Netflixer: 'Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle' Review

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Netflixer: 'Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle' Review
Stefan Ivanovic

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Stefan Ivanovic

Dec 8, 2018

Andy Serkis’ adaptation of the legendary Jungle Book is dark and bloody, but that doesn’t have to be a good thing.

Massive budget of ‘Mowgli’ might have been a good indicator that we are on for a great, adventurous ride, but if you remember, Jon Favreu made a similar movie two year ago! That’s why the production of ‘Mowgli Legend of the Jungle’ lasted longer and was finally adopted by Netflix.

And while all Netflix subscribers have access to the movie, and perhaps enough curiosity, like I do, to give this movie a chance, there are problems right from the start.

Where should we start?

Keep in mind this was Andy Serkis’ first directorial debut, but ‘Breathe’ ended up coming sooner, because of the following production problems on Mowgli.

Serkis, as a pioneer in performance-capture, has put in too much work into technology behind the movie, and there’s just not enough character development. And while the story should, absolutely, focus on Mowgli, other characters just don’t give us enough to care.

With an all-star cast, man would think this movie has to be epic. And maybe we wanted too much of it.
As I mentioned, The Jungle Book is too fresh in our minds for another movie that tackles literally the same topic. Maybe it was just too soon?

I have to say that the movie completely lost me when the animals started speaking in the way that did, together with such a complex dialogue that I see no reason for characters to be animals. They could have easily been human from some lost, jungle tribe.

And even with such an effort to create tension, I find Shere Khan totally unconvincing villain. There’s no reason for the moves he makes, and there’s no reason that someone as numerous and strong as wolf pack to put up with him. This can, maybe, be explained with 3 Jungle Laws, but still…

Perhaps the biggest problem I have with the movie is that both worlds, animal and human, are too cruel. There’s almost no love in the jungle, but the human world is equally cruel and twisted. I see no happy ending after the end of the movie. Mowgli could not possibly be someone happy with his life.

A few good points? Animation is surely great; performance-capture team did a great job. but other than that I can’t give the movie many compliments.

All in all, it’s great that you don’t have to pay for the movie ticket on this one, because you would end up disappointed. As a distraction, at home, it can be OK to watch, especially if you haven’t seen Favreu’s The Jungle Book. And after a day or two, you’ll completely forget about it.

Rating: 2/5

 

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