Mowgli: Netflix's Brutal take on a cult classic
Human child Mowgli is raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own, but the fearsome tiger Shere Khan doesn't take a liking to him. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.
The story of Mowgli is known to almost everyone and the first point worthy of note is the very close semblance to the original. Netflix really did a number on this one while keeping it so close to home as to make it seem as though they never deviated from the path carved and told in the books. Again, mention must be made of the fact that as with major Netflix originals, it has been adapted into a dark, gruesome and bloody adaptation of a cult classic. A lot of the fans of the original works may not be too impressed with the choices Netflix made, but we are very much aware Netflix made this in order to cater not only for the young audience, but for the adult audience as well.
The voice casting of the movie is the first thing that has us really impressed. It's an all star cast, with Benedict Cumberbatch(Shere Khan), Christian Bale( Bagheera), Andy Serkis (Baloo), Cate Blanchett (Kaa), Naomie Harris ( Raksha), Peter Mullan (Akela) and Rohan Chand (Mowgli). The voice actors are all well known names and so it would be an effort in futility to explain the brilliance of their voice acting. Rohan Chand on the other hand had to be the star of the movie. Playing lead at such a young age, and for such a huge project does a whole lot of good to his reputation. The way he was able to enter character, switch and change emotional responses to situational occurrences had the makings of a superstar. His emotional connect to the other characters was brilliantly place and well worked out. For his performance, kudos must go the scripting team, it was a brilliant script and an inspiring story. Uncharacteristically, Netflix invested in CGI and special effects, having a special effects director and a team, and impressively, the special effects delivered dividends. The Jungle itself was resplendent with life, colour and beautiful creations of Nature. The characters themselves were well animated, the CGI was utilised to its utmost Potential, not more and not less. The movement of the CGI characters was smooth, something of the kind u would expect from a top budget production from perhaps Disney Studios. It has no glitches, no sharp edges, or at least not the sort that was easily spotted by the eye. The storyline of the movie is quite common, and familiar, its usual, and the conflict simple. What we however did like was the way the simple conflict was developed into something complex towards the end of the movie. The decision to create a conflict in the mind of Mowgli meant that to resolve such conflict with a little bit of creativity, the sort that was both rivetting and captivating. We could easily say that the Mowgli Vs Shere Khan opening sequences had to be the most iconic moment in the movie and it took a brilliant mind to construct that brilliant piece of art. Having delved into the positives of the movie, how about a little bit of the negatives? One of the most conspicuous things about Netflix is their creativity, Netflix has an uncanny way of hiring the most creative of minds to do a movie or a show for them or with them, and that is one thing that this movie totally lacked. Like it was pointed out earlier, the movie stayed too true to its root, and refused to deviate and be a little more creative. For one we felt the character of Shere Khan and Bagheera needed a little more depth and developing. Shere Khan would have been an even more imposing villain with the right back story, while Bagheera would have made for a more relatable and compelling character with the proper development.
What the movie however lacked in character depth, it more than made up for in thrills and awesome moments. The fight sequences were not too good, but good enough to keep your eyes glued and have some very good laughs. The chase scenes were top notch and cool. And again we mention, the special effects are A grade. The effects on Kaa has to be most brilliant, it is so good it makes your hair stand on ends.
In all, a very good movie worth the watch. You won't find compelling storyline or rivetting conflicts, but you will at least be very thrilled and euphoric.
Starring: Rohan Chand, Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris and Peter Mullan.
Produced by:
Steve Kloves
Jonathan Cavendish
David Barron
Directed by: Andy Serkis.
We rate this one an FCA AppR of 7.4/10
The voice casting of the movie is the first thing that has us really impressed. It's an all star cast, with Benedict Cumberbatch(Shere Khan), Christian Bale( Bagheera), Andy Serkis (Baloo), Cate Blanchett (Kaa), Naomie Harris ( Raksha), Peter Mullan (Akela) and Rohan Chand (Mowgli). The voice actors are all well known names and so it would be an effort in futility to explain the brilliance of their voice acting. Rohan Chand on the other hand had to be the star of the movie. Playing lead at such a young age, and for such a huge project does a whole lot of good to his reputation. The way he was able to enter character, switch and change emotional responses to situational occurrences had the makings of a superstar. His emotional connect to the other characters was brilliantly place and well worked out. For his performance, kudos must go the scripting team, it was a brilliant script and an inspiring story. Uncharacteristically, Netflix invested in CGI and special effects, having a special effects director and a team, and impressively, the special effects delivered dividends. The Jungle itself was resplendent with life, colour and beautiful creations of Nature. The characters themselves were well animated, the CGI was utilised to its utmost Potential, not more and not less. The movement of the CGI characters was smooth, something of the kind u would expect from a top budget production from perhaps Disney Studios. It has no glitches, no sharp edges, or at least not the sort that was easily spotted by the eye. The storyline of the movie is quite common, and familiar, its usual, and the conflict simple. What we however did like was the way the simple conflict was developed into something complex towards the end of the movie. The decision to create a conflict in the mind of Mowgli meant that to resolve such conflict with a little bit of creativity, the sort that was both rivetting and captivating. We could easily say that the Mowgli Vs Shere Khan opening sequences had to be the most iconic moment in the movie and it took a brilliant mind to construct that brilliant piece of art. Having delved into the positives of the movie, how about a little bit of the negatives? One of the most conspicuous things about Netflix is their creativity, Netflix has an uncanny way of hiring the most creative of minds to do a movie or a show for them or with them, and that is one thing that this movie totally lacked. Like it was pointed out earlier, the movie stayed too true to its root, and refused to deviate and be a little more creative. For one we felt the character of Shere Khan and Bagheera needed a little more depth and developing. Shere Khan would have been an even more imposing villain with the right back story, while Bagheera would have made for a more relatable and compelling character with the proper development.
What the movie however lacked in character depth, it more than made up for in thrills and awesome moments. The fight sequences were not too good, but good enough to keep your eyes glued and have some very good laughs. The chase scenes were top notch and cool. And again we mention, the special effects are A grade. The effects on Kaa has to be most brilliant, it is so good it makes your hair stand on ends.
In all, a very good movie worth the watch. You won't find compelling storyline or rivetting conflicts, but you will at least be very thrilled and euphoric.
Starring: Rohan Chand, Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris and Peter Mullan.
Produced by:
Steve Kloves
Jonathan Cavendish
David Barron
Directed by: Andy Serkis.
We rate this one an FCA AppR of 7.4/10
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