Jumanji (1995)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1995
	Director: Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park 3, Captain America: The First Avenger)
	Actors: Robin Williams (The Bicentenial Man, One Hour Photo), Kirsten Dunst (The Virgin Suicides, Spider-Man 1-3), Bonnie Hunt
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy, Adventure
	Conditions of visioning: 06.07.2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: When two kids find a board game in the house they move in, they accidentally continue a game started 20 years before by another kid (Williams) that spent all this time trapped in the game world.
Review: I hadn't seen this movie in an eternity but I was tempted to see it again after the release its "sequel" Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and the announcement of the Jumanji: The Next Level. I remember to have loved it as a teenager: board games, adventures, protagonists of my age... everything to make a success, and it was. Also thanks to a status of family Entertainment blockbuster, the presence of funny Robin Williams and again an adventure story illustrated by state-of-the-art digital effects two years after Jurassic Park. Let's get this out of the way: those effects have aged, badly, and remind me more of the space monkey of Lost in Space. What is worse is that the practical effects also look fake and plasticky. But I am ready to overlook that on account that it is just a support to tell a story. What is really good in this movie (apart from the adventure) are the characters: from the kid in an adult's body fantastically played by Robin Williams, including his relationship with his father, to the two kids who lost their parents and the woman taking care of them, the comedic relief cop... everyone had a backstory and all the actors are great in telling it. Special mention to kid star Kirsten Dunst which I didn't know was playing in there, but in which you can already recognize a future good actress. And the director doesn't hesitate to show those characters in close-up to focus on their acting and reaction, even when facing plastic spiders. A movie I can easily see myself showing my son when he will be 5-10.
Rating: 6 /10