My Humble Opinion Movie Review: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Midst the battle of the Star Wars fans, I feel like one movie was dramatically overlooked this Christmas Season.

Should you see Jumanji? Heck Yes

While angry fans screamed at Star Wars, I haven’t met a single Jumanji fan that has complained about this film. The cast was phenomenal especially Jack Black. Just seeing Jack Black act like a cheerleader stuck in his body made the price of admission worth it.

I went to see this movie knowing exactly what it would be. And I got what I wanted and more. I spend a lot of time analyzing film and cinematography and I realized while watching this film, that sometime I get too serious about filmmaking. Everything doesn’t have to be a deep and gritty search through the human soul, and that’s easy to forget. I go to movies mostly to learn something but I can’t forget it’s also about entertainment, it’s about fun.

Entertaining: 8/10
Fun adventure flick with hilarious acting, great character moments and a satisfying ending.
Critically: 4/10
Cinematography was nothing new, generic and predicable story line, a few moments really should have been pushed or removed

This is my first movie review and I want to explain how i rate movies. I usually think about two things: Was it entertaining? Was it critically good?

Entertaining would be a more personal question on whether I was entertained watching the movie. Not whether it was like “Oscar-worthy” or mind blowingly beautiful, but more was I immersed in the fun/emotions. Would I watch this movie again? For example, watching Pacific Rim, I was very entertained but i knew the movie wasn’t about to win Emmy for best picture. But I just had so much fun.

Critically rating comes from my studies filmmaker side. Does it have real emotional depth? Was it cinematically impressive? Will be remembered as a beautiful classic like Citizen Kane? Is every frame a painting? Jumanji is a great example of a movie that has little critically good stuff but is most just a generic rehashing of old stereotypes and character arcs.

Anyways, feel free to agree or disagree in the comments. I love movie discussions so feel free to argue with me. But let’s keep it civil, make sure you say your reasons! Thanks.

-The Artlaw