Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

Movie · 2019 · Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy · 2h 3m · PG-13 · English

Curator score: 1.8/10 (892.8K ratings)

New places. New faces. Next level.

Overview

As the gang return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.

Ratings

Director

Jake Kasdan

Production

Columbia Pictures, Seven Bucks Productions, Matt Tolmach Productions, The Detective Agency

Cast

Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Awkwafina, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Madison Iseman, Ser'Darius Blain, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Rhys Darby, Colin Hanks, Rory McCann, Marin Hinkle, Vince Pisani, Dorothy Steel, Jennifer Patino, Madison Johnson

Where to watch

Hulu, fuboTV

Curator Review

Verdict

A breezy, crowd-pleasing sequel that runs on cast chemistry, body-swap comedy, and videogame-style adventure rather than originality. It’s fun if you liked the first film’s tone and don’t mind a lighter, more chaotic follow-up, but the story is mostly an excuse for gags and set pieces.

Best for

  • fans of broad studio adventure-comedy
  • viewers who enjoyed the first Jumanji reboot
  • people who like ensemble body-swap humor
  • families and casual blockbuster audiences

Skip if

  • you want a fresh or surprising sequel
  • you dislike loud, joke-driven action
  • you need strong fantasy world-building
  • you prefer character depth over high-energy spectacle

Overview

Jumanji: The Next Level doubles down on the reboot’s formula: fast-moving action, playful character swaps, and a cast that clearly understands the assignment. The sequel’s main pleasure is watching performers riff on one another’s personas, especially when the movie leans into mismatched voices, physical comedy, and the absurdity of the game’s rules.

Worth noting

It’s less inventive than the first film, and the plotting can feel like a series of excuses to move from one comic set piece to the next. But the movie keeps a light, accessible rhythm, and the adventure material is polished enough to carry the jokes even when the script is running on fumes.

Bottom line

If you’re in the mood for a glossy, family-friendly blockbuster with a strong ensemble and minimal emotional risk, it does the job. If you’re hoping for a sequel with sharper stakes or a bigger sense of wonder, this one is more competent than inspired.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Bethany (3★) · 3016 likes

my favorite character is karen gillan's stomach

maria (3★) · 1658 likes

cultural impact: ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ _____________awkwafina as danny devito everything else

clem (3.5★) · 1623 likes

awkwafina's danny devito impersonation will be taught in acting classes worldwide

🤎jess🤎 (2.5★) · 1012 likes

me when i thought awkwafina and karen were gonna eventually kiss at some point and then they didn't: 🤡

chloe 💓 (4★) · 893 likes

both jack black and awkwafina have so much range they could each play every character in this movie and it'd be just as good

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Topics

adventure-comedy, fantasy, body swap, ensemble cast, family blockbuster, video game world, lighthearted, action set pieces, sequel, fish-out-of-water

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