The Legend Of Tarzan

This review may contain spoilers!

Never thought I'd watch a film that's pretty much Tarzan fan-fiction but here we are. I would give The Legend Of Tarzan a 4.5/10.

This film's strength lies in it's visual style, namely the cinematography; there are countless scenes where I am simply blown away by how picturesque the director manages to make everything look and the way he captures movement is another strength of the film. The special effects for this film also look pretty good, there are a lot of CGI animals and they all look rather well designed with the exception being the crocodiles near the end of the film. The score for this film is beautiful from the get go, everything within the music reminds the viewer of the film's connection to Africa and to the power of nature.

Margot Robbie, who played Jane Clayton, is a better protagonist than Tarzan in this film; her fierce resistance after her capture combined with her excitement over African life made her a compelling character. Yule Masiteng, who played Muviro, was a very charismatic and likeable character; he had a strong connection with Skarsgard and Robbie onscreen and you felt the blow when he died. Simon Russell Beale, who played Mr Frum, was one of the few actors in this film who could play to the time period; as a minor antagonist his greed really defined him.

However the best performance came from Christoph Waltz, who played Leon Rom. Waltz crafted a vile and menacing character who could back up the threats he made, carrying off Tarzan and burning an African village to the ground being only two of his many vile deeds. Rom is also a bit creepy,as if something isn't quite right about him. He has a peculiar need to maintain an air of decorum, his predatory behaviour towards Jane is unsettling and there's an implied history of sexual abuse from his childhood priest. A really interesting antagonist that this B grade film didn't really deserve.

This isn't really the story of Tarzan so much as it's a sequel to the famous Tarzan story; it answers the big questions like does Tarzan ever get a fancy house in England? Does Tarzan ever meet the prime minister? Does Tarzan ever become such an upper class busybody that he doesn't resemble the famed character at all? Well the answer to all these questions is a resounding yes! Sadly this isn't the Tarzan we all know and love, it's a British guy called John who goes about saving the woman he loves. We've seen it all a thousand times before. There are some flashbacks to the actual story of Tarzan but these don't really fit into the story well and just create pacing problems.

Alexander Skarsgard, who played Tarzan, was an awful protagonist for this film; he didn't really play the character we knew so much as he played a English lord gone primal rather well. Samuel L. Jackson, who played George Washington Williams, didn't even bother trying to give a convincing performance as a character from the time period; Jackson is in this film for little more than plain dumb comedic relief. Sidney Ralitsoele, who played Wasimbu, is a rather forgettable character in this film; he adds very little to the story and tends to fall into the background. Casper Crump, who played Major Kerckhover, does little more than fulfill the need to give Waltz a main henchman; Crump's screen presence is weak at best. Djimon Hounsou, who played Chief Mbonga, was a poorly written antagonist; Hounsou's role is talked about all film but he's never given a moment to shine or make his character count. Jim Broadbent, who played the Prime Minister, gave such a bizarre and over the top performance in this film; there wasn't much point in casting Broadbent in such an insignificant and puzzling role. Ben Chaplin, who played Captain Moulle, had the potential to be quite an interesting antagonist under Waltz in this film but he was sadly wated when he was killed off early; it was a waste trading out Chaplin for Crump. Genevieve O'Reilly and Hadley Fraser, who played Tarzan's Mother and Father, could have been quite interesting roles in this film; better use of these characters would have made the film's flashback subplot a lot more interesting.