Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle
Director – Andy Serkis
Cast – Rohan Chand, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Rhys
Just two years ago we saw a live-action Disney film based on Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, so with Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle everyone had the same question, ‘Do we need another film on The Jungle Book?’ So the answer is why not! Mowgli- Legend of the Jungle is the latest adaptation of Kipling’s classic tale. Directed by Andy Serkis, the film owns an impressive cast of actors who have provided voice and motion capture movements.
Andy Serkis, who is best known for his motion capture work as Gollum in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and the Planet of the Apes revival series, first started work on Mowgli almost seven years ago. After many setbacks, the Warner Bros. Pictures production was bought by Netflix for distribution with a limited theatrical release in America.
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle begins with a child sitting all alone in a jungle where he is discovered by Bagheera. Bagheera passes the infant to wolves. After much discussion, the pack of wolves decided to make him one of their own.
With time this man-cub faces more problems and with Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) returns it’s very tough for the child to compete. Bagheera (Christian Bale) and Balloo (Andy Serkis) are Mowgli’s constant companions. The Balloo we see here is not the lovable bear who loves honey but a trainer who is focused on preparing Mowgli for the tough life of the jungle.
This movie has its own way of displaying characters, unlike The Jungle Book here Mowgli is not just dancing around with his wolf brothers but is instead struggling with difficult existential questions about where he belongs. The conflict here is not Mowgli vs Shere Khan but Mowgli as a human vs Mowgli as a wolf. I thought this adaptation was dark and slightly more mature than any before it, while still maintaining a kid-friendly vibe.
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle Review:
This version of The Jungle Book is a bit dark compared to the usual jungle book stories or movies but it’s excellently executed. One will definitely impressed with the cinematography and special effects. Rohand Chand’s performance was nothing short of splendid considering the giant casts he’s in company with in this version.
There are a lot of negative reviews spreading about this movie, but I do beg to differ from those critics. The fact is that when it comes to its ratings, this movie has a 5.7 out of 10 rating on Rotten Tomatoes which includes 3.8 out of 5 Audience Score along with a 70% audience liking score.
When it comes to IMDB, this movie has 6.8 out of 10 rating given by nearly 5000 IMDb Users. So it’s clear, despite all negative reviews movie lovers are enjoying it.
Whether to watch it or not:
From the point of view of a teenager, I believe this movie has very strong content and I recommend the movie to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. Each character was very crafted into the plot and development of the story. After watching this movie, I personally think this movie deserves a big screen release worldwide especially in 3D.
Highly recommended! Just keep in mind that there are certain scenes that should be considered when watching with little kids as it might scare them.
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