Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

The Jungle Book
2016
***½
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi

A young boy named Mowgli was raised by wolves. Now he is forced to leave his home in the Indian Jungle when Shere Khan, a nasty tiger who was scarred by a human, seeks vengeance on the "man cub". This is the third time Disney has adapted Rudyard Kipling's book. The 1967 animation has become an enduring classic, the 1994 movie starring Jason Scott Lee less so. This one lands somewhere between those two; it appears to be live action but, apart from Neel Sethi's performance, it's all CGI. It's good fun, though. In this version, some of the animals pose a real threat so it's not for small children. However, I'm not quite sure the jolly songs from the animation fit in.