Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

Year: 2018

Actors: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Mullan

Duration: 104 min

In the jungle, Kaa (Cate Blanchett), an Indian python seer, watches as Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch), a crippled Bengal tiger, breaks jungle law by hunting down a family of humans, with only the child escaping. Bagheera (Christian Bale), drawn to the scene, rescues the man-cub, Mowgli (Rohan Chand), and takes him to a family of Indian wolves being raised by Nisha (Naomie Harris) and Vihaan (Eddie Marsan), only for Tabaqui (Tom Hollander), Shere Khan's hyena follower, to find the boy before he is chased off. They take the infant Mowgli before the wolf council and Akela (Peter Mullan), the leader of the pack, to decide his fate, with Bagheera buying his life with a kill and Baloo (Andy Serkis) strong-armed into agreeing. Shere Khan arrives to kill Mowgli, but Akela stops him, saying the boy is now a member of the pack and forces Shere Khan to leave, but not before the tiger vows to return.For many years after, Mowgli lives among the wolf pack. One day, Mowgli goes swimming alone and encounters Shere Khan. He manages to escape the tiger after falling into a pit and was saved by Hathi, an Indian elephant missing half a tusk. Bagheera finds Mowgli and takes him home. Though Bagheera reveals to Mowgli that he is a human, and he will be safe if he goes to the Man-Village, Mowgli states that he wishes to be a wolf. He declares that he will only go if he fails the pack's trial, which would determine if he can become a full member of the pack. During the trial, Bagheera, acting as hunter to chase the young wolves and test their strength, continually chases Mowgli and causes him to fail when he would have come in first. As Baloo confronts Bagheera over the issue, Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log, a gang of monkeys, on Tabaqui's orders for Shere Khan. Shere Khan attempts to eat Mowgli while he is unconscious but is stopped by Baloo and Bagheera. However, during their battle with Shere Khan's minions, they are overwhelmed, and it is only the intervention of Kaa herself that saves Mowgli.Mowgli learns that Kaa has been watching him and that she believes that he has the power to change the jungle. She then directs him to face Shere Khan, who is again challenging Akela for Mowgli. Mowgli stops the tiger and Akela's challengers with fire taken from the Man-Village but shames himself in Akela's eyes and is forced to leave for the Man-Village. Mowgli is captured by the villagers, including the colonial hunter, John Lockwood (Matthew Rhys), and placed in a cage. Bagheera visits him and tells him to stay, encouraging the boy to gain their trust, as Bagheera once did to escape captivity when he was young. Mowgli slowly comes to enjoy village life, being raised by the kindly Messua (Freida Pinto) and learning hunting and life skills from Lockwood.However, Mowgli's attitude towards Lockwood changes when he sees that Lockwood hunts for sport and has killed Bhoot, a wolf cub friend of Mowgli. He also learns that Shere Khan has driven the wolves to the edge of the jungle. Mowgli meets with Baloo, Bagheera and the wolf pack, declaring that Shere Khan must die. The animals feel obligated to remain out of the conflict as it would break jungle law to fight Shere Khan. Regardless, Mowgli proceeds with his plan and lures Shere Khan to the edge of the village, where with the help of Hathi, whose tusk was robbed by Lockwood, and other bull elephants, he mortally wounds the tiger. However, Lockwood accidentally grazes Mowgli with a bullet while trying to kill the tiger and accidentally shoots Akela when the wolf saves Mowgli from Shere Khan. Lockwood is slain by Hathi before he can do more harm, and the other animals rally to Mowgli upon seeing his resolve.Akela gives Mowgli his blessing to lead the jungle's creatures and the wolf pack before he dies, and Mowgli decides to leave the village behind, returning to the jungle, where he slays the dying Shere Khan. Mowgli is re-accepted as a member of the jungle. Kaa goes on to say that Mowgli gave the jungle a voice, and that as long as he lived and watched over it, there was lasting peace.

Genre: Action   Adventure   Drama   Fantasy