The Jungle Book

Based on Rudyard Kipling’s novel, The Jungle Book follows young Mowgli (Neel Sethi) as he’s forced to flee his home after a vicious tiger (Idris Elba’s Shere Khan) threatens his life. Filmmaker Jon Favreau’s less-than-captivating take on the exceedingly, excessively familiar material is problematic and apparent right from the word go, as The Jungle Book kicks off with an almost shockingly tedious opening stretch that lays the groundwork for a film that is, for the most part, hopelessly uninvolving. The underwhelming vibe is compounded (and perpetuated) by Sethi’s hopelessly one-dimensional turn as the movie’s bland protagonist, while the assortment of generic, anthropomorphized, talking animals ensures that The Jungle Book suffers from a hopelessly dumbed down, kid-friendly vibe. It is, as such, not surprising to note that large swaths of the picture are utterly disposable and forgettable, although, by that same token, Favreau and scripter Justin Marks do manage to include a very small handful of compelling sequences that alleviate the otherwise humdrum atmosphere. (The best and most obvious example of this is everything involving Christopher Walken’s delightful, lively King Louie.) The murky, almost indecipherable action sequence that closes the proceedings confirms The Jungle Book‘s place as a misbegotten adaptation, which is a shame, certainly, given the potential afforded by the overtly talented voice cast (which includes Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, and Bill Murray).

** out of ****