Movie Review # 335: Jumanji 3: The Next Level (2019)

Alright everyone, it’s that time of year at the end where we not only get to celebrate Jesus’ birth around the holiday known as Christmas. Not only do people also give each other gifts, and other fun activities too, but it’s also the time where a lot of the films that are supposed to be considered good are released around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday. Well, today, we review a film that seems to really kick things off. It is the sequel to 1995’s Jumanji, as well as 2017’s Jumanji 2: Welcome To The Jungle. Yes, the one and only Jumanji 3: The Next Level.

Plot: A good majority of our main characters from the 2017 film are roped back into the Jumanji video game. This time, they must recover an artifact from a villain, who’s trying to take over the world of Jumanji. Can they stop him in the end?

Now, this is a very fun film, no doubt about it! First of all, it’s good to have our friends from Jumanji 2: The Next Level back in the game once again. It’s also awesome that they get to switch things up as far as once our main characters are back in the world of Jumanji, as well as having a couple of additional new characters. Not only that, but it’s also cool to learn some rather interesting trivia throughout the course of this film. Okay, granted, people learn some new things from a good majority of movies. However, it is surprising what we learn about certain animals, and other things as this film progresses. There are also some really funny moments too. Sure, maybe the first two movies might have been a little more funny. Nevertheless, there are moments where one will get a kick out of certain scenes. Oh, and in addition to this movie having actors such as Jack Black, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, for example, how cool is it that we get to also have legendary actors like Danny Devito and Danny Glover join in this film too? Another thing that I would like to add is that one should stay for part of the end credits, as there is a really cool scene around the end that may imply an additional sequel. Assuming that’s the case, let’s hope it’s a good sequel. Finally, how about the action in this film? Oh boy, those moments are really fun too. In fact, remember how, in my review of The Greatest Showman, I said that one may find himself, or herself, wishing that he/she was sucked into the movie to be joining in the dance numbers to sing along with the characters in that film? Well, with Jumanji 3: The Next Level, while there aren’t original songs in this film, one may be interested in joining in on the action for the video game portion of this film. Guess it wouldn’t be surprising if one wanted to maybe join in on certain action video games, or even video games that are part of the fantasy genre sometime after that as well.

With all of that said, is this a good sequel? Well, while not quite in the A range, there is plenty to recommend for Jumanji 3: The Next Level. Anyway, some of what’s included in this not being one of the best sequels is that this third installment suffers from at least a few cliches here and there. Not only that, but Jumanji 3 seems to suffer from sequelitis, so to speak as well. Okay, sure, it’s not to the point where one won’t enjoy this movie. Not even close! Still, I would be lying if I didn’t say that there weren’t some new material, as far as certain aspects go, that could’ve been added to this sequel. Thankfully, there are some new things added in the end. It’s just that this movie could have been at least better in that regard. As for the ending, while that is still good, it wouldn’t be surprising if some people ended up being ambivalent about certain aspects of the ending.

Well folks, that concludes my review for Jumanji 3: The Next Level. While there are a few things that this film suffers from, at least it seemed to be a little more of an improvement from the 2017 film. Yes, the very first Jumanji film seems to triumph them both. Nevertheless, one can say that, even if not fully, this film did succeed in taking some things to the next level (pun intended) from the first two films. Definitely try to see this movie if you haven’t! It’s most definitely worth your time, especially if you enjoyed the first two films.

Final Grade: B+