The Legend of Tarzan

Image Source

The Legend of Tarzan is directed by David Yates of Harry Potter fame. The film stars Alexander Skarsgaard, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, and Samuel L. Jackson. One of the first things I noticed about this movie was that it felt somewhat edited down. Within the first ten minutes, we get this big action set piece. I could be wrong, but it just seemed like this scene was meant to be much more visceral, almost like they were actively trying for that PG-13 rating.  On something of an unrelated note, The Legend of Tarzan makes it look like this movie is going to be an origin story, and it really isn’t. Flashbacks come in every now and then to try and just using an origin story. Unfortunately, they just feel jarring, and don’t work within the story nearly as well as they probably should. The pacing of the movie doesn’t always work either. The action sequences are entertaining, and David Yates directs them to best of his ability. Some of the slower parts of the movie can feel a bit too slow at times, and drag the movie down. Some of the backstories in this movie I found more interesting than others. They did some things with the Jane character that I liked. They changed her up a little bit, and of course Margot Robbie comes to play (as she typically does). The other character I really found myself liking quite a bit was the character of George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson). He has understandable motivations for why he wants to go into the jungle and explore. The visual effects are also pretty damn solid, for the most part. The lions and apes actually looked pretty good to me. On the other hand, some of the CGI crocodiles really could’ve been cleaned up a little bit better. Overall, The Legend of Tarzan has some noticeable chinks in its armor, but I do believe it’s decent enough for a one-time watch.

7 / 10