The CGI animated savannahs, rivers and rock formations of Africa are photo-real, and the animals populating it have never been more realistically rendered than they are in “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

Disney felt the need to have the lions, warthog and meercat’s lips move when they sing, which is saying something.

But let’s keep this review short and not-exactly-sweet, unlike this boardroom-ordered prequel to one of Disney’s most popular intellectual properties. “Mufasa: The Lion King” never makes the case that it’s a story that needed to be told or a movie that needed to be made.

It’s about how Mufasa got separated from his birth-parents’ pride of lions, and joined another, becoming “brothers” with the lion cub who “saved” him, but who will come to be called “Scar.”

So the object of this prequel is to show how Mufasa became Lion King and how Scar got his scar and became the bitter rival in their pride.

The “story” is framed as a “story” Rafiki the ape (John Sani) tells Simba’s cub, and that cub’s protectors/babysitters, Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen).

The tale is of another coming-of-age quest, with two young-lions on their own this time, paired-up, depending on each other, on the run from a pride of albino lions led by the killer Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen).

There are new songs of a far more forgettable nature than those from the animated classic “The Lion King.”

“The circle is broken,” he growls, and we believe him.

There are harrowing moments of drama in their quest, but there’s precious little humor to the movie, all of it provided by the same duo who have always been the comic relief, Timon and Pumbaa.

“We’ve been singing ‘Hakuna Matata’ since forever!”

“Who hasn’t?“

The messaging, about taking in “strays,” and that “To be lost is to learn the way,” is weak tea.

Story failings aside, it’s not a bad movie. But “Mufasa” never lets us forget the limited-entertainment-value of the entire undertaking. Oscar winner Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”) was hired to direct, but aside from a few voice casting decisions (Keith David, Anika Noni Rose, with Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison, Jr. as Mufasa and Taka/Scar), he brings nothing to this that makes a difference.

Disney’s tech/animators telling their bosses that “Yes, we can make it look like a movie with real singing lions and bathing hippos on the veldt without using real animals or shooting on location” is no justification for showcasing that technology.

Story matters, and this one didn’t need to be told.

Rating: PG, some violence

Cast: The voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Tiffany Boone, John Kani, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Keith David, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen.

Credits: Directed by Barry Jenkins, scripted by Jeff Nathanson, based on characters from Disney’s “The Lion King.” A Walt Disney release.

Running time: 1:58

As Blake Lively’s allegations against her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni continue to reverberate through Hollywood, a new lawsuit has further raised the stakes.

Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, filed a complaint Tuesday in New York Supreme Court, accusing the actor’s crisis PR team of waging a coordinated effort to undermine her and deflect blame for what she calls a retaliatory smear campaign targeting Lively.

The new lawsuit adds to the mounting fallout from Lively’s legal complaint filed last week in California. In it, the actor accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set of the romantic drama and orchestrating a campaign to discredit her after she raised concerns about a “hostile work environment.” Her complaint detailed allegations of “improvised physical intimacy” during scenes, pressure from Baldoni to perform greater nudity than originally agreed upon and a calculated effort to spread damaging stories about her in the press.

Jones alleges that Jennifer Abel, formerly a senior figure at her PR firm Jonesworks, collaborated with crisis manager Melissa Nathan on a “no-holds-barred strategy” to shield Baldoni from Lively’s misconduct allegations while simultaneously undermining Jones’ own reputation. According to her lawsuit, the plan involved planting negative stories about Lively in the media, creating fake social media accounts to amplify the attacks and leveraging Baldoni’s public image as a feminist ally to discredit her.

“Behind Jones’s back, [Abel and Nathan] secretly coordinated with Baldoni and [his studio] Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-star,” the lawsuit states.

Jones, who represented Baldoni and Wayfarer from 2017 until her termination in August 2024, claims the alleged scheme destroyed her professional relationship with the actor-director. Abel is accused of using confidential company information to poach clients and lay the groundwork for a competing PR firm.

“Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and [her PR firm] Jonesworks,” the lawsuit alleges, describing efforts to “steal clients and business prospects” while pinning the blame for the smear campaign on Jones herself.

The filing includes excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails that Jones says were extracted from Abel’s company-issued phone after her firing from Jonesworks in August, shortly before the company’s relationship with Baldoni and Wayfarer came to an end. In one exchange, Abel allegedly described Baldoni as “pompous” and mocked his decision to attend a men’s retreat during the film’s release, writing, “He doesn’t need a retreat. He needs to be humbled.”

Jones accuses Abel and Nathan of weaponizing the controversy to “drive a wedge” between her and Baldoni, isolating her in the industry and damaging her career. Her lawsuit seeks damages and a court order to halt what she describes as ongoing harassment and professional sabotage. “This lawsuit seeks to finally put a stop to their continued misconduct and to compensate Jones and Jonesworks for the damage Defendants’ conduct and scheme has inflicted,” the filing reads.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldoni and the other defendants, could not immediately be reached for comment but has previously dismissed Lively’s claims against his clients as “false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious.”

