Jumanji: The Next Level Review - 6 Ups & 4 Downs

Downs...

4. It's An Extremely Familiar Sequel

True to the spirit of most video game sequels, The Next Level is pretty much just more of the same of what people liked last time.

The plot and the movie's overall structure are largely a shameless rehash of the first film - the excuse for revisiting Jumanji is almost pathetically thin - and hilariously little attempt has been made to shake things up or really do anything different in this regard.

Our heroes get sucked into the game, and then they're strung along from one CGI-soaked set-piece to another with only the faintest whiff of a narrative.

More definitely could've been done in that regard to keep things fresh, though one suspects that most audiences will enjoy the silly ride enough not to care too much.

But it's tough to deny that, by cribbing from its predecessor so aggressively, the surprising hilarity of that film feels somewhat diminished. It's an incredibly safe movie that takes no risks whatsoever.