Barry Jenkins' deft hand and Lin-Manuel Miranda's music go some way towards squaring the Circle of Life in Mufasa, but this fitfully soulful story is ill-served by its impersonal, photorealistic animation style.
It swings back and forth tonally very awkwardly, but there are some thrilling moments and it is Barry Jenkins' usual cinematographer, James Laxton, so it is quite lovely at times. But I wish Jenkins would take his artistry where it is his.
Read full articleThe script is safe and unoriginal, the voice talent is passable and while the scenes of the creatures racing through fields and prancing through canyons are fine, the drama peaks in the water bodies and on snow-capped mountains.
Read full articleBarry Jenkins took this behemoth and it didn't entirely defeat him.
Read full articleYoung audiences will have fun following the likable characters and their perilous adventures.
Read full articleThe director keeps a firm if predictable hand on the tiller – the action scenes, such as lions trapped in that flooded river and an elephant stampede – are impressive but the script is limp.
Read full articleMaybe this reads like we’re making excuses, but it feels like the main issues with the film fall beyond Jenkins’ purview as a director...
Read full articleJenkins’ treatment of this story, though he cannot rescue it from middling songs and segments that read as obvious IP management, is alternately sweeping and meditative.
Read full articlePlease, PLEASE stop making entire sequels, prequels, remakes and reboots to 'address' things that only YouTube video essayists ever (sort-of) cared about a decade ago.
Read full article...a welcoming tribute to Disney's very own animation roots, now with digitally generated photorealistic images. [Full review in Spanish]
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