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First Reviews for Jon Favreau's "The Jungle Book"

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Just got back from watching it. My only experience with The Jungle Book is the anime and the picture book version of the Disney cartoon.

I loved it. Gorgeous, realistic animals that are well-realized characters. Much more impressive than Avatar. Voice acting is top-notch. The standout is Mowgli himself, who brings a physicality and earnestness to the role that I didn't know was possible. What a kid. I hope he turns out well.
 
yeah, when i went to go see the martian i really did not want to see it in 3d to save money, but i had no other choice because of showtimes. and it kinda sucked coz it was dark.

but i heard 3D IMAX avatar was the way to go.

I actually haven't seen any IMAX movies. There's no IMAX theaters here.

Normal 3d Avatar was rubbish at least.
 
IMAX if possible, it's gorgeous. Avoid 3d always, it does no justice for any movie.

Most of my local theaters offer IMAX+3D or normal screen without 3D. The normal projector picture quality is terrible, and so is the sound in those rooms.

IMAX looks great but it has to be a film that doesn't have 3D otherwise the theaters opt to put the 3D print in the IMAX room. It's maddening.
 
Looks like reviews are starting to update relatively quickly now. Rot-Tom just added another three since I last checked, still perfect.

Disney has really turned things around from a few years ago. Id say they're easily outclassing Pixar at this point.I know Jungle Book isnt necessarily apples to apples, but having another hit right behind Zootopia is pretty amazing. We'll see how Finding Dory ends up but I'm still not confident it's more than a cheap cash-in. I know I'm one of the few but I found Inside Out to be pretty substandard, so to me it's pretty clear Disney has stolen Pixar's mojo back
 

inky

Member
Happy for a Favreau. He's a bit underrated still (hopefully not anymore after this), but has surprised me in one way or another every time.
 
Critics Consensus is up on RT:
As lovely to behold as it is engrossing to watch, The Jungle Book is the rare remake that actually improves upon its predecessors -- all while setting a new standard for CGI.



http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/12/jungle-book-ew-review
Entertainment Weekly said:
It's the first talking-animal movie I've seen where CGI seamlessly bridges the uncanny gap between fantasy and reality. It's also one of the few 3-D movies that actually benefits from being in 3-D.

Even more excited to give 3D a shot for this one.
 
3D was pretty good. Not the best but definitely one of the better examples of it adding to a movie.

And...anyone who says Avatar was blurry and had ghosting needs to get their eyes checked.
 

Blizzard

Banned
3D was pretty good. Not the best but definitely one of the better examples of it adding to a movie.

And...anyone who says Avatar was blurry and had ghosting needs to get their eyes checked.
What are the best movies that 3D added to, in your opinion? I usually skip it, but I got 3D non-IMAX tickets tonight. I don't like IMAX because it's so painfully loud.
 
I want more impressions!

3D was pretty good. Not the best but definitely one of the better examples of it adding to a movie.

And...anyone who says Avatar was blurry and had ghosting needs to get their eyes checked.
To be honest, it depends on the theater/screen/projection. I saw Mad Max in glorious 3D with intense clarity one weekend, and blurryvision 3D the next which left a bad impression on that second group of people who saw it for the first time.
 
What are the best movies that 3D added to, in your opinion? I usually skip it, but I got 3D non-IMAX tickets tonight. I don't like IMAX because it's so painfully loud.

Next to Avatar, the best live action (with some CG) 3D is Step Up 3, Hugo, Life of Pi. Those three are amazing in 3D. Mad Max also looked to be made with 3D in mind the whole way, it was superb too. Great Gatsby also very impressive.

Animated/full CG movies that are improved in 3D - such a long list because it's almost all of them. TinTin is stunning, Lorax, Despicable Me, Owls of GaHoole, Mars Needs Moms, etc.

All the Transformers, all the Marvel etc are all very average and seemed to have been converted as an afterthought.

Again, Jungle Book was very good. Panning scenes through the jungle showed trees in the foreground, similar to the depth in the panning shots in Avatar. The animals were brought to life in some of the best CG ever but made more impressive with the added depth. Some of the little touches like water and mud splashing on the camera lens type effects were pretty cool.

The movie itself was very surprising and highly recommended whether you watch in 2D or 3D though. Go see it if you grew up reading the book in school, like CG tech in movies, or just like cool animals or the voice acting. Lots of reasons to enjoy it.
 

Quick

Banned
I just got back from an IMAX 3D screening.

I love this movie. It's the perfect blend of effects, story, and cast. I don't know what my favourite parts were, because each scene is used very effectively.

The CG is insane. I don't think I've seen CG animals created in such detail, though I suppose they really had to step their game up since it is a huge focus.

3D was fine. It was very immersive.

I don't know what else I should say about it.
 
Got back from the movie, watched in 3D IMAX. Hilarious, a nice story with some dark overtone. Love the kid, he seemed to blend the scene well enough that I didn't tend to notice the discrepancies in interactions between the characters.
 
