After two years, the sequel to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has been released and I am glad to say that this one surpassed my expectations. Going in, I set my standards rather low since sequels generally tend to degrade a series’ reputation. Luckily, this was not the case with Jumanji: The Next Level. 

The movie was directed by Jake Kasden and co-written by Jejj Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg. The cast was comprised of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black, along with three new actors: Danny Devito, Awkwafina, and Danny Glover. As expected, the cast’s acting was extraordinary in resembling the characters’ personalities.

Like its predecessor, this movie has the same overall plot in which characters get sucked into a video game known as “Jumanji.” The only component that set it apart from the previous film was that the character roles were randomized. In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, each video game character had one personality, but in this sequel, the video game characters kept getting rearranged.

The acting was phenomenal when it came to portraying each character’s unique personality. The character changes in the movie required the actors to adapt to a completely different persona, which was done flawlessly.

The new characters and personalities added to the comedic element making it more enjoyable than its predecessor. Without the newly-added roles, the movie would not have been as entertaining. The lacking comedy in the first film was compensated for in Jumanji: The Next Level. The movie’s clever dialogues kept me laughing constantly.

Although the comedy was extraordinary, the movie did have a few setbacks that brought down its overall quality. One such flaw was the multiple underdeveloped messages the director desperately tried to incorporate. Numerous life lessons were attempted to be conveyed to the audience, which did more bad than good. Due to jokes made every few minutes, the messages seemed more humorous than fulfilling its intended purpose. It would be wrong to say a funny movie cannot have a deeper lesson in it, but that’s only in situations where the message is incorporated suitably.

During the movie, I found myself at the edge of my seat during the action scenes, and I came out of the theater feeling content, but reflecting back, the plot was rather predictable. Its storyline could’ve been worked on to keep it from being identical to that of its predecessor. I was anticipating an ending that would set this movie apart, but the climax left me disappointed.

Overall, however, the action and comedic elements of the movie allowed me to overlook the cons. This could have been because I had set my expectations so low. If I had gone into the movie with high expectations, I would’ve walked out unsatisfied.

I recommend this movie to teens and adults solely for its comedy. The movie’s only pros were its new additions to the cast and its humor, but other than that, there was nothing to set it apart from the last movie.

8.5/10