The Legend of Tarzan – Special Guest Reviewer

Hurt by poor writing choices and spotty visual effects, The Legend of Tarzan swings in for a rather wild ride through the Congo. Desperately running out of money, the monarchs of Belgium send Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) deep into the heart of the African Congo in search of fabled diamonds kept sacred by a dangerous tribe.  A deal is struck between Rom and the chief, thick with betrayal and revenge.  The Chief wants Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård).  Rom lures John Clayton III, Lord of Greystoke, sophisticated Englishman and former wildman of the jungle, back to Africa.  Tarzan must fight to save his beloved wife Jane and the indigenous people of his former home. This film holds up as a sequel to Greystoke, but nowhere near as beautiful.  Perhaps I’m a little old school, but I like my gorillas to be sculpted by Rick Baker, not “sometimes looking vaguely cartoony.”  However, visually, it wasn’t bad at all.  There were definitely some gratuitous lines of dialogue, and I wanted so much more from Jane (Margot Robbie).  I feel this was more a reflection on the writing and less on Robbie’s performance.  This movie will entertain Tarzan fans and perhaps create some new ones! ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Written by special guest reviewer Anna Kraus, film student from the University of Wisconsin: Oshkosh.