Originally slated for release in 2016, this Andy Serkis-directed Kipling adaptation was shelved and finally sold to Netflix – it’s getting a limited cinema release just before its launch on the streaming platform – partly to avoid competing with Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book. But I can’t help but suspect that there are other issues at play here, not least the fact that it’s hard to pin down just who its audience is meant to be. There’s rather too much peril and bleeding animal trauma for it to work for a family audience without horrifying younger members. But the association with The Jungle Book means that I can’t imagine adult audiences flocking to see it. It’s a pity, because this is a visually striking, technologically impressive picture.
The jungle is a richly realised backdrop, dense with lurking dangers and creeping, crawling biomass. The slight uncanny valley effect of the motion capture performances notwithstanding, the computer generated animals are largely persuasive as both flesh and blood creatures and as characters. Bagheera the panther, with his rippling oil slick of a coat, exudes so much star quality, you almost forget he’s a CGI special effect.
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