Star Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie, Djimon Hounsou, Jim Broadbent, Christoph Waltz
Advertisement
Director: David Yates
Advertisement
What’s Bad: Unfortunately, after being served with the likes of The Jungle Book, the CGI for The Legend Of Tarzan seem quite drab. Also, David Yates fails to capture the true spirit of this literary hero unlike his best works with Harry Potter.
Loo Break: Yes!
Watch or Not?: If you’re looking for just another movie to catch up on, then The Legend Of Tarzan could work for you. Those who may be fans of Tarzan or Hollywood flicks in general will experience disappointment.
User Rating:
The film takes off in 1884, with Belgium’s King taking control of the African Congo. 5 years later, due to bankruptcy after over-committing in the region, Leopold dispatches his trusted representative Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) to take control. His move is to enslave natives.
An interesting turn of events takes place when Rom strikes a deal for diamonds with local chief (Djimon Hounsou) in exchange of former Congo wild-boy Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård).
He now lives in England with his wife Jane (Margot Robbie). In the lieu of his deal, Rom kidnaps Jane as a bait, knowing that Tarzan will follow.
In the midst of this, Rom develops a lustful liking towards Jane and his plans to murder her soulmate becomes even tighter.
The story also takes a detour and introduces us to the character of American Civil War soldier and statesman, George Washington Williams.
For starters, The Legend Of Tarzan comes off as an extremely ambitious script. There is so much to offer on the content front that it sort of confuses the viewer. Also, what really disappoints is after giving a great shape to the story that even comes to discuss of Primitive vs Civilization, it all eventually boils down to Tarzan rescuing Jane, just like the classic.
Also, the introduction to Tarzan’s character is not as Tarzan, we first meet John Clayton who has his vine-swinging days almost as far as ten years behind. His story as Tarzan, who was brought up by apes, is shown in flashes and that seems slightly unsatisfactory. Also, the film from the word go, assumes that we are familiar with this tale and hence cares less to serve it on a platter which could form as a problem for new viewers.
The only new touch of addition of William’s character is quite fascinating and with Jackson’s act, it makes quite an impact.
Jane’s character comes off as slightly confusing as the writers keep her a sem-empowered woman. She is the damsel in distress as well as slightly modern too, but unfortunately nothing more useful in the story than being the captive.
Advertisement
Alexander Skarsgard is a great choice for Tarzan and the actor proves it every bit in the film. Not only is his chiseled body a proof of that but also the comfort with which we see him swing in action. His transformation from primitive to civilized is absolutely great.
Margot Robbie as Jane looks resplendent but has nothing much to offer other than that.
Samuel Jackson as the history figure of George Washington Williams forms as an amazing sidekick in the film. His effortless act works wonders for the film in parts where it gets a little boring.
Christoph Waltz is the lead antagonist in the film and somehow he does not impress much. His eccentric act as Rom does not make us hate him much but his irritating, constantly plastered on his face, smile does!
Djimon Hounsou gets a Jungle warrior like character and it is quite good. He fits the bill perfectly.
The man who is known to have given us some of the best fantasy films, like four major parts in the Harry Potter series, David Yates this time brings to life another literary character. Is he good? Well, we have to admit that compared to the previous Tarzan films, this one does look better with a sexy Skarsgard but compare it to today’s films, with their live-action features, it has ample of shortcomings.
There is a definite problem with the CGI that look sadly uninspired. In fact, watch carefully and one will see that in a few scenes, the actors don’t even talk in the same exact direction as the graphically created animals.
A few scenes where Skarsgard is seen in a face-off with a gorilla, the shot has been captured in quite an alluring manner, with him standing bear in the midst of rain, looking more like rom-com hero and that’s sort of annoying.
The Legend Of Tarzan is not impressive when it comes to visual appeal. Skarsgard packs a punch but his signature roar in what could be the third act is too late to revive the audiences to like the film. I am going with a 2/5.
The Legend of Tarzan releases on 1st July, 2016.
Share with us your experience of watching The Legend of Tarzan.
Advertisement
