Rating: 3.5 / 5
The core theme of “The Next Level” is the revival of old friendships and identity crises in adolescence and old age. The four friends from the first part now go to different colleges after high school and have lost sight of each other, the relationship between Spencer and Martha broke up, so now the four of them arrange a meeting for the Christmas holidays and try to get together again to find. Social media aptly turn out to be a blessing and a curse, on the one hand they enable global and permanent contacts, on the other hand they can also lead to a falsified perception, exaggerate the life of the other person and thereby degrade one’s own life. In the worst case, social media, contrary to its actual purpose, lead to social alienation.
The fact of the falsified perception can also be transferred to such VR video games as “Jumanji”, for the formation of identity it is anything but healthy to compare one’s own weaknesses with such a superhuman like The Rock character. If one indulges in this false ideal, one will inevitably lose oneself in fiction and be held captive there, while losing real relationships and friendships, although these are all the more important in such crises of meaning and identity as Spencer goes through.
Trailer zu Jumanji – The Next Level
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In “The Next Nevel” there are now Spencer’s grandfather Eddie (Danny DeVito) and his ex-business partner Milo (Danny Glover), who used to be successful owners of a restaurant and apart from that very good friends, but fell apart because of different philosophies of life. Milo was tired of working at an advanced age and wanted to enjoy old age, so they sold the restaurant. Eddie, on the other hand, defined himself through work for the rest of his life and when he retires he doesn’t know what to do with himself. 15 years later, he hasn’t forgiven Milo for the decision to sell the restaurant. Increased by the signs of age (is cared for by the daughter and relies on a cane) Eddie has turned into a bitter, grumpy man who does not notice that he has lost a good friend. Milo, meanwhile deadly ill. is now taking the step towards reconciliation. Actually, “The Next Level” benefits enormously from Danny DeVito, who plays his role with incredible warmth.
In the video game the situation is now that the character selection has been expanded and also takes place randomly or can be swapped in the game. In relation to the self-irony, which was already wonderfully implemented in the first part, this brings to light completely new possibilities, which already starts with the fact that Danny DeVito and Danny Glover are also part of the game. When DeVito and Glover are in young, agile bodies and have no idea about video games, they satirize their own age, DeVito also makes fun of dragging his own height through the cocoa. The fact that DeVito appears in The Rock’s body with the natural sex appeal of young, attractive women like Karen Gillan (who also has a teenager), opens up a clear level of awareness for the creepy behavior of old, chauvinistic men. Apart from that, “The Next Level” has a variety of unusual acting impressions to offer, The Rock as Danny DeVito, Kevin Hart as Danny Glover, Awkwafina as Danny DeVito and, finally, in one scene, Danny DeVito as The Rock.
As an action adventure film, “The Next Level” also goes a long way and feels completely like a video game in a positive sense according to the setting. Karen Gillan gets more to do this time, performs a “Prince of Persia” -like parkour for a quest and fights her way through a group of evil Henchman in the finale with a cool choreography. The absolute highlight is the scene in which the characters have to cross a ravine over various floating bridge elements while they are attacked by a horde of mandrills. A crazy creation of scenes, viewed in isolation with its own drama. Only Jack Black knows the right way, at some point the group is dispersed over several levels of heights, while The Rock and Karen Gillan have to try to fend off the mandrill and protect the lives of the group members. An exciting back and forth and up and down, as I said, it truly feels like an adventure action sequence from a video game.
Like the first part, I also find the second part to be a charming, heartwarming and quite funny film, “The Next Level” takes place during the Christmas season and, with its homely atmosphere, fits in perfectly with this time, which is naturally over on January 9th is, but still lingers. In the case of the two “Jumanji” films, Jake Kasdan is entirely his father’s son, he brings these typical adventure films of the 1980s and 1990s back to life and usefully transfers them to the 2010s.
