Review of The Legend of Tarzan (2016) by Scrawnypunk — 03 Jul 2016

I saw this with my son prior to seeing the reviews. 100% glad I did it that way - we both enjoyed it tremendously, and seeing the massive amount of negative reviews would have spoiled the fun. We both enjoyed the massive-scale landscapes, the back-and-forth between George and Tarzan (and Jane and evil Belgian guy), the action sequences, and the overall story arc. This felt like old-fashioned story telling with a generous helping of digital cinema thrown in for effect.

The story itself is straightforward - Tarzan is brought back to Africa to unwittingly help exploit its population and satisfy an old grudge at the same time. BUT...he obviously isn't having that any time soon. Sam Jackson comes along for the ride an a flimsy (but disbelief-suspendable) reason that ends up adding to Tarzan's motivation. And then there is Jane...one should not mess with Jane and expect Tarzan to be cool about it, right?

I see reviews calling the back-story heavy-handed revisionist history. Maybe, but I will say this - the movie gave me a chance to talk to my son about colonial Africa for the first time. The history may have off a little (a little...), but this movie has created at least one discussion about mistakes our forebears made, and that can't be a bad thing.