‘Jungle’ Is a ‘Blade Runner’-Esque Drill-Rap Hood Tale—Minus the Ingenuity
Like any piece of art inspired by Blade Runner, Jungle is a show that really wants to impress you.
The British drill-rap series, now streaming on Prime Video, establishes an avant-garde visual language and poetic sensibility right out the gate. In the pilot’s cold open, we cut between shots of waves crashing on a beach, a Black boy staring at a burning house, dictionary text and an ominous flip clock while the lead character, Gogo (Ezra Elliott), has a prophetic conversation over the phone.
“I gotta get out of here, man,” he tells an unnamed man, referring to his crime-ridden life. “I gotta breathe. I just feel like if I stay here, I’m going to die.”