Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

curmudgeon

Well-known member
Sony's new Jumanji film is nearing production, to be directed by Jake Kasdan (son of Lawrence and director of comedies) and to star the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Joe Jonas.

It's said that the film isn't a remake of the Joe Johnston's film starring Robin Williams, but a continuation of some sort. (Maybe just set in the same world?)

Today, Johnson shared some concept art for the film, which has him sporting a pseudo "Indiana Jones" look.

14145348_1609396976024902_1510082515_n.jpg


(found at Coming Soon)

This has me questioning whether he's still up for that Jungle Cruise movie. Seems like similar ground to me.
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
curmudgeon said:
Sony's new Jumanji film is nearing production, to be directed by Jake Kasdan (son of Lawrence and director of comedies) and to star the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Joe Jonas.


(found at Coming Soon)

...Jake Kasdan will direct from a screenplay by High Fidelity and Con Air scribe Scott Rosenberg...

ahem..."Why didn't you put the bunny back into the box?"....cough
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
curmudgeon said:
This has me questioning whether he's still up for that Jungle Cruise movie. Seems like similar ground to me.

It's become familiar territory for him, in one way or another. There's also the Jules Verne adaptation <I>Journey 2: The Mysterious Island</I>, along with his non-adventurer role in <I>The Mummy Returns</I> and an Indiana Jones sketch he starred in on <I>Saturday Night Live</I>.

We might also note that he's spent a fair amount of time in revivals of old properties or characters; in addition to the aforementioned, there's a remake of <I>Walking Tall</I>, a film version of the video game <I>Doom</I>, a film adaptation of <I>Get Smart</I>, a remake titled <I>Race to Witch Mountain</I>, toy/animated series-inspired <I>G.I. Joe Joe: Retaliation</I>, a go at playing <I>Hercules</I>, and the upcoming <I>Baywatch</I> film. All of which I think is perfectly natural and doesn't reflect poorly on <I>him</I>: he's charismatic, funny, and well-built, allowing him to be cast in everything from modern-day action comedies to sword-and-sandal fare.

Plus everything named above is a fraction of his incredibly busy schedule. I wouldn't write off his involvement in the <I>Jungle Cruise</I> project, if that film is still steaming ahead.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
curmudgeon said:
Today, Johnson shared some concept art for the film, which has him sporting a pseudo "Indiana Jones" look.
While it's certainly descriptive, I still find it kinda curious we associate any kind of look like that with Indiana Jones, even may think it's an intentional homage. After all, it's no so much an "Indiana Jones" look, as it is a standard "adventurer" look.

They didn't actually invent that for Indiana Jones, they simply popularized it.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
curmudgeon said:
Today, Johnson shared some concept art for the film, which has him sporting a pseudo "Indiana Jones" look.

f14e1398c617ff2a04504af8baa2234dd5cb8c42c4b5e6733a49876e979b6418.jpg


Jack Hanna, the Australian Light Brigade, The Drover: these all came to mind well before Indiana Jones. In fact, Dr. Jones wasn't a consideration until I went back to glance at your text again. The inclusion of a hat does not make something pseudo Indiana Jones. To piggy back on Finn's comment, everything here is part and parcel of the standard adventurer's kit.

A lot of fingers point to Bogart's turn in Treasure of the Sierra Madre as originating the look on film, but go back to 1939's Only Angels Have Wings and Richard Barthelmess' character, Bat MacPherson, wears an outfit that's virtually identical to Dr. Jones' right down to the shortened tie.

Attila the Professor said:
It's become familiar territory for him, in one way or another. There's also the Jules Verne adaptation Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, along with his non-adventurer role in The Mummy Returns and an Indiana Jones sketch he starred in on Saturday Night Live.

Are they expecting Shakespeare? The Rock has a particular niche of action-comedy that he's exploited to become the highest paid actor in the world. The fact that the World Famous Jungle Cruise Movie will be a period piece is more than enough to set it apart from this Jumanji... continuation.

Scott Mendelson said:
I have given Sony some grief for the very concept of a Jumanji remake. It is one of those 1990’s hits that was a success for very specific reasons (Robin Williams in a kid-friendly fantasy back when the very notion of CGI animals flying about and making mischief was in itself impressive) as opposed to any brand fandom. But snagging Johnson (as well as possibly Kevin Hart), a genuine “put butts in the seats” movie star, makes the idea palpable. The news makes sense in light of the kind of moves Johnson has been making over the last few years. He does originals here (San Andreas) and there (Central Intelligence), but when he does pick a franchise, he tends to go for one where he is bigger than the property.

Full article:[URL="http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2016/04/26/with-jumanji-and-jungle-cruise-the-rock-continues-to-pick-franchises-where-he-is-the-main-draw/#a6aa1bf23fe3]The Rock Picks Franchises Where He's the Main Draw[/URL]

Scott Mendelson is one of the few non-wet the bed industry analysts out there which makes him worth reading. While I disagree with him on the nature of movie stars (they don't exist; he's not going to drive box office on Moana or a rom com for example), The Rock certainly has potential.

And unless Disney pulls the Jungle Cruise movie from their announced release schedule, you can figure it's <s>full</s> one third ahead full for the time being.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
So, the first couple of snaps have found their way from the Waimea Valley in Hawai'i and onto the 'net. The first one has the principle cast in full costume.

Lara Croft is that you?

yYRnk7L.jpg



Kevin Hart is channeling a Pixar flick! Guess which one.


5EFart6.jpg
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
While it's a reach to call The Rock's costume a homage to anything in particular... curiously enough, that getup of Karen Gillan does look like one.

Yep, someone's raided the Croft manor garderobe, full stop.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Finn said:
Yep, someone's raided the Croft manor garderobe, full stop.

