If you loved the 2017 reboot of Jumanji, chances are very good that you'll have an excellent time with JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL.
Funny, exciting and packed with excellent special effects and laughs in equal measure, the sequel hasn't lost a step on the original.
The rules have been established, so you know what to expect as our young heroes reenter the online world. But this time around, they're joined by two senior citizens.
Danny DeVito is Grandpa Eddie to Spencer (Alex Wolff) and Danny Glover is his estranged friend and former business partner, Milo.
Luckily for us, DeVito and Glover are pulled into the online world, with DeVito taking on the avatar of Dwayne The Rock Johnson, who assumes DeVito's accent and attitude in a MUCH bigger body than he's used to working with.
Even better is Kevin Hart, the body Glover ends up in for the adventure. Hart is hilarious, slowing down his usual fast patter and manic reactions to the speed and flavor of Glover's senior delivery. Hart nails it and steals the movie.
Jack Black is back as the Professor as is Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse.
Awkwafina (Crazy RIch Asians, The Farewell) is a great add as new character Ming Fleetfoot, bringing her sharp comic timing to the cast.
The levels of the game they must survive to complete their mission feature all new locations for this adventure, including massive deserts, jungles and snow covered worlds loaded with plenty of killer animals.
Everyone in our group loved the movie, including my nearly 6 year old grandson who laughed out loud A LOT and never moved from his seat in 2 hours.
There's plenty of action and adventure for all ages and its great to see Johnson and Hart continue to develop into one of the best ongoing action/comedy screen teams currently in play.
Based on the strong success of this sequel ($611 million worldwide and counting) I'm betting we'll see another JUMANJI in a couple more Christmas seasons. As long as it's this clever, entertaining and eye-filling, keep 'em coming!
THE NEXT LEVEL gets an enjoyable B.
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