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Director:
Jon Favreau
Cast:
Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim
Robbins |
MPAA Rating:
PG for fantasy action and peril, and some language. |
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Review:
 About
five or six years ago, I was at a science fiction or comic book
convention doing something unremarkable, when I was a sign
advertising a “trailer park” where they would be showing previews
of coming attractions. Not seeing all that many trailers as they
don't show them at press screenings, I decided to go.
Now most of the previews shown were for films that came and went
long ago, but one caught my eye and has stuck with me ever since.
This was for a proposed film called “Jumanji II,” which I knew was
in the grips of development hell, and while the footage shown was
from the first film, I knew that it may soon come out of it.
I was wrong. I mention that because after all those years, the
film has finally come out. This is it. Different cast, different
director, same plot. Like the original book by Chris Van Allsburg,
the only real difference is that the action takes place in outer
space. The trick is how to make it seem fresh and new for those
that have seen ”Jumanji.” Does David Koepp and John Kamps's
screenplay manage to do that? Yes and No.
The action takes place in the house of a certain Mr. Budwing(Tim
Robbins), a divorced product designer, who's so really busy at his
job, but still wants to be part of the lives of his three
children: Lisa(Kristen Stewart) , Danny(Jonah Bobo) and Walter
(Josh Hutcherson). The kids are only there because they have to
be. Lisa, who's about five years older than Walter, really wants
nothing to do with her two siblings and is taking a nap. Walter
hates Danny's guts, as he thinks the latter is a major pest, which
he is. Danny just wants to be noticed. He is, after all the
youngest. But being six, and a genuine pain in the butt, he drives
his older brother to distraction, and Dad has to referee. Dad is
relieved when he has to go off to a meeting, leaving the care of
the brothers to the sister, who demures and goes back to bed.
So the brothers bicker and fight with each other, Going down in
the basement, Danny discovers a very old game called “Zathura: A
Space Adventure” which is manufactured by the same demonic company
that brought us “Jumanji.”
After Danny is rebuffed by Walt into a match, he starts playing by
himself, and all hell breaks loose, as expected.
The special effects are what makes the movie, they're spectacular.
The house set is on springs and can go at all sorts of angles when
need be and thus it goes really well with the computer effects.
The dialogue is particularly snappy, and Koep and Kamp's
screenplay sparkles with a nastiness that genuinely rings true.
Then they meet an astronaut(Dax Shepard), who seems to have become
stuck there during another session playing the game, and this
leads to one of those “Crying Game” moments that genuinely shocks.
If you or your kids haven't seen Jumanji, this is definitely worth
a trip to the theater. If you have, then this will seem like a
rerun.
Eric Lurio
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