
My Longer Review
In truth, this movie followed in the vein of stupid humour that I usually detest. Luckily, it doesn't sink quite so low as other 'comedies,' but this did resort to dick jokes and tired tropes of nerds vs. jocks and so forth.
It did have a few good character moments, when those stereotypes were challenged and characters that would normally be at odds with each other end up forming a strong bond.
The whole cast was strong, with Karen Gillan shining as both the kick-arse Ruby Roundhouse, who is, ultimately, still that insecure, nerdy brainiac at heart. Gillan managed to find and embody both in the same avatar. I loved her character.
Jack Black playing a male avatar of a female character missed the mark oh so slightly, coming off as everyone's favourite gay friend, rather than the woman he was supposed to be. That said, he was hilarious in the role.
Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart were both hilarious as well, both of them playing people whose physical attributes are drastically altered. The 'smoulder' gag was also hilarious. I enjoyed that a lot.
A surprise to me was Nick Jonas, who, it turns out, is a pretty decent actor. Of all the character shenanigans going on around him, he played the straight man brilliantly. This is the first time I've seen him on screen, and I'm not disappointed.
There were some great moments that reference NPCs and their bizarre behaviour when experienced in real life, which made me giggle.
The villain of the piece was the most cliché thing about the movie, which was not all that disappointing, since it was precisely what I had been expecting. It could have been better, and there were some wonderfully creepy moments with him, but they were few and far in between. If I was hoping for a more brilliant movie, I'd have hated him as a character, but, well, I wasn't expecting much.
This movie as a whole is precisely what you would expect. It's funny, has a lot of action, and enough heart to satisfy a casual viewer. The story has some wonderful throwbacks to the original, including a mention of the late, great Robin William's character.
It did have a few good character moments, when those stereotypes were challenged and characters that would normally be at odds with each other end up forming a strong bond.
The whole cast was strong, with Karen Gillan shining as both the kick-arse Ruby Roundhouse, who is, ultimately, still that insecure, nerdy brainiac at heart. Gillan managed to find and embody both in the same avatar. I loved her character.
Jack Black playing a male avatar of a female character missed the mark oh so slightly, coming off as everyone's favourite gay friend, rather than the woman he was supposed to be. That said, he was hilarious in the role.
Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart were both hilarious as well, both of them playing people whose physical attributes are drastically altered. The 'smoulder' gag was also hilarious. I enjoyed that a lot.
A surprise to me was Nick Jonas, who, it turns out, is a pretty decent actor. Of all the character shenanigans going on around him, he played the straight man brilliantly. This is the first time I've seen him on screen, and I'm not disappointed.
There were some great moments that reference NPCs and their bizarre behaviour when experienced in real life, which made me giggle.
The villain of the piece was the most cliché thing about the movie, which was not all that disappointing, since it was precisely what I had been expecting. It could have been better, and there were some wonderfully creepy moments with him, but they were few and far in between. If I was hoping for a more brilliant movie, I'd have hated him as a character, but, well, I wasn't expecting much.
This movie as a whole is precisely what you would expect. It's funny, has a lot of action, and enough heart to satisfy a casual viewer. The story has some wonderful throwbacks to the original, including a mention of the late, great Robin William's character.
Finally
This movie isn't brilliant. In fact, it's pretty dumb.
It is exactly what you'd expect when going to see it. And sometimes, what you need is a dumb movie that is also fun. Just be sure to turn your brain off while watching. It is not required, and would be much more enjoyable without it.
It is exactly what you'd expect when going to see it. And sometimes, what you need is a dumb movie that is also fun. Just be sure to turn your brain off while watching. It is not required, and would be much more enjoyable without it.
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