WHEN THE REMAKE IS BETTER!
Remakes don't often work. Sometimes is just a complete failure. But there are some films that make the exception. This year's The Jungle Book is one of the most risky Disney projects among other previous live-action adaptations, such as Cinderella, Maleficient, and Alice in Wonderland. However, as much as they had successful results at the box office, they didn't quite generate enough love globally. Some have been average, some good, but neither really great. Can The Jungle Book break the "curse"?
Fortunately, it did. Not only has it been a huge hit at the box office, but a highly acclaimed film among general audiences and critics even. In fact, it has been called as a better film than the animated one, which is not common. Is this movie good? No. It's great, more than it should be. It delivered and surpassed every expectation. From the director of the excellent Ironman, comes Jon Favreau... who really did a hell of a job! Here are the highlights of this amazing film.
1. Visually Stunning!
Not only is the cinematography awe-inspiring, but the production design, the created environment and the visuals are as well legitimately spectacular. In my opinion, this is the most astounding achievement of the movie. It challenges the CGI seen in Avatar, which is also a movie famous by its revolutionary visual effects. Nonetheless, Avatar didn't have to rely in only one actor, who is not an experienced one-although he acts like it-to interact convincingly with the motion-captured performances and the green screen throughout the whole movie.
The Jungle Book gets an A+ in that. This film had an insanely difficult task to convince moviegoers that this is an actual place out there, and it exceeded every possible expectation. It's all green screen, only Neel Sethi (Mowgli) is the real actor here among dozens of animals talking. And the difference between CGI and reality is seamless, almost none. If the movie had failed on this visual aspect, the whole thing would have fallen apart, and really hard. Instead, it has set a new standard for visuals so solidly that is hard to imagine any movie near in the future that could top this admirable achievement.
2. A Formidable Villain
Remember the animated movie? Where there's this one British-talking tiger that falls in that hilarious trap of "a British villain", conveyed by the opening credits sequence of Deadpool? Well, this Shere Khan, voiced by Idris Elba, is nothing like that. Is a distinctive take on the character and it really is a major improvement over the animated tiger. He's scary, vengeful, cruel. He's one of a hell of an antagonist, and he steals the screen whenever he's on it. He may be a little too much scary for young kids, but still, a very entertaining to watch.
There is great character motivation and emotion to this violent Shere Khan, having a real impact on Mowgli and his friends, causing damage throughout the story and acting like an unstoppable force of nature. He symbolizes the dark side of nature, building up until the finale with the big conflict between man and nature, and it's done beautifully. I wish he had more screen time because he never stops to be one of the most interesting characters of the whole movie. What really makes him shine is the flawless chosen voice: Idris Elba. His deep and powerful voice makes an unsettling emotion on the spectator, and the way he delivers the dialogue is just how a villain of his kind should do it.
3. Sense of Adventure
The premise is really simple, not exactly opening doors to a huge franchise adventure story (although there are plans to making a second one, which doesn't sound like a very smart idea), but that doesn't matter. The movie is an hour and a half long. It feels so much less than that! It goes like a bullet, but a joyful one. There is sense of joy and wonder and brightness among the real gravity of the conflict. There is not one action sequence that feels overlong or out of place, they just feel right. Props to the editing and the pacing because it goes so fast that you want to see it again right away. because of its sweet story and its wonderfully developed characters.
Even the dialogue feels like an adventure! Specially in the middle of the movie between Baloo (Bill Murray), Mowgli and Bagheera (Ben Kingsley)... wow! It's some of the the sweetest and fun friendships in the last few years. There is always something happening, it never stops, and the pacing is intelligent because it never reaches the point of an overwhelming scene. The film seizes every minute, except for one scene between Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) and Mowgli. This short scene is totally expositional and it felt kind of unnecessary and more like a forced bridge to introduce a new character. I think this scene could have been easily cut away, not saying that Johansson, because she does a great job in this one scene.
4. Mowgli's Interaction
If this kid didn't convince, the whole production could have easily failed. Instead, along with the visuals, is one of the definitive pros. I bet it's absolutely tough to be on set, just around a huge green screen, and interacting with no other human whatsoever when the guy calls "action!". Neel Sethi does an excellent job here. He doesn't disappoint, he surprises and he demonstrates real acting potential, showing emotional depth h to his character and carrying the burden of being the main protagonist. He's not even 13 yet.
The interaction with Baloo is hilarious. The back and forth between them its for a substantial part of the movie, and it feels like a very grounded friendship, even more so than in the animated one. However, there is this one scene where they sing along, and it didn't exactly click for me. I love musicals, I love Sweeney Todd and Les Miserables, but this movie is not a musical, and two songs they sing along to felt kind of off (this and one like 20 minutes later).
Then, the interaction with Bagheera is my favorite out of all. It's emotional, serious, fun, and with a lot of positive messages conveyed about identity, true friendship and parenthood. Speaking of parenthood, the relationship between Mowgli and Raksha (Lupita Nyong'o) is so emotionally powerful, so heartfelt that it almost made me cry, it's really deep. Finally, the interaction with King Louie and Shere Khan is phenomenal, the darkest parts of the movie and some of the most intense sequences throughout the story, and they really pay off.
5. Superb Voice Cast
Yes, all of these names are in the movie, each one fulfilling their role, embodying their own character and making them feel realistic within their fiction. It's truly wonderful, each one of these voices, along with the presence of Mowgli, take absolute control of the screen as well as inviting the audience to come into the jungle and be part of the world. They all play supporting characters and they should. It's one of the most talented and ambitious voice casts ever put on screen that have a fantastic cinematic execution altogether.
A 9 to this film. It's truly amazing and I loved it. It's a great film that is supremely adequate for a whole family experience because of the sweetness of its story, memorable characters and powerful themes and messages conveyed through adventure and dialogue. It's the rare remake that surpasses in quality above their predecessors and gives a new sense of wonderment through its astonishing and shimmering CGI, making up for a true cinematic experience for everyone. The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack. One of the best films of the year so far.
FIGURITAS!
So! What do you think of this movie? Are you excited? Do you want sequels or is this just enough?Leave your comment below!
Thanks for reading this post, hope you've enjoyed it! Good day!
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