The same story + CG + blandness = pointless

Rating: 5/10 (22 August 2019)

Yes, the CG for this film is phenomenal and it looks absolutely realistic. Yes, this film is an exact copy of what we have seen in the animated version. Yes, the film totally lacks the necessary emotion and intensity that was present in the original. If you've seen the original Lion King, then there is no point of watching this movie. Unlike Jon Favreau's previous film, this film doesn't present anything new and just follows the same beat and pace of the original with some very minor scenes that I actually thought was both good and bad for the film.
First, the good: This is a bit of a nitpick of mine, but one of my major gripes that I have toward the climax from the original was that the film mixed in cultural references (Pumba saying a line from "They Call Me Mister Tibbs!) and Rafiki going all kung-fu. This movie took these parts out of the film and actually made them relevant enough to the climax and not feeling out of place. Another is that the movie adds extra scenes that explained how Nara escaped from Pride Rock and came to Timon and Pumba's home. Also, their home now has more side characters living there, making it more lively and less empty than how it was in the original.
Now to the bad: Rafiki had nothing to do and the whole scene involving him giving the speech to adult Simba about the past is totally absent; taking away the great message that the film had. Another factor was that, although it is not 100% bad, the characteristics of the hyenas changed. I don't mind them changing Shenzi from a comedic character to a menacing one. What I didn't like was that the other hyenas had nothing to do, had no personality and had one joke that was both unfunny and awkward, especially coming right after the death of Mufasa. One more factor that really disappointed me was that when it came to the big song numbers that people loved to listen to, there would be a lot going on in the scene. However, if the musical number is not so, then it just looks bland and uninteresting to watch. An example is "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" and "Be Prepared." The duet number has the characters going around and has them enjoying their time together, in the daylight. Whereas the latter is just plain and simple, with nothing going on.
The major complaints that people have mentioned was that this film just felt lifeless because the characters do not have any sort of reaction and that is partially true. The characters all look realistic and because of that, they lack the expressions that we've seen in the original. But that is not the only reason why I felt that the movie didn't have the proper emotion. In the original, the characters would not only have expressions that were easy to understand, but the film had great dynamic shots that added an impact when you saw something intense happening to the characters or when something tragic occurs in the film. The directing and in my opinion, most of the voice acting really liked the actual emotions that were present. Even James Earl Jones, whom is always great to listen to, felt like he was just reading the script to him and didn't have that deep emotion that was present before. This really shows as, other than Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and the kids who played young Simba and Nara, everyone else gave a flat performance and didn't help add personality to the character. Mixing all of these mistakes will make something that has been loved for many years look weak.
Just like some of the other remakes, this really felt like it was only piggybacking the success of the original and because of that I felt that the movie missed out on some potentials to be as successful or surpass the original. I didn't absolutely hate this and I see how many people will feel disappointed or will hate this movie. It's just an okay film and overall I recommend watching the original instead of this. If you want to see some amazing CG, then by all means you should check it out.