Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) BluRay 480p 720p & 1080p

The quest involves the retrieval of the Falcon Jewel, which madman Jergan (Rory McCann) has stolen from an indigenous culture. As the team tries to battle challenges to reach the boss level, they’re also on the hunt for Spencer, who’s been assigned the character of Ming (Awkwafina), a small-time thief.There was a feeling of accomplishment at the end of “Welcome to the Jungle.” Missions were accomplished, relationships were strengthened, and the video game console was destroyed, allowing the gamers to return to their normal lives. And then “Welcome to the Jungle” cleared almost a billion dollars at the box office. So now there’s a new mission, relationships are freshly broken, and Spencer has repaired the console, allowing him to escape from the drudgery of life and taste glory again in the video game world. Added to the mix are Eddie and Milo, two aged men dealing with unresolved tensions during an unexpected reunion, coming to terms with the failure of a restaurant they opened together long ago.

“The Next Level” shows a lot of interest in the bickering senior citizens, which eventually takes attention away from the younger characters, as Spencer is the only one with problem to solve, retreating from Martha due to feelings of inadequacy after “Jumanji” turned him into a powerful man.

Most of the teens are pulled back into “Jumanji,” with Bethany missing the initial move, joining the adventure later in the movie, only to end up as a horse. Those expecting a quick restoration of the “Welcome to the Jungle” dynamic might be a little disappointed with “The Next Level,” which doesn’t thunder off on a new quest for the gang. Instead, the screenplay goes over the rules of “Jumanji” once again, finding Eddie and Milo terribly confused about their new identities, learning about special skills, extra lives, and the importance of teamwork.

It’s “Welcome to the Jungle” reheated, with the older players adding nothing but unfunny idiosyncrasies to the characters, including Milo, who’s now Mouse, holding up pressurized situations of survival with his slow talking manner. The film is half over before the plot kicks into gear, but even that’s debatable, as the wrath of Jergen is instantly forgettable, removing a needed antagonist from a picture that largely reworks gags and near-misses from the early endeavor.

While returning director Jake Kasdan aims to recapture the momentum of “Welcome to the Jungle,” he mostly overthinks the challenge, slathering the picture with CGI-laden encounters (including stampeding ostriches and attacking primates), and the pure game elements lacking from the last move aren’t developed here, with the writing more interested in Spencer’s wounded sense of self-worth and Eddie’s inability to forgive. The cast comes to play, trying to make the body-swapping nature of “Jumanji” lively, but there’s not much of a script to support their enthusiasm, with the writing more interested in Mouse’s ability to converse with camels, not speed ahead with bigger laughs and more arresting video game dangers. “Jumanji: The Next Level” is an obvious comedown from the 2017 blockbuster, but it doesn’t even try to expand on the world-building of its predecessor, satisfied with simple recycling and superfluous casting additions that disrupt established chemistry.