Friday, June 16, 2017

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)


The Legend of Tarzan doesn’t attempt to retell the origin story or a reinterpretation of the animation from 1999.  Rather, Tarzan and Jane have already met, are together and moved from the jungles into high society.  The plot requires Tarzan to return to the jungles in order to investigate whether slavery is happening but the plot quickly degenerates into Jane being captured by the villain and Tarzan travelling to save her.  Tarzan is supported by an American envoy George Washington Willaims but even their strong performances isn’t enough to save the haphazard pacing and predictive plot elements.  All the animals seem to be computer generated and there is a distinct lack of thrill even when the gorillas emerge to help Tarzan.  The concept of the film starts out strong, weakening almost immediately especially when even at the 30 minute mark, nothing significant has truly occurred.  We don’t get to see much of Tarzan’s jungle abilities.  However, the short flashbacks throughout the film to quickly run the viewers up to speed on Tarzan’s past was well done and wasn’t intrusive at all.  Overall, The Legend of Tarzan is a flawed live-action interpretation of the character that isn’t that much fun to watch.

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