Jumanji returns to cinemas after two years with The Next Level to expand the videogame world-building from Welcome to the Jungle. While the adventure feels the derivative, the four avatars Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Dr. Shelley Oberon, Mouse Finbar, and Ruby Roundhouse are game-ready for the new level.
Though, this movie could use a health pack to alleviate its case of sequelitis, sadly causing this movie to fail to match (if not exceed) the surprising 2017 blockbuster. Even with all that, how come Welcome to the Jungle is still the better movie than The Next Level?
Better: Freshness of the Adventure Game
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was released at a time where the real competition on the blockbuster position was Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Thanks to the latter’s polarized reception, audiences turned to the seats inside Jumanji, only to discover the surprise that is the movie’s sense of adventure, humor, and videogame mechanics.
Also, while we're talking about Star Wars, Jumanji is another case of a nostalgic franchise revived for a new audience. So, at the time, both older and younger audiences are reintroduced to the Robin Williams-driven movie and given a new twist to the gameplay.
For a third run, the two-year gap makes the formula feel derivative.
Worse: More Connections to the Original Jumanji
The only hint from Welcome to the Jungle that connects it to the 1995 original is the mark on the treehouse that came from Alan Parrish.
The Next Level elevates the connections further by adding a cameo from Bebe Neuwirth, who played Nora Shepherd, Judy and Alan’s aunt who took them in. She was last seen locked in a closet before the gang revised past events, allowing Alan to not be trapped in Jumanji and allowing the kids’ parents live.
This alternate reality remade Nora as the owner of a breakfast café, who inherited the business from Danny Devito’s Grandpa Eddie.
The other connection is on its mid-credits scene, which features an animal stampede having escaped from the game.
Better: The Quest and the Levels are Clearer
It is helpful that Welcome to the Jungle laid out the basic mechanics of an adventure videogame, with the concept of NPCs and cut scenes being pointed out by Spencer. It helped map out their goal: to return the Jaguar’s Eye and restore order to Jumanji.
The concept of videogame levels was also laid out, with the first level being the motorcycle chase, the second being the village, the third being the plane escape and the final one being the final confrontation with van Pelt. Spencer deduced the levels, helping the team succeed.
For the third movie, while the quest is clear, there were also side quests and stopovers that dilute the impact and make the real quest imprecise.
Worse: A New, Unseen Setting
In an attempt to make the sequel bigger, The Next Level incorporated brand-new settings to an adventure that goes beyond the usual jungle theme. This is the first time that a desert, a rope bridge chasm, and a snow-capped mountain was featured in Jumanji. That said, it also raises questions about the land’s unusual geography and inconsistent climate.
Nevertheless, it is neat to see the avatars take on challenges in these unique settings that utilized their strengths. The standout is the elaborate rope bridge scene where the avatars have to fend off against a band of mandrills.
And given the world-building, The Next Level also went overboard on its bizarreness.
Better: More Buildup From the Real World Characters
The main strength of this Jumanji sequel comes from its real-world characters. While the first appearances of Spencer, Fridge, Bethany, and Martha directly follows the Breakfast Club template, Welcome to the Jungle provided them character arcs that set up the stakes of the game and allowed a connection with the audience.
It may be brief, but they clearly defined their personalities before they inhabited their videogame avatars. So in the end, when they forged a strong friendship, it felt earned.
The third movie follows up with the four in their college years. Though, Spencer’s arc is so derailed that it actually bungled up his character. There is indeed screen time but not sufficient.
Worse: Consistency in the POV
One of the primary nitpicks in Welcome to the Jungle is the consistency of the player's point-of-view. If the movie’s framing device is personal videogame play, why does it cut to the scenes showing the villain Russell van Pelt and his goons when they are clearly not cut scenes?
Director Jake Kasdan and his fellow screenwriters Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg somehow addressed this issue by not giving any scenes that only show Jurgen the Brutal and his goons. It works as a double-edged sword, in that it keeps the consistency of the mechanics of the game but it makes the villain feel more generic and one-note, which could be the point of inserting videogame bosses.
Better: Both Strength and Weaknesses Applied
To further take advantage of videogame tropes, Welcome to the Jungle seizes the strengths and weaknesses feature of their avatars.
Dr. Smolder Bravestone’s strengths include “smoldering intensity” which causes him to smolder randomly. And having no weaknesses clearly pokes fun of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s persona. Mouse Finbar’s most reliable asset is being a weapons valet, gaining him an infinite bag. And his cake weakness is pulled off hilariously. Prof. Sheldon Oberon’s cartography skills helped the team navigate around Jumanji, even if endurance is his foe. And Ruby Roundhouse’s strength in dance fighting is a highlight, and her weakness to venom is integral to the final level.
However, The Next Level only namedropped the additional assets with no use whatsoever.
Worse: Body-Swapping Gimmick
What made Welcome to the Jungle interesting is the chance to see a talented cast playing against type, with Dwayne Johnson having to act like a wimpy kid, Jack Black as a preppy girl, and Karen Gillan as an awkward nerd.
The Next Level allows wiggle room for the cast of avatars to play more characters from the real world. Cue the videogame magical water feature. While water is usually designed for healing, the movie has it as a body-switching mechanism.
This is first encountered by Martha/Ruby and Fridge/Shelly when they stumbled on a side quest to retrieve a weakness-enabling fruit. And it is hilarious to see the body-switching played to full advantage, with Fridge having to jump the most avatars.
Better: Bethany's Arc
It is pleasant to witness a character arc that actually transformed the characters. This is evident in the four kids. But the one that had the most impact is Bethany, who had the strongest of arc of the four. While the dilemma of being trapped in a “middle-aged man” avatar is an easy way for easy jokes, it found a way to compel Bethany to care about others and utilize her personal strengths.
This is evident in the scene where she traded one life point to a nearly dying Alex/Jefferson McDonough. Rather than play an awkward, comical moment, it is delivered poignantly. In the end, she shifts her lifestyle by being more environmentally involved and active.
Her arc continues in The Next Level, making her a true bright spot of the films.
Worse: Kevin Hart's Performance
Yet, the primary criticism from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was fixed in The Next Level, with Kevin Hart finally playing a character, and not himself.
That is one thing that critics and audiences are able to note since Kevin Hart basically played himself with his role as Mouse Finbar, which is inconsistent with the brash, athletic persona of Fridge.
Finally, this problem was solved in the next movie when Hart channeled his inner Danny Glover and played Milo Walker inside Mouse Finbar, the “muscular boy scout”, with a raspy voice and a slow delivery. That is the against-type that we were awaiting from him.
His performance steals the show. And since his arc predictably involves an emotionally moving tidbit, Hart can still pull off a genuine performance in a lighthearted manner.