39
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75San Francisco ExaminerWalter AddiegoSan Francisco ExaminerWalter AddiegoThe result is a thrill ride with enough plunges and turns and loop-the-loops to make it worth a spin. What the picture lacks is the magic and resonance you feel in the best of popular entertainments.
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinEschewing warm, cuddly imagery just as Mr. Van Allsburg's book does, the film affects a strange, artificial style that has the invasive weirdness of "Gremlins" but none of the charm.
- 60EmpireEmpireOn a scene by scene basis, it is mostly great fun but suffers from a contrived script which repetitively drags characters back to the eponymous magical board game for another effect-producing throw of the dice.
- 58Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJumanji is cardboard Spielberg, a B-movie scrap heap of spare parts lifted from "Jurassic Park" and "Gremlins" and "Back to the Future".
- 50ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliJumanji takes approximately one-hundred minutes for four people to play a board game. The result isn't much more fun or involving than watching a few friends play Monopoly.
- 50San Francisco ChroniclePeter StackSan Francisco ChroniclePeter StackAs a movie, it's far from compelling. As a thrill ride, though, it's a rampaging special effects and animatronics extravaganza that will make small children cringe behind their seats.
- 40Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonWilliams is hardly at his comically inventive best. And the script (adapted by Chris Van Allsburg, and a string of others, from his book) pursues the least exciting avenues possible.
- 38Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe film is a gloomy special-effects extravaganza filled with grotesque images, generating fear and despair.
- 30Los Angeles TimesJack MathewsLos Angeles TimesJack MathewsSomething bad happened on the way from the book to the movie. [15Dec1995 Pg. F.01]
- 25Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittMostly trite and tacky despite Robin Williams's strenuous acting.