“The Legend of Tarzan”- Review:

Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard) has acclimated himself to civilization. He’s called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate potential wrongdoings at a mining encampment.

The Legend of Tarzan has me torn. Part of me enjoyed it very much. Skarsgard’s performance was great and his chemistry with Jane (Margot Robbie) is stellar. When the story is simple and is one of Tarzan doing what it takes to save Jane it’s fantastic. Unfortunately that’s not all this is. There’s a whole story with Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) needing to capture Tarzan for diamonds, and to take those diamonds as currency to have railroads built. A bit convoluted.

Director David Yates of Harty Potter fame does a great job here. The visuals are breathtaking. Sweeping shots of the jungle and the wildlife were beautiful. I loved watching Tarzan interact with the animals. Whether it was apes, elephants, or even ostriches.

There are two performances that are cheesy and fall flat. Samuel Jackson’s Dr. Williams and Christoph Waltz. Both incredibly cheesy and over the top. Jackson is pretty much playing himself. Waltz is doing his cheesy villain schtick from Spectre and Big Eyes. They were in the wrong movie. Yates was driving home this story of Tarzan being in the jungle again and you have these two hamming it up.

The interaction with Tarzan and Jane along with Tarzan and the animals is all phenomenal. Yates’s visual direction is stunning making the jungle feel like a character. The Legend of Tarzan is worth a watch.