Jumanji is a classic which has evolved over the past years. It started as a picture book by Chris Van Allsburg where two children, Judy and Peter, find a magical board game and its dangers come to life; it became an amazing adventure film with new details. For example, a character is trapped in the world of the game for 26 years after playing it as a boy. The film became very popular, with an animated TV series soon following. Now, instead of a short children’s tale, the movie has characters trapped inside a video game, not a board game. They made the movie more modern and relatable to teens. Jumanji: The Next Level is a fun continuation with more laughs and action, highlighting the creative potential of this film.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle had a lot of fun with mixing up identities. Jack Black turns into a hilarious portrayal of a popular, phone-obsessed teenage girl, Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman). Another example is where Kevin Hart plays a well-fit/ strong football player, Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain), but in the game Kevin Hart has many weaknesses like cake, speed, and strength. These weaknesses along with his acting make the film unique and humorous; the script writers did an outstanding job. Ultimately, the story is about how Spencer learns to be a man by being projected into the body of a strong/brave male hero. That’s why Spencer, at the beginning of The Next Level, thinks of returning to Jumanji because his freshman year at college is not going so well. He wants to be strong and cool again, so he decides to play the game that made him feel that way.

Watching Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan and Kevin Hart do their best impressions of the actors is something that is as funny as an overstretched play on Saturday Night Live. However, the four are so good at playing different characters that it’s not only hilarious, but engaging. Jack Black, in ­particular, is a master of quirkiness.

Jumanji: The Next Level is a very hard-working film since it seems to be driven partly by a desire to prove itself worthy of its predecessor. Like many good video games, there is always a hint of another level.