jumanji

The latest ‘Star Wars’ film continued its worldwide box office domination against several new films.

Everyone just wants to escape with their lives and return to their original bodies in the new remake.

There’s a lot more action coming i this Wednesday’s new trailer for Jumanji, and The Rock has done us all a favor of posting a teaser with all the best bits. Motorcycles! Piggyback rides! A giant hippopotamus! Jack Black saying “I can’t even”!

Those of us who have dutifully followed Dwayne Johnson’s social-media updates from the set of the Jumanji reboot (fully titled Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a series of words I will never say out loud) have been hotly anticipating the first official trailer for months now. And after all the online teasing from the Rock about how much excitement audiences can expect from his new revival of the ’90s kids’ classic, he’s finally putting his money where his bulging, oiled-up biceps are. Welcome to the jungle, director Jake Kasdan has fun and games, if by “fun” we mean “a massive FX budget” and if by “games” we mean “body-switching humor.“

Last year, we published a video essay on Arnold Schwarzenegger that suggested that Arnold is much an auteur as the directors he has worked with. While most people still think of movies like Terminator and True Lies as the work of James Cameron, our own Matt Singer argued  —  and rather persuasively, I might add  —  that Arnold’s status as a cinematic auteur should be just as important a factor in how we evaluate his films. No matter who is behind the camera of an Arnold movie, you know the types of characters and narratives you are going to get.

It might be getting a little more difficult for Jumanji loyalists to remain skeptical of the reboot. As if the casting of Dwayne Johnson weren’t enough for you, today brings word that Jack Black is in talks to join the cast, while it appears that Johnson’s Central Intelligence co-star Kevin Hart has officially signed on. If you aren’t even remotely enticed by the prospect of watching those three get into shenanigans with an assortment of various jungle animals, then I don’t know what could possibly make you feel joy.

You really have no idea how loved a movie is until a studio announces plans to reboot it — such is the case with Jumanji, the 1995 film starring Robin Williams, which performed pretty well at the box office but didn’t leave a big impression on critics and (adult) audiences. But reactions to Dwayne Johnson’s new Jumanji movie offer a valuable lesson in the power of nostalgia, as fans have been quick to cry foul on the reboot. Johnson has heard you, and not only is he committed to making the best reboot possible, but he’s also found a “cool” way to honor the memory of Robin Williams.

First announced last year, the remake / reboot of Jumanji based on the classic book-turned-adventure film starring Robin Williams seemed like a baffling idea. What could possibly make the average movie-goer excited about this remake? A great cast, for starters, and it looks like we might get just that as everyone’s new favorite odd comedic coupling are in talks to star in the new Jumanji movie.

'Jumanji' was that mid-90s movie with Robin Williams that was ostensibly based on a board game but actually based on a book. It's a fine enough movie that made some money and showed off what were, at the time, some impressive visual FX. But we've come a long way since 1995 and now we're gonna get a new 'Jumanji' movie that will be updating for "modern times."