The Sunday Mail
The first “Iron Man” movie made over US$445 million in profit while its sequel made US$423 million. The record is made even more impressive when we take into consideration that the two “Iron Man” movies essentially gave birth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — now a billion-dollar franchise and
reported be one of, if not the, most profitable franchise today.
I HAVE never been a fan of Jon Favreau’s work as an actor, but behind the camera; the guy can do no wrong.
From “Daredevil”, 2006’s “The Break-up”, his cameo appearance last year in “Entourage”, the number of countless flops the 49-year-old has been associated with is just too much.
However, the minute he moves into the director’s chair, the very least you will get from him is an above average project; nothing less.
Favreau has directed eight movies, with the highest grossing flicks being the first two “Iron Man” movies of 2008 and 2010.
The first “Iron Man” movie made over US$445 million in profit while its sequel made US$423 million.
The record is made even more impressive when we take into consideration that the two “Iron Man” movies essentially gave birth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — now a billion-dollar franchise and reported be one of, if not the, most profitable franchise today.
Favreau’s least successful outings in the director’s chair were the 2001 crime drama “Made” and the 2005 sci-fi “Zathura — A Space Adventure”. There were no tangible profits; with the director only recouping the US$5 million and US$65 million poured into the two flicks respectively.
Now, his latest cinematic gem — “The Jungle Book” — has already made Walt Disney a tonne of money. To be precise, US$936 million and counting.
Coming from US$175 million budget, this is something special.
“The Jungle Book” is already Favreau’s most profitable work.
Yes, it is an old tale but Favreau brings a twist to it and blends state-of-the-art computer-generated imagery (CGI) and real life animation.
The film’s biggest merit is its ability to stay true to the original material and bring in new energy.
“The Jungle Book” follows the trials of Mowgli, a boy raised among wolves, and his adventures in the wild. Watch out for his encounters with Shere Khan, the dreaded tiger.
I watched the film with my neighbour’s nine-year-old twins.
For them, it was all fun and games as they named the characters they already knew and sang along to the as usual good Disney music like “Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You”.
For me, it was all about nostalgia hitting me like a load of bricks: It’s hard to make peace with your age when watching such an alive movie.
The voice talents employed in the film are totally exceptional. Bill Murray (Baloo), Christopher Walken (King Louie), Ben Kingsely (Bagheera), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa) and Idris Elba (Shere Khan) do a splendid job here.
I will not have done justice if I do not mention a thing or two about the star of the production, Neel Sethi (Mowgli).
I do not know much about the boy but he handles himself like a pro considering the running around and talking to invisible computer generated animals the film required of him.
Kudos young man, kudos.
