The Legend of Tarzan [M]

There are many stories in the universe that, for one reason or another, elude the decaying rays of time and changing mediums. Edgar Rice Burrough’s tale of the little boy adopted by apes and raised in the jungle is one such tale. Whilst the story has been adapted time and time again in live action film as well as animation, it’s David Yates’ The Legend of Tarzan, a frisky take on the tale and its characters that really hammers home the severity of the story’s longevity. 

Beginning years after Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard) has left the jungle and come to call England ‘home’, the film chronicles his reluctant return to Africa with Jane (Margot Robbie) to investigate the activities of a strange mining encampment. However, the investigation quickly turns into a rescue mission as the villain (Christoph Waltz) kidnaps Jane in an attempt to lure Tarzan to tribe that wants his head. 

Instantly this movie wins my applause for not simply relying on the siren call of Alexander Skarsgard to plant bums in seats and carry the film. Whilst the story can arguably be described as a bit ‘hit and miss’ the film itself is a nice and balanced piece of cinema that is fun, frisky, and sometimes clever despite certain areas of predictability. The story is filled with equal parts romance, action, drama, political ‘intrigue’, revenge, and comedy and it all works very well together, creating a very enjoyable movie experience. 

Where the film falters a little is in the characters and their performances. Whilst admittedly there is nothing wrong with any of the casting choices made in this movie, the characters themselves were a bit bland, making it hard to form a nice strong emotional attachment with them. 

Skarsgard proves to be more or less flawless as the lead, acting accordingly in every scene whether it be dramatic, romantic, or comedic. He’s delivers a nice and well-rounded performance that compels you to watch more, so thank you Alexander for that. 

But whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with having heroines that are feisty and witty, it’s fast-becoming a favourite ‘type’ in cinema and while Margot Robbie does the role of Jane very well, her depiction of this ‘type’ of heroine is nothing new so it’s not as sparky or endearing as it could be. 

Then we have Christoph Waltz, who has proven to make a great villain time and time again. In this movie, he’s playing one of those characters again and you can’t help but get the feeling that’s he’s a bit bored with it. He spends the majority of this movie being all sinister and elusive, which does add a nice element of creepiness, but for the most part he’s just going through the motions. 

Whilst various areas of comic relief are given to Skarsgard and Robbie, most of them fall in the capable hands of Samuel L. Jackson who is really just along for the ride. It’s a bit hard to crack down on the core point of his character, but who cares? It’s Samuel L. Jackson providing memorable freak-outs and one-liners as well as being badass occasionally; no one can really say a bad word about that. 

The Legend of Tarzan is not a bad movie, but it’s far from perfect. The story is fresh and has multiple layers of complexity, the characters are all fine for what they are (though they’re not all that), and the CGI as well as the climactic battle sequences are pretty great. If you have any interest in seeing it, I would recommend it: it’s a good movie experience and there is a fair amount of enjoyment to be taken away from it. 

The film also stars: Christian Stevens, Rory J. Saper, Sidney Ralitsoele, Osy Ikhile, Mens-Sana Tamakloe, Antony Acheampong, Edward Apeagyei, Ashley Byam, and Casper Crump.