The first sequel, Welcome To The Jungle, got lucky and was actually a surprisingly great, fun time. Unfortunately, the decision to go back for more is a risky move that doesn't pay off. The Next Level is entertaining, but the plot of the film, and the why and how our leads from the first film get back into the game is contrived as hell.
This three-quel desperately wants to be more than its predecessor while still reminding audiences why they might have enjoyed Welcome To The jungle (via some painful and bad call backs) .The villain this time around feels like an after-thought, and has less screen time and less to do than Van Pelt in Jungle. The humor here feels more forced and doesn't work as often as the humor in Welcome To The Jungle did, and this film makes an attempt at some serious themes that it can't pull off. To put it simple: It bites off more than it can chew.
The actors here are all more than game for the material they are handed, and all do fine jobs in their respective roles (Indeed, seeing the gang back together is the main reason to see this film). The Next Level certainly isn't terrible, but it also ain't great and is nowhere near as good as Jungle was. It also doesn't help that The Next Level appears to hint at what could be a far better sequel in the thirteenth hour.
This latest outing for what appears to be shaping up to be a Jumanji franchise is an unnecessary and unneeded sequel (especially when Jungle seemed designed to be a self-contained film considering how that one ended) that isn't all that memorable, but still manages to entertain for the most part.
3 STARS
No comments:
Post a Comment