JUMANJI THE NEXT LEVEL REVIEW
We’re going back to the game of Jumanji with the 3rd installment of the series. As much as I loved Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, I hate to report that this follow-up just isn’t… well, it isn’t anything special. But is Jumanji: The Next Level safe for kids? That’s something I’m answering in my Jumani: The Next Level parent movie review.
Table of Contents
What’s Jumanji: The Next Level About?
In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. And so have the players!
As they return to rescue one of their own, the players will have to brave parts unknown from arid deserts to snowy mountains, to escape the world’s most dangerous game.
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 2 hours 3 minutes
Jumanji: The Next Level Review
Y’all, I wanted this to be the surprise family movie of the holiday season.
I wanted to laugh, be surprised, be tickled with how sweet and generous the cast was together.
Basically: I wanted this to be Jumanji from 2017. Annndd…. it was not.
The charm and surprise that came from that film is pretty much absent from this one.
What went wrong with this one? A lot of things.
The actors were tasked with new characters to play when they enter the game and it just didn’t work as well as the first go around. I love Dwayne Johnson as an actor, but his range does not stretch to a 70-year-old Jewish man. Danny DeVito barely pulled that off for that matter.
The story is kinda a hot mess. The central thread that brought the kids together the first time can’t be replicated, it’s true.
But this story? This doesn’t even get close to a similar reaction.
Early on, it’s clear that some friendships were inexplicitly fractured and we honestly didn’t care.
I kept thinking, sure, college happens- people change from high school- so what’s the big deal? And I know that’s not what the filmmakers were shooting for.
The action also wasn’t quite as much fun as the first go-around; the Big Bad(s) are pointless and frankly unintimidating. You are never worried that the heroes won’t make it through the game because there just wasn’t that cliff hanger moment.
I loved Awkwafina in this, however. She’s the only one of 3 actors that could actually carry off the 70-year-old Jewish man. And she’s not a dude.
And if it seems I’m harping on that, well, it was that painful to watch coming from the others in the movie.
I’m not saying it’s a bad movie or that it doesn’t deserve your money at the box office. But I’d strongly suggest early matinee or $5 Tuesday prices, NOT Dolby or IMAX monies.
Overall, this one is entertaining enough if you go in with low expectations. If you want to see Jumanji from 2017, stay home and find it somewhere to stream.
Because this: this ain’t it, y’all.
Are There End Credit Scenes In Jumanji: The Next Level
While Jumanji: the Next Level doesn’t have an end credit scene, it does have a mid-credit scene you’ll want to stay for.
It doesn’t take too long to start, so just hold up a bit when the credits start to roll if you want to see the mid-credit scene in Jumanji.
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When Can You Pee During Jumanji: The Next Level
If you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go!
And since a lot of people might take their kids to this movie, knowing when you can pee during Jumanji the Next Level is vital movie-going information.
I truly think you could dash out during most of the action scenes (yup, I said it) since those were just not all that inspiring. But I narrowed a few times down for you to run to the bathroom during Jumanji: The Next Level:
- 35 minutes in during the Ostrich chase. It’s pretty dumb.
- 52 minutes after the women in red gives them instructions.
- 1:03 minutes when they are on camels in the daylight
- 1:30 minutes when Ming is being lowered
Is Jumanji: The Next Level Safe For Kids? Parent Movie Review
You know we’ve got to talk about Jumanji: The Next Level for kids, especially if you’re thinking this one is family-friendly. Is Jumanji safe for kids? There are some issues with it that I don’t think needed to be included.
The action, violence and overall theme of Jumanji: The Next Level is pretty much the same as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. If your family is ok watching that one together, then I feel this will be hitting the same kid-friendly levels as the previous film.
There is one exception, though. The language.
I’ll confess that I didn’t pay as much attention to the 2017 movie from a language perspective as I did for this one.
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So it might be on par with that movie. However, this one had a good 6 or 7 uses of the phrase G-d Da-n and it really stuck out. It was unnecessary for the plot, the storyline and even for the jokes.
While I’m not super sensitive to language for myself, for a family-marketed movie, this didn’t need to go that far. And it’s disappointing because it just wasn’t needed either.
There’s also an extended joke about a character who is called a eunuch. Balls are talked about a lot- and the missing of said balls- and welp, that’s another discussion you might need to have with your kids. Thanks, Jumanji!
Is Jumanji: The Next Level safe for kids? I’m going to say no to this one until we’re hitting the teenage years, and only then if you can trust your teens not to repeat it all. Cause gosh darn, it was a lot of GDs in this one!
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Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.