According to the critics, “The Legend of Tarzan”, the transition between the first part – when he was raised in the jungle by the apes after he got orphaned – and the second part – when he was already an adult living in England with his wife Jane (Margot Robbie) – was flawed.
Advertisement
Craig Brewer and Adam Cozad’s script sets the tale a decade after the discovery of Tarzan in West Africa; seen only in flashback is Tarzan’s origin story, including a more violent version of his famously loquacious introduction to Jane.
Yanis: How would you rank The Legend of Tarzan? Edgar Rice Burroughs’ jungle hero first appeared in his 1912 novel “Tarzan of the Apes”, and made the leap to the big screen nearly immediately. Banking on our continued interest, Warner Bros.is releasing a new version, The Legend of Tarzan, in theaters for the July 4 holiday weekend. That said, it wasn’t a bad try.
The 39-year-old actor offers the following advice to other straight actors who may be nervous about filming a same-sex love scene: “Just dive in”. But he approached the role as if Tarzan was a stoic and unfeeling character, without a sense of humor, which isn’t the same thing as being a strong character. They make people want to be them, to at least some degree. Skarsgard doesn’t do that, and it’s the film’s biggest flaw.
Alexander Skarsgård plays Tarzan – or to be more exact, John Clayton III, fifth Earl of Greystoke and a member of the House of Lords. Her Jane sounds and feels likes she’s an actress from 2016 playing a woman in the 1880s.
In the Congo is Belgium’s envoy, Capt. Leon Rom, a linen-suited hunter of diamonds to fill Leopold’s coffers.
He’s brought back to the Congo under the guise of a diplomatic mission. Samuel L. Jackson’s portrayal as American Civil War veteran and journalist George Washington Williams-who, like Rom, was a real person-is also a high point, and Jackson’s signature, straight-faced, Snakes on a Plane-esque declarations are the film’s only source of genuine humor. Seeking Greystone/Tarzan’s help in exposing Leopold’s evil acts by alerting an unsuspecting world to Africa’s plight, he provides both armed backup and needed comic relief.
However, the story takes on too many issues-colonization, slavery, ecology, white supremacy-and gets weighed down by its own good intentions.
Yates also had to be true to the original stories while being sensitive to modern feelings about portraying Africans. The one bright spark in the movie is the young African warrior Wasimbu – Jane’s childhood friend (thank God they did not show them play hide and seek as kids!) – who does not say much but smiles that could win hearts! Yates performs a decent balancing act.
Advertisement
What follows are impressive stunts, leaping blindly over cliffs into a jungle of vines below, one-on-one combat with humans and gorillas, and plenty of pensive moments to give Tarzan a backstory.
