Yes folks, it's fun. A throwback fun even as you hear the chimes of what sounded like an Alan Silvestri 1980's cue of something Universal should've made.
What makes it fun is it is about nostalgia but doesn't hit you over the head with it ("Stranger Things") With the exception of an opening scene (seeing mix tapes in 1996), the story takes it to the next level of board game...uh...video games.
The rules are set up nicely.
Four teenagers are whisked into an adventure that plays within these rules of video games. As a open world gamer, the comedy is pinpoint accurate. The cut-scenes in games versus the rules being laid out. Which is nicely conceived, since we would get the rules exposition scene anyway. The rest is Dwayne Johnson and Karen Gillan playing the avatars of their adventure self as sweet naive teenagers. This is the teenage movie I've loved for a long time. Some are self-absorbed and cruel but it's not that darkness that hovers over something like a Gus Van Sant movie. The comedy is lifted by Kevin Hart who is a genius at obvious humor (pointing out the obvious, like breaking down the fourth wall). The characters they play aren't necessarily how four people in an adventure would play out, but set-up and payoff makes sense. Including the reason for their silly expertise.
It was then no surprise to see Jake Kasdan at the helm. It all made sense. I would put my money that he may gear up for one of the "Star Wars" movies, considering his pop Lawrence Kasdan wrote the best one. This "Jumanji" is un-apologetically sweet and wraps up a little too neatly. But that is what movies are for. It's a true escape. Much like "Cloak and Dagger" (1984) the boy who envisions himself a hero in his own video game and can bring reluctant friends along can conquer the universe.
Go see this movie if you can. It's fun.
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