Review – The Jungle Book
Jon Favreau’s live-action version of The Jungle Book had my jaw on the floor for the entire 105 minute run time. This movie is spectacular in every way. The visuals are astoundingly beautiful with great use of 3-D, the action is exciting, and the story is better and darker than the original animated film, yet still keeps the films spirit perfectly.
Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub living amongst the wolves, tries to flee the jungle after a threat from the fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba). With the help of a panther named Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley) and a bear named Baloo (voiced by Bill Murray), Mowgli goes on a journey of self-discovery while also running into other animals who may not be so welcoming to a human in the jungle.
Great voice work from everyone in the cast. Kingsley gives a calming intelligence to Bagheera. Murray is hilarious and sweet as the goofy, caring Baloo. Idris Elba was my personal favorite as his deep, powerful, verocious voice is perfect for the most feared animal in the jungle. Scarlett Johansson lends her sultry voice as the hypnotic snake Kaa. Giancarlo Esposito and Lupita Nyong’O are excellent as Mowgli’s wolf parents Akela and Raksha. And Christopher Walken is surprisingly funny and intimidating as the mafia-esque kingpin of all the monkeys, Louie. And kudos to Sethi as Mowgli. The kid has never acted before in his life and he has to carry this movie by pretending to talk to animals on a green-screen. Very impressive for someone so young with no experienced
The visuals in this movie are some of the best you will ever see. This is a living and breathing painting. The jungle is incredibly detailed with bright colors and amazing settings and the animals look as real as movie animals get, with a keen detail to everything from their fur to specific stripes or spots. You forget you’re looking at CGI sometimes, it’s that realistic. The 3-D makes everything pop and is perfectly used. Shell out the money and see this in 3-D on the biggest screen you can because this is as visually amazing as Avatar (2009) and Gravity (2013).
This is Jon Favreau’s best movie as a director, and that’s saying a lot since he created one of the greatest comic book movies of all-time with Iron Man (2008). Aside from the great visuals, Favreau gave this movie a lot of heart and emotion. We see stories that weren’t touched in the 1967 original film, like the Mowgli’s journey for identity and Sheer Khan’s backstory. It gave the movie layers that it never had before. The tone of this movie is also a lot darker than the original, with some jump worthy startles and pretty violent but exciting and expertly crafted fight scenes. It isn’t too dark though, and that’s the best part of this film. Favreau still keeps the movie relatively light and fun and really captures the spirit of the original. And they actually sing two of the original songs from the original movie. There is nothing better than hearing Bill Murray sing “The Bare Necessities” and Christopher Walken sing the swing-dance inducing “I Wanna Be Like You”. Favreau does a perfect job of balancing the light with the dark to make this perfect for kids and adults.
The Jungle Book is Disney’s fourth film in their recent live-action adaptations and it is by far their best. This movie is an absolute stunner. The visuals are beautiful, the story is deep, the action is excellent, and the tone is the perfect mixture of light and dark. I absolutely loved this movie and, like I said above, shell out the extra money to see it in 3-D and on the biggest screen possible. You won’t be disappointed.
MY RATING – 4/4
Did you see The Jungle Book? What did you think? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix or on Facebook at Kevflix.
I have to express my views on a Movie that was captivating and a fun singing free spirited story that’s been a part of my life and families for a few decades. Watching the original movie never gets old.
The previous remake was a flop and a disappointment with John Goodman as Blue. This new remake had my attention from the remarkable animation previews. I anxiously watched with anticipation for the arrival of Blue.
As in the original it was Blue the Bear (Phil Harris) that was the presence on the screen that captured the essence of the Movie “That’s Real Jungle Harmony”. Phil Harris’s radio voice and comic wit brought the smiles and sing-a-long fun that was the nucleus of the whole movie.
In my humble opinion I think this new movie lost the “That’s Real Jungle Harmony”, though created in an outstanding animation creation of characters was phenomenal. Jon Favreau is unmatched in making an animation character come to life as in his successful creation of Iron Man, I only wish he would have captured the “fun” of the original movies music score.
Bill Murray was not the best choice for the Blue the Bear, though he is a credit to the movie industry he was not the one to hold the nucleus or the spirit of the movie. Bill Murray always portrays a druppy sarcastic character. Who thought that would be a good idea needs to be fired. Blue is a life loving free spirited outgoing swing character, and they thought Bill Murray was the guy? Seriously….
I could see Christopher Watkins enjoyed his rendition of King Louie but he didn’t have that swing in his voice as New Orleans jazz man Louis Prima. Christopher’s woo woo woo sounded like he was running out of air at the last woo.
I will say there were a few actors that nailed their characters. One being Ms. Scarlet Johansson voicing Kaa. She was perfect for the role, wow! She lured me in and hypnotized me with every word just as Sterling Holloway did. I didn’t know she could sing?
Idris Elba as Shere Kan was well done. It’s hard to find a voice to match a George Sanders.
Neel Sethi was a perfect choice for Mowgli. He brought the character to true human form, but the movie did him an injustice, he was never to carry the movie Blue was!
I did miss the other fun characters. Col. Hathi, Winnifred and son, and the singing buzzards. Seeing elephants and flying buzzards doesn’t fill the mark.
In all it was the fun songs and upbeat music from the original movie that made the characters come to life, not the other way around. Whoever sang the “Bear Necessity song” at the end during the credits ruined a wonderful song!