The Jungle Book

These Disney live action remakes of their animated classics are weird. I get them, but I’m not overly sure if I like them, or at least not until I saw The Jungle Book. This one kind of works.

Unlike most of recent Disney remakes, this one actually sticks pretty close to the original story, minus a few aspects. It’s pretty much The Jungle Book you know and love from your childhood. Bagheera and Baloo keeping Mowgli safe from Shere Khan. Which I guess kind of begs the question, was this remake even necessary?

I think in a way, it does feel fresh, the biggest selling point being the heavy blend of CGI and live action footage. You couldn’t have made this film five years ago; it would have looked really naff. For the most part now it actually looks really good. There is a kind of digital sheen over the whole film but some of the characters are very photorealistic. Shere Khan looks like a tiger, in fact he looks so real that he is just as scary in this film as I remember him being in the animated film when I was about 5. There are the odd minor characters or little one off animals that walk in and out of the frame that look a little more digital than some, but for the most part you lose yourself in this world without noticing the seams.

The film boasts a very impressive voice cast, some of them more genius then others, Idris Elba as Shere Khan and Bill Murray as Baloo being the standouts. The one thing I was worried about the most was, would you believe these realistic looking animals could talk but thankfully you do, the voice work is very solid. The one hiccup of the film, and I hate to nit-pick a child’s performance, is Neel Sethi as Mowgli. Child actors are always hit or miss and it is such a shame that for the most part here, he is not that convincing. Movement is fine, he does make you forget that these animals weren’t actually there, but whenever he said a line of dialogue I did not believe a word he said.

Pacing wise the film moves along pretty swiftly and doesn’t slow too much. Tonally it is a lot more serious; however in the second act it does struggle with whether it should be a musical or not which was a little weird. One of the songs is worked in well, another not so much... The soundtrack overall though was great and really works to add to your emotional reaction.

Overall it’s a good film which is very visually pleasing. It has its problems but for the most part it’s enjoyable and a film your kids will be sure to enjoy, however do be warned that Shere Khan is very scary, even as an adult I was little bit on edge around his scenes but he really is the standout performance and character of the film. I am rating The Jungle Book a 3.5/5.

Have you seen the film? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Thor: The Dark World

When the Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer came out the other day I thought that the film would easily top the solo outing films of Marvel phase 2. However I may have been wrong, because Thor: The Dark World just raised the bar pretty damn high! After feeling a bit let down from Iron Man 3 and Marvel's TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D I went into the cinema with average hopes and a critical mind, I came out having just had a blast of a time! Read on to find out why and as always my review is spoiler free!

Thor: The Dark World picks up after the events of The Avengers. Loki is in jail, Thor is back on Asgard with the Bifrost Bridge rebuilt, whilst love interest Jane Foster is down on Earth still doing science experiments and attempting to get over her fling with the demigod. All this gets shaken up when Jane discovers the Aether, a dark force that wakes up Malekith, a dark elve that wishes to bring revenge to Asgard for killing his people a long time ago. Like the first Thor, the plot is quite simple making for a fun and easy watching film, something I really loved about the first film. There's obviously a bit more going down in this second instalment but the heart of the first film is still there even with new Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor on board.

Let's start with the acting, as with all Marvel casting so far, everybody is perfect in their roles. Especially Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston who you couldn't imagine anyone else in their roles as Thor and Loki, their chemistry on screen is even better again and every scene with two becomes the highlights of the film. In villain duties is Christopher Eccleston as Malekith who does a decent job but his performance lacks being memorable, not by fault of his own but my fault of yet another underwritten villain who's plan is essentially to destroy everything, again. One of my favourite characters though is Heimdall played by Idris Elba who gets even more kick ass action in this film. 

That's one of the best things about Thor 2, the really cool moments that see your favourite character do something so cool it makes you nerd out. Early in you know you are in for a good ride when Thor jumps off a balcony twists grabs his hammer and flies away. There are loads of moments like this which make for a really enjoyable watch. This is something Iron Man 3 failed to deliver on apart from the end scene with all the suits but that was unfortunately mostly spoiled in the trailers. Like Iron Man 3 though Thor 2 is very funny but it never feels like a comedy. Unfortunately a few of the joke do fall a bit flat. 

We also get to see the continuation of Marvel writing some stronger roles for it's female characters. They're not fully there yet but I sure would soon like to see a film with female superhero lead soon. Thor's mum Frigga is one of these strong characters and even gets her own fight scene that turns out to be one of the best of the film. Natalie Portman's Jane Foster is still a bit of a damsel in distress but has no fear of standing up to the likes of Loki and even Odin. A love triangle between Thor, Sif and Jane is also hinted at but never really goes anywhere.

The film itself looks great! The use of real sets and locations really makes a difference and something I imagine Alan Taylor had some doing with. The fights are more epic and everything is dirtied up a bit. Saying that Thor is not going down a Nolan esque route with being dark and gritty, far from it actually, in fact it's a very fun and moving adventure film. The visual effects were also great and the whole film looked awesome!

A few dodgy lines and acting aside, Thor: The Dark World is a great ride and really delivered a lot higher than what I expected it to. The story is great and has some great unexpected twists and a lot of fan service. There is a lot of teasing of the future of phase 2 and beyond, so much so that you will hope they announce a Thor 3 soon! Remember to stay for the mid credits and post credits sequence! I really, really loved this film and I can see it becoming one of my favourites of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s not without its flaws but you sure do get one hell of a Thor film that leaves you wanting more, therefore I am giving it a rating of 4/5.

I think Alan Taylor really brought something special to the Marvel universe and it is unfortunate that due to rumoured disagreements with the studio and few suspicious answers to questions during the junket for this film that he most likely won't be back. However the bar has been raised for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Guardians of the Galaxy.

What did you think of the film? Do you agree with me or disagree completely? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!