Hold Up, Critics Really Seem To Love Jumanji 2
Is this the biggest surprise of 2017?
From almost the second it was announced, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle has been hamstrung by the fact that it's a remake of a film seemingly considered untouchable. That status was reinforced infinitely when that film's star - Robin Williams - tragically killed himself in 2014 and added another layer of nostalgic appreciation to it.
From there, the cynicism has been almost tangible, with lots of commenters practically falling over themselves to condemn it in advance. It would be a failure. It would ruin the legacy of a beloved family film. It would miss Williams.
But it seems that the studio's faith in the idea - and the genius decision to cast such a strong set of actors - is about to pay off. Because, surprisingly - and against all odds - Jumanji 2 is getting a lot of positive buzz.
The embargo on the film has dropped and the big critics of the world are now offering their appraisals on Twitter, with a very positive general picture:
Well, that's quite the shock.
It's good to hear that the film is fun and that there's good chemistry between the leads - with those two elements working successfully, the sequel was always going to have a good foundation to build on. And it's particularly great to hear that Jack Black is good, because he needs a few wins to remind everyone that he's a lot more than Gulliver.
So, now you'll have a pretty good picture of what to take the family to see this holiday season.