The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

4/10

Starring

Alexander Skarsgård

Samuel L. Jackson

Margot Robbie

Djimon Hounsou

Jim Broadbent

Christoph Waltz

Directed by David Yates

The Legend of Tarzan has a different feel to the familiar story of Tarzan that we have known and gotten found of. We are used to seeing Tarzan’s life from the time when he was a young boy living with the apes until he is fully grown and became lord of the jungle.

I haven’t had the opportunity to read the book, but I have watched many adaptations of the story. This movie focuses on his life after he has settled down with Jane, living comfortably in England and trying to have a child.

Although this seems like a good idea, as the writers are given the viewers something we are not used to, the movie was a bore as the dialogue in it were too long and not thrilling or suspense filled enough to keep interested.

The writers put so much between the first act and the expected showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist, when the time arrived for the expected showdown, it was uneventful. The director didn’t help matters as he took the movie too seriously and made Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan character resemble a lullaby. The Tarzan we are used to (thanks to Disney, the Tarzan I’m used to) is the Lord of the Jungle, strong like an Ape and able to perform magnificent feats.

The whole idea of Tarzan is fiction and on that fictional note Burroughs based the adventures of Tarzan. Here the writers wanted to make everything look so real, and by so doing they took out the excitement in the character.

Now the CGI was good as I expected it to be, with Samuel L. Jackson putting up a cool acting enough to see you through the movie. The other good thing in this movie is the portrayal of Jane Porter played by Margot Robbie, in the other adaptations of Jane I have seen she is a sophisticated lady, a damsel in distress in a world of danger. Here she is strong, a fighter, confident and held her own in this movie.

The movie intro is based on two independent events which somewhat linked in a miraculous way. Congo is currently being colonized by two countries, Belgium and United Kingdom. The Belgium’s are running out of money and decided to raid the diamond mines in Congo. Their raid encountered an ambush which only Rom (Christopher Waltz) survived and the King of the people who ambushed Rom and his men gave Rom a diamond in exchange for Tarzan. At that same time Tarzan now in England is being persuaded by the government to lead Williams (Samuel L. Jackson) an American sent by the American government to investigate the slavery going on in Congo in the hands of the Belgium.

Tarzan accepted – and he, Williams with Jane went to Congo and stayed with a tribe Tarzan was friends with, the tribe’s village got attacked by Rom and his men and Jane was captured in other to draw Tarzan.

Tarzan now has to find a way to save Jane from the hands of Rom.

Why not save your money and see something else.