Jumanji: The Next Level review - an upbeat, frenetic adventure
(The Guardian Culture News)

In this latest lively instalment of the video game adventure, two old curmudgeons join the kids in a battle against tyrannyNo one was more surprised than I when Jake Kasdan´s 2017 romp Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle managed to squeeze smart new thrills from the premise of Chris Van Allsburg´s 1981 children´s book, first filmed in 1995. While Joe Johnston´s Jumanji (starring Robin Williams) had featured fantastical creatures escaping from the titular board-game to run wild in Brantford, New Hampshire, Kasdan´s `continuation of the story` sent four young players into a video game, where they battled a series of challenges in order to earn a safe passage home. The result was a crowd-pleasing romp that combined the school detention premise of The Breakfast Club with boisterous CG action in sprightly fashion.With a worldwide box-office gross just this side of a billion dollars, a sequel became an industrial necessity - never an inspiring situation. It´s a relief, therefore, to report that Jumanji: The Next Level keeps things upbeat and lively, thanks in no small part to the introduction of two counterintuitively revivifying characters - curmudgeonly old codgers whose gripes and aches provide a jolly counterpoint to the teen angst that fired Kasdan´s previous instalment. Continue reading...