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

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar... Tarzan was a product of another age- an American looking back on the Victorian Age of Empire and the African colonial experience with rose colored glasses. The book was considered progressive and enlightened, sad as that may seem now...

Yates et al have attempted to rediscover the rip-roaring adventure with modern sensibilities, and I think succeeded. Unfortunately it is in the age of BlackLivesMatter. They do matter, really and truly, but this is just a movie. Not an attempt to rewrite history. An attempt to reconcile a childish story from another age with our desire to right wrongs but any nuances have fallen on deaf ears.

I enjoyed the movie a lot, and I refuse to fall prey to political correctness and condemn it as white paternalism. There is no way to tell Tarzan in the modern era without ruffling feathers. As such I see this as probably the last retelling of the story, but at least he goes out with a bang. All his animal friends were there (i recall the old serials on weekend morning tv before internet or even cable in the backwoods I grew up in) but in a "believable" fashion. Jane is fabulous, and the Tarzan yell finally makes an appearance. The flaws of the film stem from attempts to avoid paternalism, but in this day and age you avoid these types of stories if you're trying to be "safe". Kudos to all involved for the attempt.