I have to admit it – I’ve never been a huge fan of the Tarzan story! I love movies set in the beautiful continent of Africa, I love seeing the animals found in Africa, and I often enjoy films that have characters with extra-ordinary abilities, but (for me!) there’s also been something about the Tarzan story that kept from engaging in the suspension of disbelief. To put it plainly, I’ve always had a hard time even pretending that a baby could survive – and be even raised – by a tribe of gorillas.
The Legend of Tarzan—starring Alexander Skarsgård (Tarzan/John Clayton), Margot Robbie (Jane Porter), Samuel L. Jackson (George Washington Williams), Christoph Waltz (Leon Rom), and Djimon Hounsou (Chief Mbonga)— is the only Tarzan movie that helped me to believe in the story!
The film makes excellent choices in how it begins and, these choices, are the primary reason why I finally felt I could “buy-in” on the story. Unlike previous Tarzan pieces of fiction, Legend has us first meet a very realistic character: an English man named John Clayton who is somewhat infamous because of the time he has spent in Africa. While there are quick references to his Tarzan-like abilities, it’s not overwhelming. Instead the Clayton you meet tends to have a sane and boring life and likes it that way. He is invited by King Leopold II of Belgium to go to Africa and John adamantly refuses. At the prodding of American emissary George Washington Williams (played beautifully by Jackson), Clayton reconsiders, believing King Leopold might be enslaving the African people. Jane insists on going with John because of her own history and attachments with Africa, the three of them depart, and the adventures begin.
While there are frequent flashbacks that remind us that Clayton’s parents died while they were in Africa, that the infant John Clayton was raised by gorillas, that Tarzan becomes a kind of “king of the jungle,” and then eventually meets Jane (who never seems to mind the idea of falling in love with a man who spent none of his life among humans or can even speak to her); the flashbacks don’t overpower you as a viewer. They’re the old, familiar, well-known elements and Legend seeks to tell a new story. And they do it well! I believed it….and for the first time! My own real criticisms are the decision to not shoot in Africa (the jungle could look fake at times) and the obvious CGI gorillas that often didn’t seem quite real.
Read another Legend of Tarzan review at http://www.commercialappeal.com/blogs/entertainment/go-play/The-Legend-of-Tarzan—A-Mini-Review-387288291.html
~Steven Hold