By Chris Canadeo
The year 2018 is set to be one of the all-time greatest years for movie production. With blockbuster films such as Avengers: Infinity War, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Black Panther, it is hard to imagine that any other films would take the spotlight.
However, released on Dec. 20 and still being shown in theatres, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has been an early candidate for most popular and highly grossing film of the year by adding a unique spin to an old time classic.
Although many consider Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kevin Hart to be two of the biggest draws in Hollywood, they have never seen success in a joint film like this before. Both actors previously teamed up to bring comedy lovers Central Intelligence in 2016, which fared well in total viewership, but was not nearly as great as this latest attempt.
For measure, Central Intelligence racked up just over $200 million in box office sales, while Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has quadrupled that, grossing over $800 million to date — and is still in theatres.
The massive success of this movie credits the producers for not only remaking an old classic, but also for adding an exciting twist to the plot, all while still keeping the audience in awe of the wonders of Jumanji. The film features a star-studded cast, including names such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black. These actors are all well established and blended well together in this production.
Each star was given their own comedic stand-out scenes and respective one-liners, all of which greatly contributed to the overall engaging and funny nature of the film.
The movie starts out with four high school kids from different clubs and friend groups all being punished by cleaning a massively dirty room. It is here where one of them discovers a game like no other. The four of them decide to try out this game to see what it is about; they immediately get transported to the wonderful world of Jumanji, which offers these four players “an escape from reality.”
However, rather than the game transporting the high school characters themselves, they are placed into new avatars, all with unique attributes that help the team win the board game.
A majority of the jokes in the movie stem from the fact that the main actors are not playing themselves, but are placed into bodies of a different height, race and gender. This adds a new dynamic to not just the objective of the game, but also how the characters interact with each other, the surrounding environment and even themselves.
The scenery throughout the film is beautiful and really adds to the wonder and excitement of being part of the Jumanji video game. The land has so many different aspects from forests to lava pits, which makes winning the game and making it out alive even more difficult.
The animals present during the game are also beautifully animated and help the viewer get the feeling that they themselves are immersed in the game as well. The whole point of the game is not just to win, but to win with teamwork by casting aside differences and joining together to end the game. I
It is for this reason that viewers are not only pleased with the end result, but also with the internal journey the characters undergo.
Jumanji has been such a success that directors and producers plan to make a sequel that hopes to have all of the cast members return. As a fan of the first film, I would certainly like to see this talented nucleus in another crazy adventure like Jumanji.