Next to Avatar, the best live action (with some CG) 3D is Step Up 3, Hugo, Life of Pi. Those three are amazing in 3D. Mad Max also looked to be made with 3D in mind the whole way, it was superb too. Great Gatsby also very impressive.

Animated/full CG movies that are improved in 3D - such a long list because it's almost all of them. TinTin is stunning, Lorax, Despicable Me, Owls of GaHoole, Mars Needs Moms, etc.

All the Transformers, all the Marvel etc are all very average and seemed to have been converted as an afterthought.

Again, Jungle Book was very good. Panning scenes through the jungle showed trees in the foreground, similar to the depth in the panning shots in Avatar. The animals were brought to life in some of the best CG ever but made more impressive with the added depth. Some of the little touches like water and mud splashing on the camera lens type effects were pretty cool.

The movie itself was very surprising and highly recommended whether you watch in 2D or 3D though. Go see it if you grew up reading the book in school, like CG tech in movies, or just like cool animals or the voice acting. Lots of reasons to enjoy it.

Dude, you are missing a big one that really impressed in 3D: Gravity. The 3D there was much better than say Hugo as far as I'm concerned.
 

Toa TAK

Banned
I don't think Bagheera's narration was necessary, as there was like, what, a total of 3 or 4 lines through it? Right at the beginning and at the very end.

AND that's the sum total of my issues of the movie. Don't think it's worth a 3D showing, but IMAX was cool. Never saw the original animation, just read the book.

The CG is amazing, but what's really impressive was how they tread the fine line between the animals being photogenic and being anthropomorphic mannerisms (talking and other silly movements).

I really liked John Debney's score. The bombastic version in the trailer is the real deal.

Playing with the sound for Kaa's entrance was good, too.
 

Blizzard

Banned
I saw it tonight in non-IMAX 3D. Personally I would say about 8/10. It stuck fairly close to the animated movie as far as I recall.

The visuals are the big draw, and they are indeed very impressive. The jungle flowers are pretty, and the leaves look natural, and the water is watery, and the animals are furry. However, the animals look so good that it feels weird to have human voices lipsynced. So many child voices was a little grating to me, but that's preference.

I didn't care too much for Bill Murray's Baloo, but Christopher Walken was a highlight. I was impressed he did the singing, too, and it was nice to hear a couple of songs in the movie. Scarlett Johansson sung a credits song and did ok.

The 3D was pretty good, though one of the final sequences was very dark with the glasses.
 

Blizzard

Banned
I forgot to mention, the CGI looks pretty amazing, but you'd hope it looks amazing with the 10 or so pages of digital artists in the credits. I'm not sure I can remember any movie with that many.
 
Just came back from it. I was underwhelmed by how it handles the story, but it looks spectacular. Kinda salty that the movie is so much less funny than the old one.
 
I forgot to mention, the CGI looks pretty amazing, but you'd hope it looks amazing with the 10 or so pages of digital artists in the credits. I'm not sure I can remember any movie with that many.
Do we know the budget for this movie? That's a ton of cgi artist, but then they don't have to go out shooting on location, all other actor only record their sound in studio. I assume that will also save some production money.
 
The film looks really good. I think I'm actually going to go see it in theatres in the next few weeks even though I've never been a big fan of the Jungle Book, but Faveraux did do solid work with Chef. I was surprised I actually liked that movie.


My name is Chef.
CrEiC5Y.png
 

Osahi

Member
Does this have full blown musical numbers? Original had some of my favourite Disney songs in it growing up.

It has two. Bear necessities and the urang utang song. First feels natural, second quite out of place. Two great songs though.

Generally realy liked the movie, but not wowed by it. It is a fun ride with great fx (apart from some flaws where you feel the cgi a lot). I like how they reworked the screenplay to make it less a series of loosely tied episodes, but it still lacks real drive (that's the source material though )
 

rahuljx

Member
Really loved this. Charming and full of heart and much of that can be attributed to Neel Sethi's performance and the overall voice acting. Quite dark in parts so no wonder it got a PG rating.
 
Haven't watched it yet but Manohla Dargis negative review seems more in line with my expectations http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/15/m...html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/movies
The only thing she seemed to complain about besides all the CG was the fact that the movie didn't have a bigger environmental message and, unless I'm misinterpreting, suggests that Disney the company needs to turnaround its stance on environmental issues. I can't think of many mega-corporations more involved than they are in preservation and ecological efforts.

Genuinely curious what you took from the review though.
 

Blizzard

Banned
Thinking some more, it was neat how there were some touches that could reference the animated movie even if they weren't identical.

  • Animated ringed hypnotic snake eyes
  • It looked like Mowgli was making leaf skirts like Baloo and Mowgli wore in the originals
  • Some vultures briefly showed up in one scene (this may be a stretch)
 

Tritroid

Member
Saw it last night; I dunno...I kinda felt 'meh' from it. And I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority.

