As is often the case in life, it’s important to approach the summer movie season with reasonable expectations. If you go in expecting award-winning fare, you’re going to be disappointed 90 percent of the time. But, go in just looking to be entertained, and quite often, that’s just what you’ll get. That is “The Legend of Tarzan.” It’s fun.
First, let me be clear. My title is meant to invoke the “Signs” meaning of the phrase, not the “get thee away” meaning of the phrase.
The film’s weaknesses really lie in its inability to decide quite what it wants to be. One moment it’s a romance with Jane’s flashbacks to her first encounters with Tarzan, wait now, it’s a buddy film with Tarzan romping through the jungle with his new best friend Samuel L. Jackson (who responds to the name of George Washington Williams in this film), wait now it’s a revenge plot with Chief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou) the barely seen secondary villain…but wait, Chrisoph Waltz is trying to enslave the natives…blink and it’s a historical drama with a modern message…
That’s not to say that it could not be possible for a film to be all of these things, but simply that Tarzan doesn’t quite stick the landing on the combo.
Still, I have to say, I very much enjoyed this movie, and in spite of the scattered plot, there are bright points. Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard) and Jane (Margot Robbie) for example, are fantastic, and for that reason alone, I hope they continue this franchise. And although I teased, the relationship between George Washington Williams and Tarzan is quite adorable and provides some great comedic relief.
So, final verdict, if you’re looking for a fun summer movie, this film will fit the bill.
