Mowgli is definitely not for children, there are scenes where it seems that way, with some cartoon like characters and some of the playful nature of some scenes, but deep down this is dark. You can tell the filmmakers tried to make an even darker film here, but perhaps this suffered along with its troubled production.
Andy Serkis directed this movie, and he does a fine job as his first attempt at a film like this. The motion capture on the animals is fantastic, and each performance is nailed by their actor. With Benedict Cumberbatch being a stand out. You can tell he channelled his inner Smaug for this role. Christian Bale was also fantastic as the panther, Bagheera, as was every other voice actor. But the stand out performance was by the young Rohan Chand. He was brilliant as Mowgli. Not many actors can perform in front of CGI characters and make it work. A lot of people will compare this to the Disney version that came out a few years ago, but that is inevitable, however Rohan gave a far superior performance than the actor who played his counterpart in the Jungle Book.
Most of the other characters were not of much interest, with some of the human characters just standing in the background not doing much. However some scenes with them are haunting, and will leave a mark on you. Dark and twisted scenes play out during these human scenes, with dead animals, showing how cruel humans can be. Not for kids people!
There are some issues with the film, from its off pacing during the first act. A lot of scenes jumped back and forth and it was difficult to tell what was going on at times, but it found its footing half way through. Some of the CGI looked dreadful in scenes, but others - mainly the landscapes, were breathtaking. The human-like CGI animal faces were bizarre at first, but after a time, it kind of worked.
My personal biggest issue with this film is that it lacked any kind of charisma. It felt took dark and bland at times, with little humour. Maybe this is because I couldn't help but compare it to the Jungle Book, like so many others will. It is a shame, because Mowgli is a very entertaining movie, with fantastic performances.
Despite its flaws, Mowgli is a good film, it is a shame it didn't get enough love to be released worldwide, with its full potential, because it could have surpassed the Jungle Book, but it didn't. But nonetheless, Mowgli is entertaining.
7.2/10
Andy Serkis directed this movie, and he does a fine job as his first attempt at a film like this. The motion capture on the animals is fantastic, and each performance is nailed by their actor. With Benedict Cumberbatch being a stand out. You can tell he channelled his inner Smaug for this role. Christian Bale was also fantastic as the panther, Bagheera, as was every other voice actor. But the stand out performance was by the young Rohan Chand. He was brilliant as Mowgli. Not many actors can perform in front of CGI characters and make it work. A lot of people will compare this to the Disney version that came out a few years ago, but that is inevitable, however Rohan gave a far superior performance than the actor who played his counterpart in the Jungle Book.
Most of the other characters were not of much interest, with some of the human characters just standing in the background not doing much. However some scenes with them are haunting, and will leave a mark on you. Dark and twisted scenes play out during these human scenes, with dead animals, showing how cruel humans can be. Not for kids people!
There are some issues with the film, from its off pacing during the first act. A lot of scenes jumped back and forth and it was difficult to tell what was going on at times, but it found its footing half way through. Some of the CGI looked dreadful in scenes, but others - mainly the landscapes, were breathtaking. The human-like CGI animal faces were bizarre at first, but after a time, it kind of worked.
My personal biggest issue with this film is that it lacked any kind of charisma. It felt took dark and bland at times, with little humour. Maybe this is because I couldn't help but compare it to the Jungle Book, like so many others will. It is a shame, because Mowgli is a very entertaining movie, with fantastic performances.
Despite its flaws, Mowgli is a good film, it is a shame it didn't get enough love to be released worldwide, with its full potential, because it could have surpassed the Jungle Book, but it didn't. But nonetheless, Mowgli is entertaining.
7.2/10