Review of The Legend of Tarzan (2016) by Thequietgamer — 23 Nov 2016

A flawed epic. Not everything in Tarzan's return to Africa is up to par, but once Tarzan sets off to save Jane we get treated to quite a few thrills to keep us watching.

The biggest issue is it's flawed start. We are treated to way too many flashbacks into Tarzan's origin story, the animal CGI is a little behind the times, and the characters just aren't given much to do. Then the story gets started and on top of being treated to the already beautiful landscapes, we get some impressive action sequences, a charismatic and dastardly villain in Christoph Waltz, and great dialog between Skarsgård and Jackson. The latter of whom turns out to be a real show stealer.

Yes, when the movie dives finally lets Tarzan be Tarzan and interact with his excitingly dangerous former home and it's inhabitants, the movie really takes off. The flaws almost melt away in the face of the exciting set pieces and wild animals. The movie takes a turn from kind of a bore into something quite a bit of fun. The plot begins to take on more substance as well, giving you a reason to root for our hero outside of just wanting to see him save his girl. The movie still suffers from lulls whenever Skarsgård and Jackson aren't onscreen, but Waltz and Robbie do an admirable job of keeping us going until they are back onscreen. Robbie in particular is given some sharp dialog. Shame about that standard damsel in distress role.

Overall this "legend" is quite flawed. Not without it's high points though. It manages to overcome it's issues in just enough ways to still be enjoyable. There proves to be just enough thrills to keep you going, even if nothing here will blow you away.