I really, really enjoyed Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle! I didn’t have high hopes at all based on the trailers and the very idea of bringing Jumanji back after all these decades. But then I went to see the movie and loved the heck out of it!

If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend picking it up in whatever home-viewing experience you enjoy. Very enjoyable jungle action movie with a really powerful emotional climax. Good job, Honest Trailers people.

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Consider me a believer! I had zero faith in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle when it was either announced or we saw those first trailers. I loved the original, like we all did, and felt a sequel 20 years later was a dumb idea. That never works.

But let me tell you, I went and saw it in the theaters yesterday and that movie is delightful! Make no mistake, it really is just a jungle adventure movie, like I predicted, lacking the unique spirit/concept of the original. But the characters and especially the cast are to die for!

Oh, also, to keep this post Jumanji-related, here’s the Honest Trailer for the original.

Anyway, I’m not going to do a full review for Jumanji: Into the Jungle. I just wanted to share with you all how much fun I had with the movie. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Kevin Hart make for one of the best ensemble casts I’ve seen all year! None of them is a weak link and they all get more than a few chances to really shine.

The central concept is that they play a bunch of high schoolers sucked into the jungle world of Jumanji. So they’re not just standard action hero characters. They all play insecure teenagers thrust into a crazy situation, each of them struggling with their own flaws while trying to stay calm and impress each other. It works out great!

And I legit teared up during the emotional climax, you all. Not ashamed to say it. They earned that ending!

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