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This review was originally published earlier this month.
We are republishing the piece as the film hits theaters this weekend.
Technically speaking, its a marvel.
Itd be a great case of How did they do that?
except that they did it so well that you forget that they did anything at all.
Oh, the lion is singing?
Well, how bout that?
I didnt know a lion could sing.
But there it is a real lion, singing.
Thats the good news.
The not-so-good news is that, having entered the photorealistic realm,The Lion Kings mood too has changed.
It feels queasily authoritarian.
But of course, the filmmakers recognize that.
Maybe thats the idea to not anthropomorphize them too much and to stay grounded in zoological authenticity.
But theyre stilltalking, andsinging, only now their faces are inexpressive; its a weird disconnect.
That creates an unfortunate hierarchy among the actors, allowing some to shine while leaving others to drift.
Whenever hes onscreen, the film has genuine power.
As the grown-up Simba, Donald Glover stays too above the fray.
Hes ordinarily a fine actor, but here we sense a distance between his character and his voice.
As Nala, Beyonce suffers a similar fate.
WheneverThe Lion Kingsticks with that approach, it works beautifully.
