Rating of
1.5/4
This 'Legend' Needs Not Repeating
Unknown - wrote on 07/06/16
'The Legend of Tarzan' is another Tarzan film for a new generation. In an attempt to avoid complete repetition, the story here actually begins a decade after the meeting of Tarzan and Jane. We start in England with a refined, educated, and wealthy Tarzan who spends his time discussing political matters with old stuffy Englishmen. He's not the wild Tarzan we all know. That idea could bring about an interesting dramatic turn involving his personal struggle with his previous jungle life and his new one. But this movie isn't really interested in the actual character of Tarzan at all. He speaks when necessary (very emotionless), while the entire plot is propelled by other characters. His only purpose seems to be providing muscle to advance in the jungle. There's never any actual emotion shared between him and the humans, or his animal family. The plot itself is so basic for these types of adventure films; villain wants riches hidden in wild, kidnaps the woman, and plans to extort the natives. The fact that the villain himself, and parts of his plan, are based on real historical events gives a weird vibe. The screenwriters originally wanted to bring light to the social injustices of the Congo but they didn't mix this well at all with the action/adventure story. Some very short flashbacks to Tarzan's origin are randomly spliced in throughout. They feel completely unnecessary given that this is an entirely new continuation. Not to mention, pretty much everyone knows the Tarzan origins. It's on the same level of common knowledge as Batman and Spider-Man. All of the actors feel as if they're acting in different films. Sam Jackson's performance, while being the only entertaining one, is also the most out-of-place. It's like he's playing a version of his current day persona. Robbie is the only one really trying to connect emotionally, but she is wasted in typical damsel fashion. The action carries zero excitement and the CG animals are just passable. The look of the film is purposefully dark and the tone is extra serious to the point where the random tiny bits of humor are amplified in their randomness. I spent most of the runtime in a whirlwind combination of un-unengagement and curious fascination at the many opposing creative choices.
