Movie Review
Siddharth Martis
2.5 / 5
The Legend of Tarzan is directed by David Yates and written by Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer. It stars Alexander Skarsgård, Margo Robbie, and Samuel L. Jackson, along with Christoph Waltz and Rory J. Saper.
Going into this film I had, quite literally, no expectations as I wasn’t ever terribly fond of the central character or the premise. With that said, I did believe there was some fun to be had with a movie surrounding a man who was raised by apes. All I can really say is it met my expectations -- it’s nothing of a movie.
There isn’t a single distinctive feature that makes this film unique in any technical way, which was a huge disappointment as I really did expect more from director, David Yates. Yates tries his best to put some visual flare into the arduous affair, resulting in some well realized CGI to accompany his sub-par direction. Neither of which did much to enliven the bland script, this movie was unfortunately given.
Though it featured a very important, if totally preachy, message about nature and fleshed out Tarzan’s character well, the script has problems really taking off. It is continuously caught between telling a captivating origin story or an all-out adventure flick, while never accounting for any whimsy or fun that could be had, the film becomes too stagnant and self-serious to really recommend, despite the best efforts of its game cast led by the exceptional Alexander Skarsgård, and the shockingly good Samuel L. Jackson.
It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Captain Leon Rom (Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.The Legend of Tarzan is an incredibly conflicting movie for me. It was more nuanced than I previously expected and competently made but at the same time it is way too self-serious, uneventful, and for a good portion of the movie, just plain tedious to drudge through.
Going into this film I had, quite literally, no expectations as I wasn’t ever terribly fond of the central character or the premise. With that said, I did believe there was some fun to be had with a movie surrounding a man who was raised by apes. All I can really say is it met my expectations -- it’s nothing of a movie.
There isn’t a single distinctive feature that makes this film unique in any technical way, which was a huge disappointment as I really did expect more from director, David Yates. Yates tries his best to put some visual flare into the arduous affair, resulting in some well realized CGI to accompany his sub-par direction. Neither of which did much to enliven the bland script, this movie was unfortunately given.
Though it featured a very important, if totally preachy, message about nature and fleshed out Tarzan’s character well, the script has problems really taking off. It is continuously caught between telling a captivating origin story or an all-out adventure flick, while never accounting for any whimsy or fun that could be had, the film becomes too stagnant and self-serious to really recommend, despite the best efforts of its game cast led by the exceptional Alexander Skarsgård, and the shockingly good Samuel L. Jackson.