10 Worst Performances In Otherwise Awesome 2016 Movies

Remakes and reboots or whatever you want to call them didn’t fare too well in 2016. From the doomed Ghostbusters reboot to the subpar remakes of Ben-Hur and Cabin Fever, last year was proof that some movies are just better left alone.

One exception to that rule in 2016, however, was Jon Favreau’s remake of The Jungle Book. Retaining all the charm of the Disney original but updating it for modern, young audiences with stunningly realistic CGI, the film was not only one of 2016’s most critically adored film but one of its highest grossing too.

It featured several fantastic performances from its star-studded voice cast including Bill Murray as Baloo, Idris Elba as Shere Khan and Christopher Walken as a supersized take on King Louie crossed with Apocalypse Now’s Colonel Lutz. But if there’s a weak spot in the film it’s with the young actor playing Mowgli, Neel Sethi.

Is it a bit mean to criticise a child actor? Probably, and maybe even more so considering this is Sethi’s big screen debut and he most likely spent most of his time on set acting against a green screen. But let’s be brutal for a moment. As the movie’s only live-action character, he needed to be brilliant, and though he’s perfectly cute he drifts into annoying territory all too often.

Like we said, he’s young and it’s his first big acting role so we can’t blame him entirely. No doubt if Sethi decides acting is the career for him, he’ll improve with age and experience. But his performance in The Jungle Book just wasn’t that great a start.