Jumanji

RATING: B

It takes some doing to make a decent feature-length movie adaptation of a children's picture book... and then actually make it good. This particular adaptation was based off a book about a board game where things come to life out of it. And being a jungle-themed board game... that mostly means jungle animals and other jungle-related stuff. Being brought into the real world to go rampage and stuff. No big deal, right? 

It starts with a boy named Alan finding this board game buried at a construction site--because he heard the sound of drums coming out of it (and for some reason, only certain people in this movie hear those creepy drums). He starts playing the game with his friend Sarah... and two turns in he actually gets sucked into the game. As in, he actually gets sucked into the game's world. As in, the game also has an alternate jungle dimension within it somehow. Try not to think about that one too much.

Anyways, 26 years later, two more younger kids--Peter and Judy (the kids who played the game in the original book)--find the game and start playing it. Havoc ensues. And Alan comes back... only now he looks like Robin Williams. (What a way to grow up, right?) After reuniting with Sarah, the four realize they have to finish the game to make everything go away. Which means... more havoc will ensue before it gets any better. 

The premise might sound a tad silly, but they actually manage to pull it off. This is because director Joe Johnston actually does a good job of striking a nice balance in the tone of the film--it is appropriately silly, but it is also serious without feeling forced. And even a little legitimately creepy a few times--although credit for that probably goes to James Horner's score. 

Regardless, the movie is both funny and exciting. The action scenes are actually pretty good. There are a few slower parts that are necessary to moving the plot but still feel kind of tedious due to the fast pace and zaniness of the rest of it. The film is funny mostly in due part to Robin Williams (RIP), who kind of carries the movie himself in a way--it probably wouldn't have been as good without him. 

One minor issue is that some of the special effects don't hold up that well now. Particularly the monkeys. Maybe it's in part because the new Planet of the Apes trilogy has come out since then, but something looks seriously wrong with these monkeys. At other times it still looks fine, but at other points the effects kind of look aged--more than some of its other action counterparts of the 1990's. 

Ultimately, Jumanji's a pretty fun ride of a popcorn action fantasy movie. It's kind of an improbable success--they could've easily made this all too dumb, but they managed to make it quite watchable. They managed to get some of the right people working on it. (Seems like there were quite a few unexpected successful action movies in the 90's, weren't there?) Even for all it does get right, it still might be a bit much for the all-too-serious viewer--but this is a good example of an entertaining movie that doesn't have to be A+ levels of storytelling but can still work quite well if done right. 

Postscript: It's still hard to believe a sequel to this is actually happening 20 years later--and still quite soon after the death of Robin Williams, which just makes it worse. So... don't go see it. Just try to forget that it even exists. That's what I try to do sometimes...