• Genre: Action, Fantasy, Adventure, Drama
• MPAA Rating: PG-13
• Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes
• Medium: Live-action
• Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Scope)
• Country: United Kingdom, United States
• Company: Netflix (distribution), Warner Bros. Pictures, The Imaginarium
• Director: Andy Serkis
• Cast: Rohan Chand (Lone Survivor, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle)
Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Hustle)
Andy Serkis (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Imitation Game)
Cate Blanchett (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Blue Jasmine)
Tom Hollander (Gosford Park, Pride & Prejudice)
Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur, War Horse)
Naomie Harris (Moonlight, Spectre)
Eddie Marsen (Happy-Go-Lucky, Snow White and the Huntsmen)
Matthew Rhys (The Americans, The Post)
Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOLIERS MAY APPEAR. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
“Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back—
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”
-Rudyard Kipling
It has been a little over two years since Kipling’s literary masterpiece The Jungle Books were reimagined for a new audience with Disney’s critically acclaimed 2016 live-action/CG remake, and it’s been much longer that we’ve been treated to a motion picture which was more faithful to the dark, gritty, violent and mysterious nature of the stories of Mowgli, a young “man-cub” raised by wolves and a friend and enemy to many of the jungle beasts. It’s also been a long time in development hell for this flower to blossom, as several directors were announced to helm it, from Alejandro G. Iñárritu to Ron Howard, until finally motion capture aficionado Andy Serkis accepted the task of bringing the classic adventures to life in a way more true to Kipling’s works than the sugarcoated Disney versions. Being Serkis’ directorial debut, this film was originally supposed to be released in theaters nationwide, until Warner Bros. Pictures sold the distribution rights to Netflix. Because of this, I’ll be treating this film in my review as I would with any theatrical release. Does Andy Serkis manage to prove himself as great a director as he is an actor or does the film fall short of the Kipling classic? Let’s take a look.
Even if you haven’t read the original Jungle Books, many of you may know the basic premise of Mowgli’s life in the jungle. Bagheera the black panther (Bale) finds a human baby (or “man-cub” as the animals say) in the jungle whose mother is killed by the villainous tiger Shere Khan (Cumberbatch) and takes him to a family of wolves who adopt him as one of their own. Under the guidance of Akela (Mullan), the leader of the wolf pack, and the protection of the Pack, the man-cub Mowgli grows up with the wolves and learns of the ways of the jungle from Baloo (Serkis), the old bear who teaches the Law of the Jungle, and his friend Bagheera. However, his good life is threatened when Shere Khan discovers his existence and vows to kill him. Bagheera tells the lad that the jungle is no longer a safe haven for him and that he must rejoin his kind in a local man village, but Mowgli, not wanting to give up his life in the jungle, tries his hardest to be like the other wolves to be accepted as a full fledged member of the Pack. What follows is a journey of self-discovery where Mowgli must choose between jungle and man village and find his place in the world.
Naturally, as this film to remain faithful to the work of Kipling, don’t expect this to be ANYTHING like the 1967 and 2016 Disney movies. No “Bare Necessities”. No King Louie. No buzzards with Liverpudlian accents. And especially no party animals jumpin’ and dancin’ around. This is perhaps the closest any Jungle Book adaptation I’ve seen gets to doing Kipling’s original writings justice. While it doesn’t play out the exact events in the books note for note, it still keeps the spirit and tone of the stories in check. If you’ve read the original Jungle Books as much as I have, you’ll totally understand where I’m going at. We have predators killing prey for sustenance. We have those who abide by the Law of the Jungle, like the Pack and Mowgli’s friends, and those who break the Law for their won selfish interests, like Shere Khan and his conniving hyena henchman Tabaqui (Hollander). We even have intense moments where characters are in peril and the danger is real. Serkis worked hard to make sure the film remains true to the spirit of the books, and so far he’s succeeded in that department.
As motion capture technology continues to evolve rapidly, the line between special effects and acting becomes even more paper-thin. The work on this film shaves that line even thinner. The creatures are depicted in a realistic manner, but are just exaggerated enough to avoid the dreaded uncanny valley. There is so much detail put onto their fur, like dirt, mud, scars, and bloody wounds, making them so much more real. One really impressive moment of attention to detail for me is when Mowgli first meets Hathi the elephant who is completely covered in moss! I must also point out their are several instances of blood and gore, where characters are shown bleeding and sliced by claws or knives and even torn-open carcasses from which predators feed. These scenes are not for those of a squeamish disposition, but it makes the dangers of the setting all the more real.
But perhaps the most important thing I really focused on during the entire duration of the film was the subtle movement of the eyes of the creatures to show their thought process and the way their facial muscles operate to convey the desired emotion. The quick subtle gestures of the actor’s face are translated perfectly onto the face of a digital beast, making these effects not only more convincing, but also endows them with more of a humanity. That’s one of the beauties of motion capture when it’s done right, but then again, that’s to be expected from Serkis, the Laurence Olivier of motion capture, who now leads an entire menagerie of actors to perform under his methods.
Serkis not only directs, bit also portrays the bear Baloo, who teaches Mowgli the Law of the Jungle. As in the book, Baloo is very gruff, serious and strict towards Mowgli, but still loves him and wishes for him to succeed. I couldn’t have pictured a better casting choice for Shere Khan than Benedict Cumberbatch, who is just so deliciously scary and mean and loving every minute of it. The best way to describe his performance as the ruthless tiger is to imagine a feline version of Smaug. Yet surprisingly, the best performance in the entire film has to be that of Christian Bale as Bagheera. Let me mention an example in the film. When Mowgli goes down to the man village and is captured by the villagers and put in a cage, Bagheera comes down and convinces him to stay and gain their trust and he reveals his backstory of how he was born in a cage and escaped from captivity. Look at the way Bagheera’s eyes move, look at the way his facial muscles contort. It’s all very subtle but shows the emotion of the character and thought process of how he should tell the lad that everything will be alright. It’s essentially the most powerful moment in the film for me. I think this is something animation students should study in order to understand the acting part of the medium and gives the film its humanity.
If I was forced to criticize the film for anything, it’s that the opening seems a bit too rushed for starters. Only after the title does the pace become more consistent. In addition, I didn’t find the actor who plays Mowgli himself all that interesting. Not once did I ever find him unlikable, but not much really about seem to stand out other than what the script tells us. Neel Sethi, who played Mowgli in the 2016 Disney version, had a lot more charm and personality to him, which made his digital surroundings all the more believable. Perhaps this actor, on the other hand, wasn’t given much to work with. Who knows. Anywho, on to my final thoughts.
In conclusion, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, while not entirely perfect, still manages to deliver the faithful representation it promises with its darker and more violent tone, grittier and more believable setting, passionate direction by Serkis, and strong motion capture performances. This does beg me to address the elephant in the room. Is it better or not as good as the 2016 Jungle Book? Honestly, that depends on what you want to see from a Jungle Book adaptation. Families with very little kids can pop in the 1967 animated Disney feature for some harmless fun, while families wanting a little bit more edge can watch the 2016 version, and older kids who crave dark and gritty intense moments can give this a watch. I think it helps if you read the original Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling to better familiarize yourself with the stories and characters and compare how they’re represented here. All I can say at this point is that Andy Serkis has certainly kept the Jungle Law.
My personal rating: 4.25 stars out of 5.
Next time: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! (My spider senses are tingling that this is gonna be awesome!!!)
Supreme Dream Machine 