The Rock stars in another sequel nobody asked for

In the sequel to the 1995 box office hit,  Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle tries to turn the tables on the previously established franchise rules as four teenagers in detention are sucked into an old video game console with a game into its jungle setting and into the bodies of their avatars, played by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan.

Of course, you don’t just play Jumanji –Jumanji plays you. But why does this need to be called Jumanji?

It seems like a bit of a desperate reach to cling to whatever brand name power Sony thinks Jumanji holds after 20 plus years. It seems like it would have been really easy to simply give the game a new name and play on the twist employed by Jumanji and Zathura.

Plus, it’s yet another sequel/remake/reboot starring The Rock. Is it just us or is The Rock’s schtick starting to get a bit watered down by the fact he seems to be attached to just about every single unoriginal idea coming out of Hollywood these days? He’s almost like a virus, spreading through Hollywood, remaking movies in his image or taking over franchises for himself.

Ah, we kid because we love The Rock.

Jumanji is directed by Jake Kasden and stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas and Bobby Cannavale. Look for it in theatres December 20.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – Official Trailer

About the author

Tim has been reviewing movies professionally since 2012. Currently, he writes for SceneStealers.com in addition to his writing and hosting duties for ReelHooligans.net and the Reel Hooligans podcast. He has been voting member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association since 2014, and currently sits as a board member for the Independent Filmmakers Coalition of Kansas City and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle as well as the founder of the Terror on the Plains Horror Festival.

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