“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” reboots the franchise with lots of laughs.
Rebooting a franchise can be a tricky thing. You want to keep what’s beloved and familiar, but you also have to find new ways to make the updated version fresh and involving. Fortunately, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” pays homage to the 1995 Robin Williams film, yet strongly forges its own new territory. The filmmakers made the easy call of turning the board game into a video game. Also, they don’t have the game animals follow the players home. Instead, the players get sucked into the magical console and become their avatars. This sequel is more comedic too, satirizing PlayStation tropes and letting stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan all perform at the top of their game.
