Review of The Legend of Tarzan (2016) by Hmf_47 — 07 Jul 2016

I went to see The Legend of Tarzan because I'm a huge fan of Alexander Skarsgard, and in that regard, it doesn't disappoint. He has screen presence to spare and gives a great understated performance, which is quite refreshing in a summer blockbuster. He has the perfect balance between English aristocrat and animal, and does a convincing job selling his bond with wildlife.

Skarsgard's chemistry with the rest of the cast is on point, especially with Samuel L. Jackson. Margot Robbie was also pretty good, especially considering that she's relegated to be a glorified MacGuffin. However, I'm afraid I can't say the same about Christoph Waltz, who at this point, has gotten pretty tiresome because of his same old mustache twirling (literally) jerk shtick. He almost single-handedly ruined the movie. Where's Gary Oldman when you need him?

The Legend of Tarzan has its heart in the right place, since it wants to go for the most politically correct route possible, even though it relies on cliches like the mighty whitey, the damsel in distress or the aforementioned mustache twirling villain. Its story isn't particularly engaging or nuanced, but it has the decency of never being boring thanks to an agile pacing.

I've never been a fan of David Yates' direction, and this movie didn't do anything to change my mind about it. He still likes to use the same dull and dark color palette, which is a baffling choice for a film set in the Congo jungle. The action scenes are decently staged, but many of them feel pointless and contrived. And since the villain is more annoying than menacing, there's not much sense of urgency in them.

I won't go as far as saying that The Legend of Tarzan is a bad movie. But I can't help but feel that it's a missed opportunity to be a deep exploration of complicated themes like poaching, race relations or cultural identity.