Film Discussion - 2016

07I THE JUNGLE BOOK I Film Discussion I

If there's anything I could give this movie a credit for: it makes "Bare Necessities" sounds badass.

Xby TurboMac

The fairly anticipated Jungle Book remake has finally hit the theatre... and it's making some massive splashes.

The film currently holds 95% on Rotten Tomato – that is impressive. Even some of Disney's greatest films like Saving Mr. Banks (am I the only one who REALLY REALLY love that movie) couldn't compete with it.

Uh... well... you see... this is awkward... but it feels a bit like Déjà vu.

I remember watching a movie... a very recent movie... produced and released by Disney... just 2 months ago. I remember walking out of that movie thinking it was pretty good but a little incoherent.

That movie was Zootopia... and it currently holds the same score as this movie.

And yes, my feeling toward this movie is on the same level.

The Jungle Book has some really impressive elements in it. It was a very well directed movie. It is well acted and well voiced all around. The visual effect is PHENOMENAL.

But... I just can't get into it that much.

This time I'd like to get all the negatives out of the way first, because I did walk out of this movie liking it. Also, I do not want the negatives to outweigh the positives at the end. So let's get them out of the way.

Xby TurboMac

Firstly, why this story? Why tell the same clichéd story again... when it is frankly the least interesting thing about this movie to begin with. We have a kid who has to travel out of the jungle, he's hunted by the tiger, fill in the blank cause you know the rest. You know how this whole thing would end. You know the beats that the story will take. It's the same hero-on-a-journey type scenario that we've pretty much seen a billion times before. I do not feel engaged in the story one-bit. I love the interactions between the characters for the most part, but because the plot is there, some of the interactions are just sidelined. The scene with Kha the snake is disappointingly short when there are so much you could've done with it.

The funny thing is it seems like the director was trying to do that, but the nostalgic factor always get in the way. This results in some of the non-plot driven scenes feeling extremely out-of-place. The Kha sequence ends up serving a purpose but we know it's forced, we know it's being done for the simple reason that the animated movie does it and it's iconic. The same goes for the monkey scene, which apart from the joy of seeing Christopher Walken play a singing monkey, is out-of-place and confused. In that scene, a song just suddenly erupts out of nowhere. I was definitely weirded out to see that.

Xby TurboMac

Before the monkey scene, the movie also commits the clichéd I utterly hate the most: The lying/ misunderstanding part. This one especially makes zero sense. And it took me out of the movie.

The last act of this movie is also really weak. Without spoiling anything, Mowgli does become a hero. Clichés after Clichés are being thrown on the screen. I'm just sitting trying to be engaged but I can't help it. Most of the character's relationship could've been stronger and I would've been more invested. With this one, the final act feels dry all around.

Finally, I can get to the actual good stuff.

This movie was beautifully shot, directed, acted and CGI-ed.

Jon Favreu who brought us Iron Man crafted some of the most badass sequences I've scene a long time. There is a stampede scene in the movie which captures the epic scale of the Jungle they are in. The sound effects of the falling rocks, the roaring animals, the flowing water, and the pouring rain... they all feel SO real that they seem unreal.

Xby TurboMac

The same could be said for the Visual effects for the characters, that throughout the entire movie are believable as real animals. And I thought Zootopia has great animal textures... the textures here are uncanny. They are better than Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

The visual aspect of this movie caught me. Plus the voiceovers are really fun to listen to. Not only do the different voices create different personalities, they also result in some very snappy back and forth. Great comedians like Bill Murray get to show case their skills and delivering comical lines and dialogues. Great actors such as Ben Kingsley lend their voices but they also put in A-grade acting that honestly does alleviate the films' problems of not being able to craft well enough the relationships between Baloo, Mowgli and Baghera.

There really are a lot to love in The Jungle Book. I don't see the point of elaborating so much. I don't see any huge problems about the film nor do I see an absolutely amazing movie. I know I am in the minority here, but The Jungle Book for me, hits the notes I wanted it to hit and doesn't go any further. Which is a shame.

Score: 6.8/10

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@ruevian wrote a book with a concept I really liked and that's book called 'The Battle Of The Bands'. The book is really enjoyable, hence I'd like to dedicate this review to her.