By Lauryn Robertson|ContributorAs a fan of the original 'Jumanji' (1995), I was very concerned when “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” was announced. I thought it would either be a tacky money-grabbing remake, or a lazy sequel that ruins the original’s memory.I’m so happy my suspicions were wrong.'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' takes place 20 years after the original film. In the year 2016, the magical board game now takes the form of a video game cartridge. After discovering and playing the magical game of Jumanji, four stereotypical high school teens—a nerd, a jock, a shallow popular girl, and an anti-social nerdy girl—find themselves trapped within the magical jungle of Jumanji. Inside the game, the four teens now possess the bodies and abilities of the game avatars they selected when first starting the game, which are all polar opposites of themselves. The teens must use their new collective abilities to find their way out of the game.For example, Spencer in the real world is a scrawny nerd who lacks self-confidence, but his in-game persona is a buff explorer named Dr. Smolder Bravestone played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Enough said.Although most of the actors nailed the personification of their teenaged stereotypes, it seemed that Kevin Hart was just, well, Kevin Hart. He’s always loud, silly and hilarious, but I just didn’t buy a tough, confident jock was trapped in his body.Highlights of the movie were definitely Jack Black behaving like a shallow, phone obsessed, teenage girl trapped in a man’s body, and Karen Gillan, an introverted wallflower, having the best fight scenes in the movie.Not many sequels can pick up where an original film left off and make something worth watching that actually adds originality to the franchise; however, 'Welcome to The Jungle' does. The film has laughs from beginning to end, action, and it has video game references that will make any gamer smile. You really start to feel for these characters and root for their personal growth and discovery.The film has multiple themes of transformation beginning with the game itself and ending with the characters' physical and emotional changes. The transformation depicts how the franchise is changing and growing, for the better.'Jumanji' as a franchise is changing for a new generation, but, at its core, 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' is still the vine wrapped, adventure we know and love. Film in a boxTitle: “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.”Length: 1 hour, 59 minutes.Rating: PG-13 (mild cursing, action violence).Director: Jake Kasdan.Studio: Columbia Pictures (Sony).Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale.Reviewer’s score: 8/10.Where being screened: Regal Augusta, GTC Riverwatch, GTC Evans.Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKg5SZ_35I