Directed by: David Yates
Written by: Adam Cozad, Craig Brewer
Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Margot Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz
With the recent influx of live-action versions of some of Disney’s classic animated films, I wasn’t sure how to feel about The Legend of Tarzan. I liked Disney’s Tarzan story, but I didn’t love it. I did love The Legend of Tarzan though!
All grown up now, Tarzan (Skarsgard ) now goes by John Clayton III. He lives in England with his wife Jane (Robbie). Reluctantly, John embarks on a diplomatic mission. He is invited to the Congo by King Leopold, the King of Belgium, to see for himself all the charitable acts the King has been involved in.
Even though John wants Jane to stay in England, she insists on coming along and for them to return to the home they both grew up in. So John and Jane return to the jungles of Africa. Along with the couple is George Washington Williams (Jackson), a former soldier, now a humanitarian whose character provides some nice comic relief.
Shortly after their return to the Congo, they come across a trio of lions. A normal person would be in fear for their life. Not John/Tarzan! They play together like a bunch of house cats. Jane tells George that he’s known the big cats since they were cubs. They continue along and are soon reunited with the Kuba tribe, who welcome the group with open arms. It was really very sweet how they all interacted with each other, like they were one big family, no matter what your skin color is.
Unfortunately, shortly after they arrive at the village and reconnect with the tribe they grew up with, they discover there is a nefarious plot afoot. The village is invaded and Jane is taken, along with several of Jane’s friends from the tribe. A man named Leon Rom (Waltz) wants to trade Tarzan for diamonds, on King Leopold’s orders.
Meanwhile, Rom is enslaving members of various tribes to build a railroad across the country to make it easier to transport diamonds. So Tarzan once again becomes king of the jungle. Along with his jungle friends, he, George, and part of the Kuba tribe set out to rescue Jane and free the imprisoned tribesmen. Besides trying to foil Rom’s plot, Tarzan also has to contend with Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou), Chief of the Mbolonga tribe, who has been seeking revenge on Tarzan for years.
Maybe I liked The Legend of Tarzan so much because David Yates, the director of the last four Harry Potter films, also directed this one, and I love those Potter movies! I was shocked to find out that there were NO live animals in this film. Every single one was CGI, but they looked real, especially when interacting with Tarzan. The stunts and special effects were extremely well done. There were exciting action sequences and an interesting story.
There were plenty of scenes of shirtless Tarzan, and sometimes he was moist from the rain! Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie were perfectly cast as Tarzan and Jane. Side note: I really like Margot Robbie and am looking forward to Suicide Squad in August! Christoph Waltz as always plays a great bad guy, and Samuel L. Jackson was fantastic as usual. We also got a chuckle when we spotted a Potter movie alum, Jim Broadbent, in a small but important role. For a great continuation of the Tarzan tale, check out The Legend of Tarzan.
