'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' proves that 'family-friendly' doesn’t mean 'dumb'

When I first heard about “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, my first thought was: “What?”

My second was: “Why?”

Let’s face it: No one was really clamoring for a “Jumanji” follow-up. As someone who only has the vaguest of recollections about the original film from 1995, it made me think that this was yet another one of Hollywood’s attempts to cash in on nostalgia. What was this supposed to be, even — a sequel? A rehash? An entirely new take on the commercially successful (albeit lukewarmly received) film?

Fortunately, there are enough wonders in this particular jungle to make it worth exploring.

Functioning as both a sequel and a re-imagining, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” mostly takes place inside a video game. The premise is almost identical to the original: Teenagers stumble upon the game, get sucked into it, meet someone who was was stuck in there for two decades, and play their way to victory (their only ticket to get back to the real world).

Changing the Jumanji game from a board game to a retro console cartridge — the change is explained in the film, don’t worry — serves the dual purpose of making the story more relatable in 2018 and changing the mechanics of the game so that the stakes could be just as serious, but considerably more child-friendly.

To use a spoiler-free, hypothetical example, a herd of animals charging at any of the protagonists would have been a horrific sight in the 1995 film; here, it can be played to comedic effect, because of the way this version of Jumanji works.

Awesome chemistry displayed by the cast!

It also helps that the cast of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is naturally charming. While the original had the dearly missed Robin Williams and cute-as-a-button Kirsten Dunst, this one brings together Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black. The hilarious chemistry shared by this group (especially Johnson and Hart) makes it a treat to watch them figure out how the game works, get in each other’s way (and on each other’s nerves), and ultimately learn how to work together in order to survive.

“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” also isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself. From the skimpy, obviously-ill-suited-for-jungle-adventuring outfit Gillan wears to the unintentional hilarity of in-game NPCs having limited dialogue options, this film has enough wit and self-awareness to rise above other gaming-themed films that take themselves a little too seriously.

Apart from the name and one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference, there is very little connective tissue between  “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and the 1995 hit.

Action that the entire family will enjoy

While the original was a pulse-pounding, somewhat melodramatic fantasy film with hints of darkness, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is the sort of colorful, crowd-pleasing action-adventure that offers something for every member of the family without insulting their intelligence.

It would have been a far more rewarding holiday treat for Pinoys than a couple of the ones we got, that’s for sure. — LA, GMA News