There have been many screen adaptations of Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book,” but few have opened with the sight of baby Mowgli, covered in his own mother’s blood, being rescued by the black panther Bagheera from the predator dangers of the jungle. Clearly, this is not going to be another Disney adaptation (they’ve gone back to the Kipling well three times already, most recently in a 2016 blockbuster), but something far darker in tone. “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” (simply titled “Mowgli” in the film) is a game attempt from director Andy Serkis to butch up the material, giving it real stakes as natural world violence is slightly exaggerated to fit Shakespearean drama, with the helmer offering a CGI-laden overview of challenges and position in the animal kingdom. Intent is far more interesting than execution, finding Serkis slowly losing control of his vision as the effort drags on, ending up with more of a curiosity than a triumphant reimagining. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com