Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

               Nothing will ever replace the original "Jumanji" starring Robin Williams but this new "reboot" for the digital age stands on its own as a fun, exciting and silly film.

                Instead of creatures from the game being released into our world as in the original, four teenagers are now sucked into the world of Jumanji after finding an old video game version in a school storage room. The four teens are stereotypes of the jock, the nerd, the self absorbed beauty queen, and the shy wallflower.

               The fun begins when they become their avatars in the game. The Jock turns into Kevin Hart, the beauty queen becomes Jack Black, the plain Jane becomes Karen Gillan, and the nerd turns into Dwayne Johnson (otherwise known as The Rock). While they may all look different, their personalities remain the same and that creates some really great laughs. Mr. Johnson gets to spoof his "He-man" persona and Mr. Hart is very funny as the football player trapped in his small frame. Mr. Black is also very funny as a teenage girl trapped in the body of a middle-aged, overweight professor.

                 Before they are drawn into the game, the four teens are played by Alex Wolf as Spencer, "the Nerd", Madison Iseman as Bethany, "the beauty queen",  Morgan Turner as Martha, the shy wallflower and Ser'Darius Blain as "the jock".  They are an engaging group of young actors.

                 While in the game and learning as they go how to "win" and return home, the four meet Nick Jonas, as Alex Vreeke, a teen who has been stuck in the game for 20 years. The five team up to defeat Bobby Cannavale who plays Van Pelt, a character from the original film, who has cursed the Jumanji world by stealing a rare jewel.

                 With only three lives each, the film becomes more suspenseful with each "death" of a character. There are all kinds of traps to avoid and puzzles to solve as the group moves through the different levels of the game. Along the way, there are plenty of laughs, lots of action, romance and even a positive message. In this season of serious "Oscar" contenders, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is refreshing and mindless fun.