‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ is fun, hilarious and much better than you’d expect; trust me

    I saw the teaser trailer for the “Jumanji” sequel and thought, “WHAT?! WHY?!” But that’s the nature of teaser trailers. Just a taste to leave you wanting more. After the internet exploded with hatred and vitriol, I did what everyone should do and READ ABOUT IT first and saw what the premise actually was and was intrigued. Knowing that, I went into the theater with an open mind and low expectations. And surprise, surprise, I LOVED IT.
    The film begins almost directly after the end of the original with the board game Jumanji washed up on an unknown beach. Joggers pass as we begin to hear the trademark drums. Another jogger passes and stops, drawn to the drumming. He picks up the game and takes it home to his teenage son, Alex. Alex, adorned in his beloved metal band T-shirt, discards the game, pondering aloud, “Who still plays board games?” as he picks up his game controller and continues his video game.
    Later that night, green lights flash from his bedroom window, and he wakes to find the board game has transformed itself into a video game cartridge. As the audience collectively thinks, “Don’t do it!”, he puts the game in and starts it up. Another flash of green light and we all know what’s happened.
    He’s sucked into the game. I guess maybe not everyone would know what happened...

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