Huge swing with misses

The Legend of Tarzan

English (U/A) **

Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Margot Robbie, Samuel L Jackson,Christoph Waltz

Director: David Yates

In this comic adaptation of Tarzan, John aka ‘Tarzan’ (Skarsgard) is shown as a contented man who is happy to be in London as Lord Greystone with wife  Jane (Margot). But, the news of slavery in Congo is too much for him to ignore.

Falling prey to the plot hatched by nasty  Leon (Waltz), Tarzan is back in the forest and Jane is taken hostage again. Sounds familiar, right?

The Legend of Tarzan is not a fun adventure more. Many fans remember Tarzan as a boy who grew up in a jungle, overcame many challenges, fell in love with a woman and happy to have a small dose of action in between. However, this movie is just the opposite. It is deadly serious and heavy on the action. Tarzan may not be for young kids anymore.

On the casting, Skarsgard as  Tarzan is not the talking type. With a fine biceps, he did his job just fine. The silence is compensated by Jackson’s character ‘George’, who loves his guns. Some of the dialogues, however, are too contemporary, probably an attempt to connect with contemporary audience. Tarzan’s old fans might feel the film is too modern and mindlessly violent.

There’s new twist here and there in the script though. Tarzan is no longer seen as a sole hero who saves African locals, but is shown as a man willing to help. And thankfully, Jane is no longer just a lady in damsel who needs to be rescued. You can expect to see new turns in some of the classic characters.