In 1995, the movie "Jumanji" was released - an adventure-fantastic family movie with Robin Williams in the title role. After 22 years, in 2017, Sony Pictures Entertainment presented a tape about the game with the same name, but with a different message.

If previously restless children accidentally staged a jungle in a quiet American town, now the United States is in relative safety - not the jungle comes to the heroes, but they themselves are sucked into a computer game. It was in this version that a sequel called "Jumanji: Call of the Jungle" appeared.

According to the plot of the new tape, the characters matured, entered universities and went around the country. Almost everyone is doing pretty well - with the possible exception of Spencer (Alex Wolfe). He broke up with Marta (Morgan Turner), barely manages to combine studies with part-time work and still suffers from teenage complexes. Before the reunion of the four, Spencer decides to once again look into the world of Jumanji to feel like Dr. Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson). His friends will now have to return to the expanses of the game to find an unlucky comrade.

Who's new?

The creators of the film "Jumanji: A New Level" set themselves the difficult task - to play the same story in a different way. For this purpose, two new characters were introduced into the plot: grandfather Eddie and his "sworn friend" Milo (Danny Glover) will enter the battle with the prefix. In the game, accordingly, two new characters appeared - the magic black horse and the cracker Ming (Aquafina). To diversify the action, the players and their avatars are mixed: according to the new rules, you can’t choose a character, but you can exchange bodies during the game.

Like two years ago, viewers will have to admire the acting skills of Johnson, Gillan, Hart and Black. The rest of the artists allotted much less screen time.

Due attention, however, the filmmakers paid to the character Danny De Vito - Eddie's grandfather in his performance came out funny and touching. This image got an interesting development: in the game, the hero De Vito moved into Dr. Bravestone, so this time Dwayne Johnson pretended not to be a notorious teenager, but a grouchy old man who understands little in video games. The scriptwriters did not stint on comic dialogues, and the actor managed to demonstrate a discrepancy in the appearance and inner world of his hero.

  • © Shot from the movie "Jumanji: A New Level" (2019)

However, the filmmakers complemented the adventure story with some valuable ideas. Using yesterday's teenagers as an example, they raise the themes of growing up, responsibility, and young people's awareness of their place in society. Spectators are encouraged not to lock themselves in and not to succumb to complexes - in fact, it was because of the complexes that the heroes had to return to the game. The detrimental effects of virtual reality are also shown more than clearly (albeit not realistic).

Another observable topic was the perception of old age: on the one hand, age-related actors show older people in a typical grotesque manner (as grumpy, stubborn, not keeping up with the modern pace of life). But drawing attention to the stereotypical interpretation makes one think about its legitimacy.

In any case, “Jumanji: A New Level” remains a quality entertainment movie for adults and children. Perhaps the picture would be suitable for family viewing, but with a caveat - it is unlikely that viewers of primary school age should show a protracted scene in which the victim of castration is discussed. The rest of the film does not scare naturalism, does not crush suspense and does not entice excessive liberties.

“12+”, perhaps, is an exact hit in the target audience: older viewers will find the script and dialogs too naive. Nevertheless, they will not be disappointed with a solid visual range, verified (albeit uncomplicated) dramaturgy and talented play of actors.