Jumanji (1995)
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Jumanji Movie Review
Jumanji is a 1995 fantasy adventure film directed by Joe Johnston and starring Robin Williams. It is a very subpar film which is okay and definitely charming, but weakly executed.
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“Stop giving me things that come apart!“
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Now in my opinion the story where the board game becomes alive and the children must continue to play is very original and authentic. However, it is very disapprovingly executed in this film and thus the remake ‘Zathura’ remains a much better film. At least in my opinion.
The problem with this film is that it has way too much action in it. That is why the first half is much better than the second frenetic one. I found the first half traditional in approach and quite charming, but then the film became overwhelming in spectacle and I lost interest.
Because it is so concerned with entertainment, it loses its track on story and especially characters. The characterization is very mediocre here with not a single one of its characters being even remotely memorable. The acting is fine, but I did not like Robin Williams here and he was only there for the star power. The film should have focused on the kids themselves more.
Jumanji is technically speaking quite strong. Yes, the pacing is bad and Joe Johnston’s direction is subpar as he has never been a great director. The structure is also problematic and the film does not flow well and doesn’t utilize on its potential at all.
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But the flick actually features terrific special effects. Now I did see that many find this film dated now and it is dated, but I think it is not fair to judge its special effects so harshly. In my opinion, the movie looks splendid for its time. The monkeys definitely gave away its age as the CGI on them was the weakest, but the other creatures looked magnificent with the lion and the carnivorous plants being the highlight. For 1995, the film looked epic and amazing and that’s one of the reasons why it was number ten at the box office that year.
Jumanji features excellent special effects for its time, the premise is great and the first half is quite charming and engaging, but the second one is boring, messy and filled with too much spectacle and not enough storytelling. The characterization also suffered as a result of its fast pace. It is an okay film, but it unfortunately squandered its great premise.
