Jumanji: The Next Level

The legacy of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) isn’t its perfectly fine special effects or entertaining actions sequences, but experiencing the joy of famous movie stars behaving like the teenage video game players who are inhabiting/controlling them.

The same goes for its welcome sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, which comes with the bonus attraction of famous movie stars acting like other famous movie stars. More specifically, audiences are gifted Kevin Hart channeling Danny Glover, plus Dwayne Johnson and, later, to even greater comedic effect, Awkwafina behaving like Danny DeVito.

These humorous delights arise when a disenchanted Spencer (Alex Wolff), searching for an ego boost via another round as the heroic Dr. Bravestone (Johnson), re-enters the titular, presumably destroyed game, prompting his friends to embark on a rescue mission. The buggy console accidentally loops in Spencer’s grandfather Eddie (DeVito) and his at-odds former business partner Milo (Glover), who are hilariously slow to grasp the reality of their new surroundings.

While the displaced senior citizens and Spencer’s pals attempt to track him down, retrieve an important stone from Jurgen the Brutal (Rory McCann, Game of Thrones’ The Hound) — a passable but fairly uninspired game scenario — and return to the real world, the oddball avatar schtick remains remarkably fresh, and receives an added jolt once Awkwafina trots out her best DeVito impression.

After starting his career with the one-two punch of Zero Effect and Orange County, only to renege on that goodwill with near laugh-free misfire like Walk Hard and Sex Tape, director Jake Kasdan appears to have found his calling in this bizarro-comic world.

His commitment to delivering light-hearted thrills and steady laughs is enough to make a third go-round with this crowd an acceptable proposition, and one that viewers are likely to receive before too long.

Grade: B. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC Classic, Biltmore Grande, and Carolina Cinemark

(Photo: Columbia Pictures)