DOUBLEFEATUREPREACHERS
  • Home
    • David's Reviews
    • Shannon's Reviews
    • DFP Reviews
  • Browse
  • About
  • Contact

The Legend of Tarzan - C-

12/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture

​Quick Hit: If you like a mixed bag, you’ll love this one.

Tarzan the Man Raised by Apes has been told so, so, so many times. There are classic TV shows, classic movies, and classic stories. When you approach a story that has been adapted so many times, there is a temptation to borrow some of what comes from before. The problem with that is that there are so many adaptations that it’s inevitable your movie will start to feel stuffed. That’s not necessarily the problem with today’s entry, Legend of Tarzan¸ but it’s awfully similar: there is too many different directions 
the movie tries to take, and almost none of them finish strongly.

I really liked the initial impression I got from the movie. The movie starts and Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård) has taken up his previous moniker of John Clayton and is living in England. There are few vestiges left of the man he once was – a slouched posture, a curved, tough knuckle – and he seems to be adapting to his new life. Jane (Margot Robbie) seems to be less adapted, which is a fun turn on what you would expect, seeing as in most interpretations she was raised in England. Soon though, Dr. Williams (Sam Jackson) convinces Tarzan to return to the Congo and help stop a rampant slave trade 
being led in part by Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz). The problem is that this plot really tanks with its own weight after a while.

The plot isn’t overly complicated, but the way that it is filmed is. There is a myriad of camera angles, special effects use, and camera techniques, which consistently adds to the 

Picture
Christoph Waltz looking Christoph Waltz-y
disjointed feel of the film. This myriad of techniques causes some scenes to feel like the blockbuster that the movie was truly meant to be, and other scenes to feel like they are out of an intense romance film. There is one scene in particular with Tarzan and Jane in their bungalow type hut that features incredibly intense close-ups where you can see imperfections and pores on the actor’s skin. It’s beautiful, but it’s also confusing, because almost no other scenes feature this attention to detail.
Picture
There's also abs galore. Need to stop writing blog posts and hit the gym more.

​The characters are pretty stock – Tarzan doesn’t say much and doesn’t have much humor. This means that Dr. Williams is led to carry the humor, mostly in the “inept sidekick” role. It’s sad to see Jackson relegated to this status, but he is nonetheless entertaining in the movie. Christoph Waltz plays the same character as usual (a grinning, vocabulary-intensive, aristocrat with a pension for evil), but it’s his niche for a reason – he’s good at it. The character that had the biggest see-saw of them all was Robbie’s Jane.
Women in movies have come so far from the original Tarzan films. Whereas before women were there simply to serve the needs of men in films (sexually, marital-ly, damsel-ly), now we have real flesh and blood characters being brought to screen. The problem here is that Jane now has mixed lenses. She must be the traditional damsel for Tarzan to rescue (this drives the majority of the plot), but she must also be capable of her own rescue. What I thought was the biggest problem with the film was the directors and writers not being bold enough to go far enough with their ideas in this respect. For her part, Robbie does a good job at being both likeable and believable.
Picture
Overall, there are some fun action scenes (Tarzan with the gorillas) and some nice scenes with attention to detail. Unfortunately though, you’ll feel your interest waning as the movie plods on, and for that reason, it’s getting a “C-“ from me.

For more on this film, check out IMDB.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    David

    ​"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" 
                      -Jack Torrance                         (Shining)

    Categories

    All
    Action
    Animated
    Based On A True Story
    Comedy
    Crime
    Drama
    Family
    Fantasy
    Horror/Thriller
    Musical
    Mystery
    Romance
    Science Fiction
    Superhero
    Western

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
    • David's Reviews
    • Shannon's Reviews
    • DFP Reviews
  • Browse
  • About
  • Contact