Since it was a Disney film, I fully expected it to be a copy & paste of the original cartoon...but damn, some of it felt forced. The King Louis song? Incredibly forced, and pretty awkward.

I guess coming off of Zootopia I expected a little more, but it felt rushed, the script wasn't that great, and it brought nothing new to the table aside from what the cartoon had already done.

That being said, the CGI was incredible.
 
Just got home from the theater. Loved it. Beautiful CG, amazing score, awesome cast. Very solid Mowgli, specifically. Neel Sethi's career is just starting and he is already out-acting people thrice his age. And Idris Elba's Shere Khan is both regal and absolutely terrifying; Easily one of Disney's most menacing villains of recent memory.

Zootopia and now The Jungle Book, Disney is really killing it this year.
 

Link Man

Banned
I really don't like the original movie, could someone who's seen it tell me if this version would be worth a watch given that mindset?
 

Dr.JayP

Member
Absolutely wonderful.

This movie just had that magic Disney is known for. Excellent performances from everyone but I must say especially Idris Elba. Every time Shere Khan was on screen I was literally on the edge of my seat. He was absolutely terrifying and he just owned his scenes.

The CGI was something else as well. I could not believe the photorealism and lifelike animations of all the animals.

Favreau and Disney just nailed it. I personally feel as though it's a modern masterpiece.

10/10
 

Poona

Member
Saw it last night; I dunno...I kinda felt 'meh' from it. And I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority.

Since it was a Disney film, I fully expected it to be a copy & paste of the original cartoon...but damn, some of it felt forced. The King Louis song? Incredibly forced, and pretty awkward.

I guess coming off of Zootopia I expected a little more, but it felt rushed, the script wasn't that great, and it brought nothing new to the table aside from what the cartoon had already done.

That being said, the CGI was incredible.

Yeah, I think I sortof feel the same. Supposedly there's all this good word on it and I didn't think it that amazing. Think I prefer the 1994 live action Jungle Book that Disney did then with Jason Scott Lee. Wonder what WB version with Andy Serkis is like.

Oh and yeah when Louie sings, it did seem a bit strange. Like the scene seems somewhat scary, but then it switches to him singing just because that song was in the animated version (though pretty sure they changed some lyrics).
 
Okay, so I watched it today, and I have very mixed feelings about it. There highs are definitely high, there aren't that many lows, but a lot of it is just plain dull, if I had to put it bluntly. While the CGI is incredible, I never thought the film looked particularly stunning apart from the animals, which do look fantastic. Perhaps, the art direction wasn't to my taste. Or I suppose they were going for a more grounded look for the jungle, which I can totally understand.

Now, for the story. There were some moments that were quite thrilling, especially the ones involving
Shere Khan
. He's the perfect mix of graceful, regal, and downright menacing. Every scene he's in there's immense amounts of tension and suspense. But most of all, his motivations are understandable. I enjoyed his character a lot and Idris Elba did a fine job with the character.
Baloo and Bagheera
are really fun supporting characters who provide the story with the right amount of humor and seriousness respectively. Solid performances by both Bill Murray and Ben Kingsley. However, these are the only parts of the film I felt were truly enjoyable. I'm not familiar with the original Jungle Book that much, so I'm not sure what's supposed to be in there and what's not, but a lot of the subplots felt unnecessary, especially the one involving
King Louie
. It was kinda just there just for the sake of being there, and I didn't care for any of it. To me, the dull parts far outweighed the fun parts. While Neel Sethi's performance was pretty good, I never felt like I cared for the character, and it frustrates me because I can't put a finger on why not.

The film has a heart, but it felt like there were a lot of unexciting moments that always kept me at an arm's distance from the fun parts. I saw Zootopia when it came out, and I was blown away by how thoughtful, engaging, fun, and full of heart and soul it was, and this being another Disney film, I was totally expecting something similar. I was giddy with excitement when I walked into the theater, but when I walked out, I couldn't find a single reason to watch it again. I guess I'm just disappointed because the film didn't live up to my weeks of hype.

Anyway, that's what I felt, but it seems like a lot of people are enjoying it, and there's no reason you can't. Have fun, everyone who has plans to watch it this weekend!
Shere Khan
is da baws.
 

Blizzard

Banned
GUYS HOW WAS LOUIE'S SONG?????

Wait is there still singing?
I liked the song itself! Christopher Walken sings it I think. But yeah, they sort of pushed it into the scene.


I forgot to mention, stick around for the credits, at least until it goes black. The first part has some really neat 3D stuff, and the second part is a James-Bond-esque song with 3D backgrounds.
 

ElFly

Member
I liked this movie, def better than the old disney cartoon (I hate how that cartoon movie ends).

Sadly I feel the actors are mostly wasted on the animals, since they can barely express any emotion with their faces or movements since they are going for realism.

Still p good.
 
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