Review of Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) by John M — 08 Jan 2019

Could have been timed better. Another reimagining of The Jungle Book, this is about a human child (Rohan Chand) who has been raised by wolves. He is on the verge of officially becoming a member of their pack, but things aren't going to be easy with a homicidal tiger with a vendetta on the loose.

Now I know that this has been a passion project of Andy Serkis for quite some time, so I am happy to see it get off the ground. I do understand why they passed on a theatrical run; we JUST got Disney's live action movie a mere two years, so I doubt that audiences would fork over the money to see what is basically the same story again.

I haven't heard really anybody talking about this, so it makes sense to put this straight to Netflix, and you know what? It's fairly close, but I think that I prefer this version to the 2016 film.

Now the one advantage Disney does have is with the visuals. There's no way around it: Disney has more money than God, and they have the skill to flawlessly put together something that looks about as close to real life as technologically possible.

Here, the effects don't look bad, they're just rougher around the edges, which actually ends up being a strength to this. This is a darker take on The Jungle Book, so these animals are way scarier and mangier; you're not going to get any musical numbers along the way, it's just not that kind story.

Besides, the longer the movie went on, the more my eye adjusted to the level of effects that we are getting. Because this is an edgier take, there is more of a sense of danger; it feels like a main character could get violently taken out by another animal at any moment, because that is just the type of story it is.

This would have been way more impressive if it beat Disney to the punch, but beating the mouse at a footrace is not a simple task. I like the pacing better in this, and it was wrapping up as soon as I started getting antsy.

Disney has the edge on the visuals, but as far as the execution goes, I give the crown to Mowgli. If you aren't Jungle Booked out, I say you should give this a watch, or wait for a later time when it would be more palatable.