Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle: Film Review

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle: Film Review

Vocal cast: Rohan Chand, Christian Bale, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander
Director: Andy Serkis

The latest take on the Kipling story takes a decidedly mixed tone as it moves from being a cinema release to getting its premiere on Netflix.

Director Andy Serkis and a CGI Family of animals re-tell the Jungle Book with a darker edge in this re-imagining of the tale of the man-cub Mowgli.

With an all-star cast taking on the voice duties, Serkis' tale mixes in both a stance on the environmental damage made by human intervention and a story of a coming-of-age of the man-cub Mowgli (played with reasonable aplomb by Chand).

When Mowgli's brought into the tribe after Benedict Cumberbatch's sneering Shere Khan kills his family, it creates divisions for Peter Mullan's Akeela and crew, who veer between embracing him as their own while being fearful of how he may divide their world.

But when humans edge closer into the jungle, and Khan kills some of their own, battle lines are drawn, as inexorable schisms open.

There are moments early on when some of the CGI creaks and looks a bit off in Mowgli; combined with the slight human face look to the animals, the whole thing looks a little like Babe takes on the jungle, obviously mirroring the classic Disney looks but sitting at odds with the darker edges presented within.

It's clearly a family film, but never quite settles on a tone, even as it dispatches messages of standing up to bullies and its comedy cockney tones delivered by Serkis as Baloo.

And yet, this coming of age tale, with some contemporary darker themes and edges, and with some hints of environmentalism, works in the back third after initially skewing younger.

At times, it almost seems afraid to embrace some of the darker edges, and not fully embrace the spirituality within. There are wonderful scenes when Mowgli is taught about fixing a kill dead on its eyes to accompany the soul when it departs, which hint at a depth and emotional edge that feels under-explored.

But while the final third exposes the darkness, it feels slightly bereft of the weight needed to get it over the line, and remarkably it also feels hurried in its conclusion.

Ultimately, Mowgli is a film that knows what it wants to do in terms of re-telling the tale. It doesn't always quite hit those highs that it's aiming for, but it's a fascinating attempt at re-pitching The Jungle Book - which could have been a touch more successful had the tone been set on earlier on, and the course remained true.