New Jumanji : End the Year with a Bang! Must Watch!

Have a look at image below, its Mario, it’s Level 8-4, it’s the dragon, it’s just before you complete the level and meet the princess….. but, you don’t have any powers, no Super Mushroom, no Fire Flower, no Starman….. What do you do?

….. if you are a 8/16bit console gamer, a regular one, then you need no powers, you just need extra lives, give up one life, re-enter the game ‘blinking’, which means the dragon can’t kill you for that 5 seconds, run to the lever, press it, dragon is gone….. game won!…..
and the entire paragraph above has only one word for it “nerdy !!!!”
However, that’s what makes the movie Jumanji endearing, it’s simple, yet consistent with the logic of video games, The movie fully exploits the video game world. The above scenario of using extra lives to accomplish a task is wonderfully exploited in the movie.

Jumanji 1995, is a thrill ride, and even attempting a re-hash on the concept is brave, the original has all components, drama, excitement, humor, excellent acting, all of it that hold the movie together.
If it’s Robin Williams with his portrayal of Alan Parish stealing the show in 1995, who also gets a brilliant tribute with ‘it’s his home’ in the new movie, for 2017 the star is definitely Jack Black, stealing the show.
Shelly, Sheldon, a oversized male nerd, an avatar of a self obsessed, selfie hashtagging teenage girl, Bethany, perfectly cast with Jack Black for the role. The moment he says ‘where is my phone’, you know he has nailed it. Kevin Hart as Mouse/Fridge is expected to be hilarious, however Jack Black is the steal
The Rock is amazing, he has comic timing, with movies like Daddy’s home, he is proven. In this, his banter with Kevin Hart is comic gold.
Another Brilliant video game reference is the Character Strength and Weakness, Kevin Hart here has the most hilarious lines, his character weakness is “cake”, he literally explodes when he eats a cake.
Ruby Roundhouse is excellent, underpinning a lot of satire in the movie, ‘why am I wearing this in a jungle!’
Jumanji 2017, has one slight bit of advantage over the 1995 one – 3D technology.
Digressing here, I watched the movie in 4DX – new tech in town!. 4DX is basically adding movement to your theater chair, to give a more “immersive” experience. No guesses here, I was skeptic. Initially it felt like slight tingling under the seat akin to a massage chair, and initial scenes in the movie were not that great!
However, the scene when the characters drop into the game, the chairs tilted inwards, that truly immersive experience was ON!, I was sold on the idea. There are added effects like smoke, no water yet, probably they are working on it, all are good, but there is one scene, ‘the Rock’ is hanging of the helicopter, and the helicopter turns, and as your chair is tilting, a thick breeze of air hits you….. and you have to go WOW!….. Cinematic Experience !
It’s a bit jarring as the chair literally behaves like a Rocking chair in some scenes like the one where the Rhino’s are chasing the pack of characters, besides that it’s truly enjoyable….. 3D, Real-D 3D, IMAX, and now 4DX (There is still a theater in Pune that uses those ‘old-school’ rechargeable glasses, another option!)
In summary, if you take the keywords here, Jack Black as a teenage diva, Rock hanging off a helicopter, Rhinos, Kevin Hart banter….. A truly enjoyable movie