Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

The Legend of Tarzan
2016
**
Director: David Yates
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie, Djimon Hounsou, Jim Broadbent, Christoph Waltz, Casper Crump, Hadley Fraser, Genevieve O'Reilly

Tarzan, now known by his birth name John Clayton III, has left Africa and settled in England with his wife Jane. He agrees to return to the Congo to investigate claims of enslavement, unaware that Léon Rom, envoy to the nearly bankrupt King Leopold II of Belgium, plans to capture Tarzan and exchange him for the illustrious diamonds of Opar. Every few years, Edgar Rice Burroughs' iconic hero returns to the big screen, and this latest retelling is one of the most bizarre ones. One moment, it depicts Europe's colonial past in Africa with authenticity and solemnity, the next it delivers a ridiculous CGI set piece that defies gravity and common sense. So, what is the target audience? The movie doesn't tell a traditional origin story, which becomes a problem when it repeatedly needs to interrupt the narrative flow with flashbacks, sometimes in the middle of an action scene. Alexander Skarsgård looks the part but he doesn't seem to enjoy himself at all.