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Movies / On DVD / King of the Jungle
King of the Jungle

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King of the Jungle (2001)

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24 %
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Reviews Counted:17

Fresh:4

Rotten:13

Average Rating:4.3/10

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: What happens when society can no longer protect its innocents? Seymour (John Leguizamo) dreams of becoming a NBA star like the members of his beloved NY Knicks team. Mentally challenged, he lives... What happens when society can no longer protect its innocents? Seymour (John Leguizamo) dreams of becoming a NBA star like the members of his beloved NY Knicks team. Mentally challenged, he lives with his over-protective mother Mona (Julie Carmen) and her lover Joanne (Rosie Perez). Seymour's estranged alcoholic father, Jack (Cliff Gorman) berates him about not being a man and Seymour's only escape is to watch and play basketball at the neighborhood court.

When Mona is slain by a neighborhood thug, as a result of her work as a vocal social activist, Seymour is shattered. The only witness to the murder, Seymour goes looking for revenge.

As he roams the streets looking for the killer, Seymour's fragile emotional state continues to unravel. A violent encounter with the killer only heightens his lust for vengeance. When Seymour finds a gun in the home of his best friend, Francis (Michael Rapaport), it appears that he is destined to succumb to the code of the streets. He has become the King of the Jungle.

Concerned for Seymour's safety, Jack goes in search of his son. When they meet at the neighborhood court, Seymour and Jack engage in a dramatic confrontation. At stake is Seymour's nascent manhood and, ultimately his life.

KING OF THE JUNGLE stars John Leguizamo (Summer of Sam, Emmy Award winner, "Freak"), Rosie Perez (Riding in the Cars With Boys, Academy Award® nominee, Fearless), Annabella Sciorra (HBO's "The Sopranos," What Dreams May Come), Michael Rapaport (The 6th Day, Bamboozled, Men of Honor), Rosario Dawson (Josie and the Pussycats, Light it Up, He Got Game) and Marisa Tomei (What Women Want, The Watcher, Academy Award® winner, Best Supporting Actress, My Cousin Vinny). Julie Carmen and Cliff Gorman round out the award-winning ensemble cast.

Urbanworld Films presents KING OF THE JUNGLE, a Bombo Sports & Entertainment production in association with Forensic Films. The film is written and directed by acclaimed screenwriter and playwright Seth Zvi Rosenfeld. Christopher James and Steven E. Bram serve as co-producers. Bob Potter, Scott Macaulay and Robin O'Hara produce. John Leguizamo, Stacy Spikes, Jay Rifkin and Hans Zimmer serve as executive producers.

KING OF THE JUNGLE is rated R for strong language, some violence and drug content. -- © 2001 Urbanworld Films [More]

Starring: John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Julie Carmen, Rosario Dawson

Starring: John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Julie Carmen, Rosario Dawson, Cliff Gorman, Justin Pierce, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Marisa Tomei

Director: Seth Zvi Rosenfeld

Director: Seth Zvi Rosenfeld
Screenwriter: Seth Zvi Rosenfeld
Producer: Hans Zimmer, Christopher James
Composer: Dan "The Automator" Nanamura
Studio: Urbanworld Films

[See More Credits]

Reviews for King of the Jungle

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
01/27/02
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

The basic problem with the film is that each of the fine actors appears to be working on a different project.

Full Review Source: Baseline.Hollywood.com | comment Comment
12/21/01
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Baseline.Hollywood.com

Every clichéd cinematic device ... is spread out before the audience like a bad road map.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
11/09/01
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Citysearch

Features John Leguizamo in a tour de force 'rain man' performance as a mentally challenged 25-year-old

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
10/30/01
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
08/09/02
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News

Meanders with clumsy flashbacks, unexplored characters and relationships and a rushed, unsatisfying conclusion.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
11/16/01
E! Online

No review available.

comment Comment
08/06/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

It's more than a little tiresome to see executive producer Leguizamo put himself through the tortured contortions of his character.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/09/01
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
12/27/04
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

The script isn't worth the quality of the work put in to it.

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
11/08/01
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
06/01/05
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
International Press Academy

[Seymour's] story demands a larger meaning, a sense of the poetic, than mere heart-tugging can provide, but Rosenfeld cannot provide it.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/16/01
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Filled less with performance than it is riddled with Oscar clips.

comment Comment
11/15/01
Robert Wilonsky
Robert Wilonsky
New Times

One of those films that feel drunk on their own virtue.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/09/01
Jonathan Foreman
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post

[Rosenfeld] finds a way to convey messiness that gives King an honest and particular heartbeat.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
11/09/01
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A hard, vibrant surface can't quite cover the mossy, skimpy center of this story.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
11/09/01
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

Some Latin boys go to hell while others just need a loving home.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
11/06/01
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

The fact is that given the talent involved, it should have been much better.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/09/01
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Old-fashioned in good ways and bad.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
11/06/01
Mark Holcomb
Mark Holcomb
Village Voice
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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