ironhorse_iv Review of Jumanji

Jumanji (1995)

It's time to play the game. You can't move until somebody roll 5 or 8.

[7/10 · 3 January 2013]

Unlike the game that has it's players being forced to play until it's finish. The movie can be easily turn off people, but it's not that bad of a movie. The CGI is not that great, and the jokes have this very corny humor to them, but getting past that, it's an entertaining film to watch. At least, it kept my attention for the nearly 2 hours. "Jumanji" is loosely based on the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. The basic premise stays the same: a sister and brother find a strange game based on a jungle safari adventure. When they begin playing it, they find they cannot stop, for the characters and events of the game come to life and start creating havoc to their house and life. Only by finishing the game will make it all go away. The different between the movie and the game is the introduction of adult characters, and how the main characters (The children: Peter and Judy Shepard) on the book are now supporting cast. The movie starts out in 1969, young Alan Parrish discovers a mysterious board game, he doesn't realize its unimaginable powers, until he is magically exile before the eyes of his friend, Sarah, into the untamed jungles of Jumanji. The things that come out of Jumanji are just overblown fears of what a jungle might hold for a uneducation person. Some of the things are just not that common in a jungle settling such as earthquakes, man-eating vines, and certain animals. They cut some things such as the volcano based on the book, from the movie. 26 years later he is freed from the game's spell by two unsuspecting children Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) playing the same game. Makes you wonder what happens if its Alan turn and no body has rolled a 5 or an 8 in the game at all or a player dies. There is a plot-hole right there. Robin Williams plays the adult Alan whom rapid-fire humor makes him the most eccentric personality ever. He is great, but in this film, he's more kept back from going too crazy. It's gives the character depth so they can focus more on the story. Alan find out the world he used to know as a child, is gone as a adult. There is a very powerful nostalgia feel to the film that shows how much him being missing has effect the community. Alan reunites with Sarah (Bonnie Hunt), the young girl he play the game with in 1969. Hunt as Sarah both funny and appealing. She afraid of everything, but able to show strength when needed. She is not the damsel in distress all the time, her character is pretty believable. Together with the kids try to finish the game before more people get hurt.The producers wanted to make something of this Oedipal angle - Alan, Sarah and the kids form somewhat a makeshift nuclear family - but it's haphazard, forced and totally overwhelmed by the spectacle. The truth is they could have lick their wounds and stop playing, and never finish it and still have great lives. The CGI was great for the day for the animals action scenes. The stampede, the monkeys and others might look badly done today, but it's doesn't hurt the film too bad. Sadly, the film lacks a Jurassic Park realish feel CGI to it, some of the animals, you can totally see where they distorted the UV mapping. Some things saving this movie is the fantastic music score. James Horner did a amazing job on it. The Jumanji drums are just chilling to hear, and the visual of the games first showing up with that sound are creepy. Another character that gives fresh air to the movie is Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde), a villain man-game hunter from Jumanji who quest is to kill Alan. Jonathan Hyde play as both Alan's dad and the hunter in the film. There seems to be a thematic thing than purely to cut costs in casting. It's like it's represent the conflict between the ideas of his father and the son. Alan argument with his father about attending a boarding school, and about facing the bullying he suffer in school. It wasn't until the Jumanji, that Alan was able to grow up to be a man and face all his fears, even his father. It was the most dangerous game type of chase between them that borderline like a Richard Connell's novel. Another supporting character was Carl Bentley (David Alan Grier) a hapless shoemaker-turned-police officer who gives the movie interesting comedy humor when bad thing happen to his car and him. Director Joe Johnston was hired due to his ILM background, and the film was really trying to improve the special effects and visual effects department, but it's didn't live up to that. Certain visual effects like the animatronic spiders, and the robotic vine flower come out looking like puppets. The effects are clever but mildly disappointing; the creatures' movements have a hint of '50s-style Harryhausen puppet animation. Some children might find the film scary, will prove unnerving to small children, though violence per se is not a factor. Parents ought to consider keeping away children younger than 5. The movie is still a good movie for children, and still holds its hold. So check it out, and play the game.