As lawsuits from both Lively and Jones unfold in the courts and the public eye, the controversy has cast a harsh spotlight on Hollywood’s PR playbook, exposing the darker corners of reputation management in an industry facing calls for greater transparency and accountability.

The allegations have already had professional repercussions for Baldoni. Earlier this week, his talent agency, WME, dropped him as a client and the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership rescinded an award honoring him as an advocate for women’s empowerment. In a statement, the organization said Baldoni’s alleged “abhorrent conduct” detailed in Lively’s lawsuit was “contrary to the values of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award.”

Author Colleen Hoover, whose bestselling novel “It Ends With Us” was based on, has also expressed support for Lively, writing on Instagram: “Blake’s ability to refuse to sit down and ‘be buried’ has been nothing short of inspiring.”

Better Man, 2024.

Directed by Michael Gracey.
Starring Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Damon Herriman, Raechelle Banno, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvany, Frazer Hadfield, Tom Budge, Anthony Hayes, Jake Simmance, Jesse Hyde, Liam Head, Chase Vollenweider, Rose Flanagan, Jack Sherran, Karina Banno, Asmara Feik, Leo Harvey-Elledge, Elyssia Koulouris, Frazer Hadfield, Chris Gun, Ben Hall, Kaela Daffara, and Chase Vollenweider.

SYNOPSIS:

Follow Robbie Williams’ journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

During a conversation exploring the possibility of a biopic, British popstar Robbie Williams told well-regarded musical director Michael Gracey that he saw himself as a monkey performing for others. That became the window into telling the story of this singer/songwriter with Better Man, a film that, as the title implies, also shows that Robbie Williams is self-aware of his flaws, mistakes, and shortcomings without being afraid to put them front and center. Yes, rather than go through the arduous casting process, Michael Gracey ran with that comment literally, making the creative choice to have the pop star played by a CGI monkey (voiced by Jonno Davies, with Robbie Williams lending his vocals.)

It’s a smart move to roll a short clip of subject and filmmaker conversing before the film starts proper, not just because other parts of the world might not be familiar with Robbie Williamss music (consistently accidentally reading it as a biopic about musician Robin Williams if you’re anything like me), but also since this is such a bold concept for a biopic that it’s helpful to get an idea of what this man looks like and the personality he puts out there before it’s all monkey business.

Going one step further, this turns out to not fall into the trappings of a flailing gimmick but ties into themes of pressures of the music industry, fame causing stunted behavior, family drama, and an unflinching portrayal of self that doesn’t smooth over any rough edges. Better Man is an invigorating biopic; a shot of adrenaline to the most overplayed, clichéd genre. After this, no one should be allowed to make biopics (at least ones about musicians) unless they have an equally creative angle or some compelling X factor behind it. Simply put, this film puts most recent offerings from the genre to shame, especially the ones that get trotted out at the end of every year as familiar awards bait.

Even though the life trajectory and story beats aren’t anything new to anyone who has ever seen a biopic about a musician before, it gets to be told with boundless imagination, typically coming from several dazzling musical sequences. Not only are they dynamic in presentation (whether it be jubilantly unfolding across the streets of London or something more melancholy regarding fatherly abandonment), but they are sometimes highwire concepts themselves; Better Man has one of the most thrilling, fantastically clever, visually stunning, and exciting takes on battling one’s demons.

The characters (including Robbie’s family, friends, lover, hell, and even Oasis) don’t interact or react to Robbie Williams as a monkey. It’s a visual treat for us (this film would fall apart without the astonishingly expressive technical wizardry from Weta, who already have proven themselves as outstanding in this field when it comes to the recent Planet of the Apes movies) but another personal, self-deprecating, honest interpretation of how Robbie saw himself during these life stages. Initially, this feels like it will end up as a missed opportunity for further creativity or humor. One of the more surprising elements here is that the filmmakers (with Michael Gracey co-writing alongside Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson) are playing this material straight and not going for laughs. That confidence pays off, allowing a maximalist, melodramatic side to come out with sincere, absorbing emotional heft.

That story follows a standard rise and fall structure, with Robbie Williams finding inspiration from his initially supportive singing father (Steve Pemberton), exhibiting a relatable drive to make his grandmother (Alison Steadman proud, getting his start in boy band Take That before his insecurities and worsening substance abuse and egocentric behavior gets him kicked out, stumbling into a rocky relationship with Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno), and then not only finding the courage to put some meaningful lyrics out into the world through a successful solo career but managing the anxieties that come with performing in front of humongous crowds while constantly struggling with drug addiction. 

Some of those aspects feel glossed over and aren’t as explored as they possibly could have been (the film is already 135 minutes, but some of it is given a broad strokes treatment), but it’s affecting anyway due to the creativity, artistry, musical numbers, and blunt honesty enhancing those character dynamics. Better Man is a biopic that starts with a confessional about being a narcissist and having a punchable face and ends up somewhere beautifully moving that perfectly captures the essence of that title. There is also a healthy dose of Frank Sinatra here, given that he was a major source of inspiration for Robbie Williams, so let’s say he and Michael Gracey did this biopic their way, and the result is something no one should want any other way.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/playlist