A Film Review : "The Lion King (2019)"

The Lion King is a 2019 film directed by Jon Favreau and stars Donald Glover, Seth Rogan, Beyoncé, and James Earl Jones

Disney has reached a new low point. Let’s get this review over with so I don’t need to dwell on this god awful movie. First I need to clarify some things. First, I think the original Lion King is only ok. I never really formed a connection with these characters, and I find Simba to be either annoying or bland most of the time. Second of all, I believe strongly that pretty much all of the Disney films aside from the Renaissance until now films would be considered pretty average had they been separated from the Disney brand and nostalgia goggles. We’re all guilty of this, including myself, but I thought I’d put it out there for context. Third of all, I’m going to tackle this film in a categorical format as opposed to why the structure of a film works or doesn’t. Anyway, let’s get to this thing

Prelude - In an attempt to give some credence to this film, I will list the positives of it. Aside from what they actually do with the technology, the CGI actually does look beautiful when used correctly. That’s literally it. Even James Earl Jones isn’t allowed to be unique enough in this movie to make the cut for what’s considered a positive quality.

Part 1 - Ugly.

Ever since “The Jungle Book (2016)” Director Jon Favreau was announced to direct this film, people have been talking about how the technology is going to stand out in this film. Once it came out, however, no one was talking about that. It’s not hard to see why though, since the film is very ugly. There are a lot of browns and rotting vegetation instead of the sweeping visuals that made the original breathtaking. It’s just not pleasant to look at. I can tell you, I wouldn’t want to go to Africa after seeing this movie

Part II - Devoid Of Creativity

This movie brings nothing new to the table and either shortens scenes, keeps them the same, or adds pointless shots.

Part III - Soulless

What I mean by this is that, essentially, this movie could be a silent film and nothing would change. All the dialogue, delivery, and tone of voice is completely lost on me. And even then, it would fail as a silent film because there is no emotion on anyone’s face. CGI tends to give less facial emotion than live action or cartoons.

Part IV - Unremarkable

In addition to being boring and soulless, this film makes absolutely no mark on me whatsoever. While everyone can name multiple scenes from the original film, such as the circle of life, be prepared, the stampede, the death of Mufasa, the final fight, talking to Mufasa from the beyond, etc. I can name only one single second from this film, that being the embarrassing emotionless face on cub Simba when he is held up in the circle of life. Aside from that, nothing. Not one single thing is remarkable from this, and if your film is unremarkable, it commits what is, in my opinion, the biggest leap a movie can make towards it’s own downfall.

The Lion King is this year’s greatest and most desperate attempt at trying to recapture nostalgia for a quick buck, which just shows that Disney has given up on their own self-respect so long as they get their all-mighty dollar.

0.5/5 Stars