7 on its own movie, 5 compared to the original

Rating: 6/10 (23 July 2019)

I know it's unfair to compare this to it's original but you can't really avoid it. This film tried to take a more realism over entertainment approach which is where it falls down.
A lot of the charm and humour of the original just doesn't transfer well, especially with Scar. This new Scar is extremely underwhelming and forgettable, not great as the main antagonist; he needed a comprehensive re-write since his lines from the original are much better suited to Jeremy Irons' style of Scar.
The film is gorgeous, unquestionably it's strongest point, however the facial animations are very vacant and make things a little awkward. For example the films opening sees Mufasa blank Zazu's bow and pretty much turn his back on Rafiki; when compared to the original he smiles for the former and hugs the latter... see what I mean about realism vs entertainment?
In summary this film is good enough and a decent take on what was a masterpiece of an original movie, but if this was your first Lion King you've been done a great disservice. Go back to the original and get blown away by how magnificent it is, I guarantee you'll never go back to this newer imitation afterwards