Jumanji the third: Bigger, but better?

Jumanji: The Next Level, releasing on December 13, might be the final film in the series

As a long-time fan of the original Jumanji, watching ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ was an interesting experience, to say the least. Sony took that ominous-sounding board game that had horrible consequences no matter which way you went and turned it into a funny action video game.

But it was enjoyable. It was good. It had this engaging self-aware funny streak. As far as sequels go, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ was a surprisingly faithful continuation for a studio that is not quite well known for its cinematic track record.

Now, as 2019 nears its end, the third, and possibly final entry in the series is about to hit theaters, promising a much grander scale, and the threat of permanent consequences to their actions, the gang once again jumps into Jumanji for an adventure...with some changes.

Same avatars, new players

All four characters from the previous film are back, with some changes: Fridge is now the “fat dude” Shelly Oberon, while Spencer’s grandfather is now Dr Bravestone, with his friend Milo Walker playing Bravestone’s sidekick Finbar. Meanwhile, Spencer and Bethany have been given very, very different roles. It’s like you playing a video game and then someone else playing the same game. Even if the characters are the same, there will be some changes in how the game is played.

New villain

No action-adventure video game sequel would be complete without a new villain. While the original Jumanji had one of the childhood embodiments of fear in Van Pelt, Welcome to the Jungle’s Russell Van Pelt was a serious step back, having traded scariness for edginess.

This film, however, seems to have a more serious villain in Jurgen the Brutal, played by Game of Thrones’ ‘The Hound’, a menacing brute with some serious strength and a bloody history with Bravestone.

New locations, same self-awareness

If Sony has figured one thing out with Jumanji, it’s how to expand the scale between sequels.

While the second film was locked to a forest with a small section in a town and a dungeon, this film is going places. We have deserts and tundra aside from the forest, adding some much-needed variety to the environment.

The characters are also very much self-aware about their traits, which is clearly going to be played for laughs this time around as well, which feels like a very welcome retention from
the previous film given the change in players.

Fact file

Jumanji: The Next Level opens on December 13 in 3D, IMAX 3D and 4DX. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillian, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Nick Jonas as the primary characters, while Rhys Darby plays Nigel Billingsley, the primary NPC guide of Jumanji.