The Legend of Tarzan - directed by David Yates
Screenplay: Adam Cozad & Craig Brewer
Yes - I know.... another Tarzan movie!
I've lost count of how many tv shows, cartoons, CG animated and live action flicks we have had.
Personally I like Tarzan movies and even liked the German produced animated 3D one from 2013.
To me the character is great, the period is interesting, I love the jungle environment and there is a lot you can do with these things.
Hell, as a kid I even enjoyed the Ron Ely tv show and I know now that it wasn't great!
So I was pretty keen on this new incarnation with its name stars, big budget and whizz-bang special effects.
On that first point I doubt that the two leads could have been better cast.
Skarsgard buffed up his already impressive six foot three frame for the role and certainly looks the part as the Tarzan half of the Lord of Greystoke / Lord of the Jungle duality.
He also does pretty well with the English Lord portion.
He is broody and seems to constantly have his head at a semi-frowning tilt as if he isn't quite sure if he should make a condescending comment but somehow it works.
Even better is Margot Robbie as Jane Clayton- aka Mrs Tarzan.
Pulling off a nice balance of sweet and cultured with strong willed and wild Robbie is again the best thing about a film she's in.
This Jane was raised in part in the jungle too and it makes her more capable and less a damsel in distress (a crack is made about this)
In all honesty I would have watched a film dedicated to Jane alone. This is a really nice version of the character and a good old fashioned adventure yarn centred on her could be a great romp.
Less effective is Christoph Waltz who again plays a European villain of sophistication and articulation.
I like Waltz but at this point he is just playing the same character over and over again.
Don't get me wrong- he is good within the constraints of the script given to him- it's just that his presence is more of a distraction than a boon after so many times at bat.
This time his character has a cross on a string made from some sort of Madagascar spider thread that is so strong that he can subdue anyone with one hand.
It's a weak device intended to afford him the ability to go up against the likes of Tarzan but it is not at all believable.
I mention constraints of the script and of the failings that this film has this is the biggie.
It makes some smart moves like staggering the flashbacks (young Tarzan becoming the hero of legend and of Jane and he falling in love) throughout the film at regular intervals.
They fit in well and don't seem out of place. They deliver the necessary origin story detail well.
But... with this efficient method of filling in the backstory so that the front end isn't bogged down while we wait for the stuff we really want to see - the grown up kick-ass Tarzan!- you'd think that the script would make the most of it and push the story forward.
But no- for the first half hour or more we have brooding Tarzan walking around England, sipping tea, playing with children then occasionally snuggling up to a lioness and reacquainting himself with his old stomping ground.
I like a deliberately paced, atmospheric flick but this one needs some action too.
It is a Tarzan movie after all!
And now the second major issue....
When it comes the action is uninspired.
There are some nice shots but director Yates mostly chooses to shoot everything up close with a sharply controlled depth of focus.
It's a cool effect used sparingly but close ups of eyeballs gazing along gun sights and rain dripping into a pool of water with out of focus characters moving in the background start to wear thin.
There are punch up scenes that are dull with no sense of Tarzan's fighting prowess really revealed.
There is a flatness to much of the action - no flair.
Strangely Yates uses more action-y shots in scenes in which he should have exercised more restraint with the camera movements.
For scenes of dialogue he often inexplicably has the camera swirling around characters.
He cuts back and forth between characters all the while too so that scenes of calmness take on a frenetic feel that is at odds with the content of the scene and is ironically lacking in the action scenes that could have done with it!
Having said that it is a seriously slick looking movie.
Sun streaming through jungle tree-tops, mist covered mountains, vast plains... it is all here.
Better decisions on how to use the techniques on display would have served the movie well though.
All is not doom and gloom and I had quite a lot of fun with this film.
Samuel L Jackson serves as the comic relief and he is very entertaining as George Washington Williams.
His character has a bit of backstory too that is quite nicely done.
I liked the animals and the tribes that live in the version of the Congo that the movie is set in.
Djimon Hounsou is intimidating as a chief pissed at Tarzan for killing his son years before and the gorilla characters while not nearly as well executed as those in "The Jungle Book" and the recent Planet of the Apes movies are decent and also quite intimidating.
Scenes of paddle steamers chugging up jungle rivers bring to mind "The African Queen" and a dinner scene in which Robbie tries to hide a dinner knife from Waltz reminded me of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (Waltz even dresses like Rene Belloq).
Possibly it is not a great idea to remind your audience of someone else's films that happen to be two of the finest ever made but I liked the connections.
"The Legend of Tarzan" is a good, solid film that with better pacing, more action and a stronger ending could have been a damned excellent one.
I cannot see it making enough money for a sequel to happen which is shame.
I would welcome more of this. Maybe smaller in scale and definitely leaner and meaner.
The budget and the talent was in place but I fear that this will bore modern audiences who think of Fast and Furious and Transformers when 'action' and 'adventure' are mentioned.
If nothing else this film has spared us a Michael Bay directed Vin Diesel version of Tarzan and if for no other reason I am grateful to David Yates and Warner Brothers for that!
RATING: 71 / 100
CONCLUSION: Frequently gorgeous to look at and with nice work from Skarsgard, Robbie and Jackson this movies is perfectly fine entertainment but with a little more polish in the script it could have been quite an adventure flick.
Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L Jackson, Djimon Hounsou, Jim Broadbent, Simon Russell Beale, Cali Nelle, Casper Crump, Joy Isa
Screenplay: Adam Cozad & Craig Brewer
Music Score by: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Cinematography: Henry Braham
Edited by: Mark Day
Running Time: 110 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - violence
Cinematography: Henry Braham
Edited by: Mark Day
Running Time: 110 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - violence
I've lost count of how many tv shows, cartoons, CG animated and live action flicks we have had.
Personally I like Tarzan movies and even liked the German produced animated 3D one from 2013.
To me the character is great, the period is interesting, I love the jungle environment and there is a lot you can do with these things.
Hell, as a kid I even enjoyed the Ron Ely tv show and I know now that it wasn't great!
So I was pretty keen on this new incarnation with its name stars, big budget and whizz-bang special effects.
On that first point I doubt that the two leads could have been better cast.
Skarsgard buffed up his already impressive six foot three frame for the role and certainly looks the part as the Tarzan half of the Lord of Greystoke / Lord of the Jungle duality.
He also does pretty well with the English Lord portion.
He is broody and seems to constantly have his head at a semi-frowning tilt as if he isn't quite sure if he should make a condescending comment but somehow it works.
Even better is Margot Robbie as Jane Clayton- aka Mrs Tarzan.
Pulling off a nice balance of sweet and cultured with strong willed and wild Robbie is again the best thing about a film she's in.
This Jane was raised in part in the jungle too and it makes her more capable and less a damsel in distress (a crack is made about this)
In all honesty I would have watched a film dedicated to Jane alone. This is a really nice version of the character and a good old fashioned adventure yarn centred on her could be a great romp.
Less effective is Christoph Waltz who again plays a European villain of sophistication and articulation.
I like Waltz but at this point he is just playing the same character over and over again.
Don't get me wrong- he is good within the constraints of the script given to him- it's just that his presence is more of a distraction than a boon after so many times at bat.
This time his character has a cross on a string made from some sort of Madagascar spider thread that is so strong that he can subdue anyone with one hand.
It's a weak device intended to afford him the ability to go up against the likes of Tarzan but it is not at all believable.
 |
| Brooding and tea drinking is all well and good but the movie is best when the shirt comes off and Tarzan takes over |
It makes some smart moves like staggering the flashbacks (young Tarzan becoming the hero of legend and of Jane and he falling in love) throughout the film at regular intervals.
They fit in well and don't seem out of place. They deliver the necessary origin story detail well.
But... with this efficient method of filling in the backstory so that the front end isn't bogged down while we wait for the stuff we really want to see - the grown up kick-ass Tarzan!- you'd think that the script would make the most of it and push the story forward.
But no- for the first half hour or more we have brooding Tarzan walking around England, sipping tea, playing with children then occasionally snuggling up to a lioness and reacquainting himself with his old stomping ground.
I like a deliberately paced, atmospheric flick but this one needs some action too.
It is a Tarzan movie after all!
 |
| The villains are made up of a European cad, a chief and a gorilla |
When it comes the action is uninspired.
There are some nice shots but director Yates mostly chooses to shoot everything up close with a sharply controlled depth of focus.
It's a cool effect used sparingly but close ups of eyeballs gazing along gun sights and rain dripping into a pool of water with out of focus characters moving in the background start to wear thin.
There are punch up scenes that are dull with no sense of Tarzan's fighting prowess really revealed.
There is a flatness to much of the action - no flair.
Strangely Yates uses more action-y shots in scenes in which he should have exercised more restraint with the camera movements.
For scenes of dialogue he often inexplicably has the camera swirling around characters.
He cuts back and forth between characters all the while too so that scenes of calmness take on a frenetic feel that is at odds with the content of the scene and is ironically lacking in the action scenes that could have done with it!
Having said that it is a seriously slick looking movie.
Sun streaming through jungle tree-tops, mist covered mountains, vast plains... it is all here.
Better decisions on how to use the techniques on display would have served the movie well though.
 |
| Margot Robbie as Jane is a highlight and could have had a movie to herself easily |
Samuel L Jackson serves as the comic relief and he is very entertaining as George Washington Williams.
His character has a bit of backstory too that is quite nicely done.
I liked the animals and the tribes that live in the version of the Congo that the movie is set in.
Djimon Hounsou is intimidating as a chief pissed at Tarzan for killing his son years before and the gorilla characters while not nearly as well executed as those in "The Jungle Book" and the recent Planet of the Apes movies are decent and also quite intimidating.
Scenes of paddle steamers chugging up jungle rivers bring to mind "The African Queen" and a dinner scene in which Robbie tries to hide a dinner knife from Waltz reminded me of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (Waltz even dresses like Rene Belloq).
Possibly it is not a great idea to remind your audience of someone else's films that happen to be two of the finest ever made but I liked the connections.
 |
| The action is decent when it comes but a little more would have been good |
I cannot see it making enough money for a sequel to happen which is shame.
I would welcome more of this. Maybe smaller in scale and definitely leaner and meaner.
The budget and the talent was in place but I fear that this will bore modern audiences who think of Fast and Furious and Transformers when 'action' and 'adventure' are mentioned.
If nothing else this film has spared us a Michael Bay directed Vin Diesel version of Tarzan and if for no other reason I am grateful to David Yates and Warner Brothers for that!
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