Ghost in the Trees

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

For over a hundred years people around the world have known the character of Tarzan. Baby boy that loses his biological parents and is raised by gorillas in the African jungles. Created by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Ape Man” captured the imagination of the world throughout the early 20^th century. Not only did Burroughs write over two dozen other adventures of Tarzan’s, but Hollywood has given the world nearly 200 incarnations of the titular character. Probably most memorable (sadly) is the 1999 Walt Disney animated version of the character. Tarzan has come in and out of the limelight numerous times over the course of his history and now it seems he is pushing movie goers around the world to spark their interest in him once again. This year Warner Bros. Pictures gives us a new adventure with The Legend of Tarzan.

The Story: In the late 19^th century King Leopold of Belgium had taken claim to the African nation of Congo in an attempt to better his economy and strip the lands of their resources. However when his country becomes bankrupt and on the verge of losing all of that land, the king sends Captain Léon Rom (Christoph Waltz Spectre) to search and recover diamonds rumored to be hidden away in the jungles.  When Rom finally locates the infamous diamonds, he finds that they are being guarded by an indigenous African tribe led by Chief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou Blood Diamond). Not caring about the value of the diamonds, Chief Mbonga tells Rom that he will allow Rom and his band of mercenaries to take the diamonds as long as he brings Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård True Blood) to him. Guised under the notion of celebration, Tarzan is reluctantly convinced to return to Africa with his headstrong wife Jane (Margot Robbie Suicide Squad). However, when his wife is inadvertently kidnapped, Tarzan must swing into action to save the woman he loves while protecting the homelands he grew up in.

The Good: I think what I liked the most of this film is the almost nostalgic feeling of those old 1930s adventure films. David Yates (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) does a wonderful job keeping this movie as grounded as he can and bringing out some of the great aspects of what made Tarzan a much beloved character. Yates and the screenwriters give the audience Tarzan, Jane, and a sadistic villain…what more could you want out of a film like this? I also enjoyed the lavish scenery and the wide angled shots that Yates uses to give us the grand aspect of Tarzan’s home. These shots really give perspective on what Tarzan is ultimately fighting for.

The Bad: I think the one thing that turned this movie from a spectacular action/adventure film to a mediocre HBO highlight, is the fact that the story is setup like a sequel, with intermittent flashbacks to give the audience a backstory on Tarzan. The director and screenwriters introduce characters and situations in this film like the audience is already supposed to know what is going on. For example, the reasons on why Chief Mbonga hates Tarzan so much is played off like something we, the audience, already knows. Also Tarzan and Jane talk about him briefly as if he was an archvillian taken out in previous installment of a nonexistent film series. So when it came time to reveal the reasons for all the hatred, it falls a little flat. This is also due to the Mbonga character is overshadowed by Rom and the wonderful sociopathic performance that Waltz gives (as he has so many times), that when you watch the final cut of this film I wondered why we even needed Mbonga.

The Verdict: This would have been a great throwback to the Errol Flynn adventure films of the 30s and 40s, but The Legend of Tarzan seemed not to get out of its own way. I think audiences could enjoy it more if the film wasn’t setup as a sequel. I wouldn’t have agreed with an origin story either, but at least a story coherent enough to follow.  Even though I didn’t hate this film, I would save your money and wait for the Blu-Ray at Redbox.

Wait for Blu-Ray.