Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

A couple years ago I saw The Jungle Book and really enjoyed it. I thought Jon Favreau did a great job directing it and felt it was an enjoyable family film. I was surprised to see another rival version of the story come out entitled Mowgli so soon afterwards. I was even more surprised when I realized it was being released directly on Netflix.

Mowgli was directed by Andy Serkis. He is also the voice of Baloo. Like the prior movie from 2016, this is also a live action version as opposed to animation but it has a darker and more intense feel to it. There is no breaking into song in this version and very few cute or funny moments so it's less of a kid's film since it holds closer to Rudyard Kipling's book.

Just like the prior movie, this one also has a stellar cast including Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchet, Andy Serkis, Naomie Harris, and others.

One thing that I really liked about this version was the attention to some small details that brought more realism. Things like Mowgli being filthy, the scars from injuries, etc. I had a hard time deciding which version I thought had better CGI. I liked some aspects of each film more but overall I'd have to give Mowgli a slightly higher score. I was shocked to see that it had lower scores on IMDB than The Jungle Book. 

I give Mowgli 7.6 stars.