In the year since they narrowly survived the video game Jumanji, Spencer (Alex Wolff), Bethany (Madison Iseman), Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain), and Martha (Morgan Turner) have remained friends but Spencer particularly feels the strain. What was supposed to be a meet-up for coffee turns into a search party when Spencer doesn't show. Bethany, Fridge, and Martha are let into the house by Spencer's grandfather, Eddie (Danny DeVito), desperate to get out of a hard conversation with his former business partner, Milo (Danny Glover), and the kids are horrified to learn that Spencer has painstakingly pieced the destroyed video game back together and gone back inside. They decide to rescue him but something goes horribly wrong and Eddie and Milo are pulled into the game instead of Bethany. Martha remains Ruby Roundhouse, killer of men (Karen Gillan), but Eddie is now Dr. Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Fridge is Oberon (Jack Black), and Milo is Mouse (Kevin Hart). They have to navigate new levels, new powers, and new weaknesses to find Spencer, defeat Jurgen the Brutal (Rory McCann), and save Jumanji once more.
I don't know that anyone really needed another sequel but Welcome to the Jungle was surprisingly profitable, so it was inevitable. And it was a good time. This is slightly weaker but still a very fun, easy watch. The action sequences are great, the scenery is really beautiful, and the script is funny. Popcorn cinema gets maligned but it's just as valuable as prestige, maybe more so in its accessibility. The Next Level is currently streaming on Starz, which I get through Amazon Prime.
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