By Elisa Reamer

Jake Kasdan brings on an action-filled reboot of the 1995 version of Jumanji. Though the same concept, the movies are uncomparable. No movie could be as great as one that Williams starred in, but this is still very well done. If you enjoy comedy, this movie is a must-see. 

In the remake, a group of five high school students all get detentions for various reasons. They are all from different social groups and they normally would not interact with one another. This sounds like a popular John Hughes’ film, doesn’t it?  While in detention, they discover a video game called Jumanji. They turn it on and their adventure begins. When they all choose their characters in the game, the students are slowly sucked into the TV one by one.

When they all turn into characters from the game, life gets wild for them. Bethany (Jack Black) transforms into a male. Her personality from life still outshines in her male alter-ego, so essentially Black has to portray a female for the entire movie. Martha, (Karen Gillan) the shy, insecure girl, is forced to live as the hottie with the revealing clothes. Fridge (Kevin Hart) becomes a very short, unathletic male. Spencer (Dwayne Johnson) was once seen as the nerd boy that could not do anything. In the movie, he is the very strong hero.  As the movie progresses, these strangers bind together and learn how to fight off evil and save each other from running out of lives.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this version of Jumanji. It makes viewers feel every type of emotion. It’ll make you laugh, cry, and fill you with rage. These teenagers’ lives will never be the same. See what happens when people set aside their differences and are forced to rely on each other for survival. I was really skeptical at first because I hate when Hollywood remakes older movies, but this quickly turned my thoughts around. I’m really glad Kasdan did what he did to honor the original version but also add a fun, new twist. I do believe everyone should see this movie at least once.