A little more rummaging and they turned out a Jonas Brother!


<img src="http://im.ziffdavisinternational.com/ign_es/screenshot/default/14288051_8u5b.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="I'm too sexy for my shirt.">

If I had to guess, the Jonas Bro. is supposed to be some sort of pilot. It's scant info to be sure,but he's wearing a bomber jacket (note the oversized pocket for the flight log,etc.) and the name bar reads "Seaplane" with a stylized fleur de lis badge. It looks familiar, but I can't quite place it.

The release date is still quite a ways off (22 December 2017), but a couple of interesting images have filtered out onto the 'net.

<img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CK5iT_TURgo/maxresdefault.jpg" width="600" height="400" alt="The bigger they are.">

More fight pictures over here.

I'm liking the early looks thus far! Here's hoping that the movie eventually lives up to the promise these pictures hint at!
 

curmudgeon

Well-known member
I forgot to note the title update in here.

"Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle"

There's also a new synopsis:

In the brand new adventure Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the tables are turned as four teenagers are sucked into the world of Jumanji.

When four high-school kids discover an old video game console with a game they?ve never heard of ? Jumanji ? they are immediately drawn into the game?s jungle setting, literally becoming the avatars they chose: gamer Spencer becomes a brawny adventurer (Dwayne Johnson); football jock Fridge loses (in his words) ?the top two feet of his body? and becomes an Einstein (Kevin Hart); popular girl Bethany becomes a middle-aged male professor (Jack Black); and wallflower Martha becomes a badass warrior (Karen Gillan). What they discover is that you don?t just play Jumanji ? you must survive it. To beat the game and return to the real world, they?ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, discover what Alan Parrish left 20 years ago, and change the way they think about themselves ? or they?ll be stuck in the game forever?
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Mod note: Is it time to update the thread title? Now that we've had a full, proper title for a couple of months now?

A full trailer is supposed to hit the 'net tomorrow (Thursday), but as is so often the case we get a teaser for a teaser. Or, a commercial for a commercial!

The original genius of MTV lives on!

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rmXzjuHPyG4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

There's a lot of action hinted at in the teaser, but not much else. You do get a glimpse of all the characters, and there's a definite hodge podge of styles going on. If I have any complaints, it's this -- the late Victorian-esque look espoused by Van Pelt in the original flick was something I had hoped to continue with. As of now, it's bog standard adventurer's kit.


Oh, I wish I was a little bar of soap, bar of soap
Oh, I wish I was a little bar of soap, bar of soap
I'd go slidey, slidey, slidey over every-body's hidey
Oh, I wish I was a little bar of soap, bar of soap.
 

curmudgeon

Well-known member
Here's the domestic trailer:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2QKg5SZ_35I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And the International Trailer, which shows more:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ubn4zeM40tk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It's... a weird mix of comedy and big-budget action/adventure. I could easily see critics saying the filmmakers couldn't decide what they wanted it to be.
 

TheFedora

Active member
I personally found the action parts good...the rest was not so much. The dialogue/banter was pretty cringe inducing to me, at least that was my initial impression. The 'kid in adult bodies' thing is just an okay gimmick to me.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
First thought: Jumanji is a video game? Well, it must be sentient; able to change appearances based on the era!

Second thought: Hollywood really needs to do something to hide/change/alter/whatever Ka’a’awa Valley. It's been used so often that it immediately takes me out of the proceedings.

Otherwise, I laughed. The action looks to be well choreographed if less than spectacular, but that's not the Jumanji that was alluded to. While I have no nostalgia for the original picture, this quote from Alan Parrish should have been their framework for the new movie.

Alan Parrish said:
You think that mosquitos, monkeys, and lions are bad? That is just the beginning. I've seen things you've only seen in your nightmares. Things you can't even imagine. Things you can't even see. There are things that hunt you in the night. Then something screams. Then you hear them eating, and you hope to God that you're not dessert. Afraid? You don't even know what afraid is. You would not last five minutes without me.

While that doesn't necessarily mean there are preternatural elements within Jumanji itself, the implications are certainly there. Instead there is a helicopter, dudes on motorcycles, and automatic weapons fire. Not exactly inspiring.

It reminds me of that time The Karate Kid went to China and learned kung fu.

The international trailer is better, but we'll wait and see. I'm not exactly bowled over, and Sony Pictures really needs to be wowing people before the end up being bowled for six.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
First thought: Jumanji is a video game? Well, it must be sentient; able to change appearances based on the era!
The action has to spill out into the school, right? From the land of, let's call it, Tronarnia.

My first thought was, the epidemic of hot girls in detention has increased from 40% to 50% since Breakfast Club.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Le Saboteur said:
First thought: Jumanji is a video game? Well, it must be sentient; able to change appearances based on the era!

Yep, definitely sentient.

<iframe width="853" height="505" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v_TJKwJwN0E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Yeah, I laughed. You can have my money Sony.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
A brief featurette where the actors pay lip service to the original picture gives us our first look inside Jumanji's game box. Instead of a game board, it has turned itself into a... SNES cartridge. Or at least a reasonable facsimile of one.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rysr8kIt6s0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
Saw this thanks to MoviePass on a slow rainy day. This was a fun movie! It was really similar to Indiana Jones knock-offs made consistently through-out the 80s-early 2000s with some clever meta-humor thrown in(a la Scott Pilgrim/Wreck-It-Ralph). Nice to see a fun stand-alone movie in theaters again in the Marvel-era, not trying to force an expanded universe on us.

It was well-acted. A much better film than the original.

Fittingly, Joe Kasdan(Lawrence's son) directed this!
 

roundshort

Active member
It looks like the shorter African-American actor (I have no idea what his name is) has a killer pair of hand made Danner Mt. Light boots on. I want to see it for this reason alone.
 
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