Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

I had high hopes that this version of Mowgli would be something different than the Disney version. And after watching, all i can say is that the production team has done a terrific job!

Awesome storyline, awesome casting, awesome CGI and boy, Andy Serkis as the director, i must applaud! Loved Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch and Cate Blanchett as Bagheera, Shere Khan and Kaa respectively. Rohan as Mowgli was very convincing. Just that i think I missed how the hunter came in the 1st place.

I'll watch it again absolutely.

Greetings from the darkness. If your idea of "The Jungle Book" is Phil Harris' Baloo singing a bouncy and memorable rendition of "The Bare Necessities" in 1967, or Christopher Walken voicing a giant orangutan in 2016, then be forewarned about this latest version of Rudyard Kipling's classic stories ... it's dark and, at times, terrifying. It's rated PG-13 to keep young kids away, so please keep your young kids away! One additional warning: this version is spectacular to look at and listen to.

Of course the story is quite familiar to most, but two things really stand out here: the amazing voice acting of the world class cast, and the look of the lush jungle with its vivid colors and textures. Director Andy Serkis is renowned for his stunning motion-capture work in such franchises as PLANET OF THE APES, LORD OF THE RINGS, and Peter Jackson's KING KONG (2005) ... along with many others ... and for this project, he combines his motion-capture Baloo with top notch CGI, and the live performance of young Rohan Chand (THE HUNDRED FOOT JOURNEY) as Mowgli, the man cub.

The voice acting is worth raving about. We first hear Cate Blanchett as Kaa, the ancient python, and within the first two minutes of the opening, we are captivated. Other standouts include an unnerving and intimidating Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, the always-threatening Tiger, Christian Bale (periodically lapsing into Batman voice) as the growling black panther Bagheera, Naomie Harris as Nisha the mother wolf, and a terrific Peter Mullan as lead wolf Akela. The deep cast also includes the voices of Jack Reynor, Eddie Marsan and Tom Hollander, while Matthew Rhys ("The Americans") appears as the hired tiger hunter, and Freida Pinto (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) appears as Mowgli's caretaker in the man village.

Many scenes are particularly captivating - some are exciting, while others quite scary. The "no rules" monkeys are comedic relief ... right up until they kick off one of the darkest segments of the film. And there is an ongoing theme of the fine line between being 'special', 'different', or a 'freak', and the lessons learned here would be valuable for kids ... if this were a kids' movie ... which it's NOT! Although it's difficult to discern the intended audience for this film, it's quite a visual spectacle and entertaining from beginning to end.

"Mowgli" is an 1894 character that became famous through Disney Studios that used the public domain to promote the character. However this film is darker and different from the Disney´s version. The voices of Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch are impressive and give life to Bagheera, Kaa and Shere Khan. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Mogli: Entre Dois Mundos" ("Mowgli: Between Two Worlds")

After watching this, I felt really surprised on how good it was. Don't expect it to be too similar to The Jungle Book. Mowgli is a more adult oriented film with some dark tones which I appreciate. I was very more focused on the actors. Everyone stands out. Even some actors that have small, but important roles. The CGI was the only thing that got under my skin. Some scenes had excellent visual effects, then exceptional, and then just plain horrible CGI. It feels like an unfinished film and took me away from the movie for a while. Maybe Warner Bros cut the films cost when they decided to go to Netflix. I feel really sorry for Andy Serkis. If Warner Bros would have let Serkis finish Mowgli. It would have been better than Disney's version and Andy Serkis would get more praise when he clearly earns it.

Andy Serkis can do it all without drawing much attention or praise to himself. He can act, great voice actor and he's proven that he can direct. Even though they did the remake of The Jungle Book two years ago and I almost always hate remakes so close together. I would gladly say that I am wrong about this one. It was done perfectly and was a completely different spin on it. I would be glad if Andy got another chance at directing another Disney movie, Great job with this one!!!