Despite the fact that there must be a bunch of Tarzan movies made throughout the history of motion pictures, I can’t remember having seen one other than the Bollywood production which came out sometime in the mid-80s and images of Kimi Kathkar dancing in that skippy & clingy outfit which still fuels my lust. I must have seen more that that but I just don’t remember then. So when I saw the trailers for this movie, I thought I must watch this. The Legend of Tarzan is a 2016 film based on the fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, directed by David Yates and written by Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer, its cast comprises Alexander Skarsgård as the title character, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie, Djimon Hounsou, Jim Broadbent and Christoph Waltz.
The story goes like this; Tarzan goes by his given name of John Clayton II and living in his palatial ancestral home in London. It has been 8 years since he left the jungles of Africa and he has settled into nobility and a refined, civilized life spent with his wife Jane. We see flashbacks of his dad, who has just buried his wife Alice who died of natural causes, and who is killed by these large gorillas. Kala a female gorilla, “adopts” the baby John and raises him along with her son Akut. Tarzan struggled to fit in with the apes, being attacked by the ape leader Kerchak, believing that humans were dangerous. As he grows up he meets the American Jane, who is there in the jungle with her father. They fall in love and get married and he later moves to his family home in London (we never learn how that happens).
It is now 1889 and King Leopold of Belgium states that he has an intetion to seize control of the land’s minerals, which resulted in large profits. When the resources began to run dry, Leopold sends Captain Leon Rom to secure more minerals. When Rom searches for the minerals, his men open fire over a tribe and its natives. Afterwards, Rom is approached by the tribe’s leader, Chief Mbonga, who offers Rom the minerals in exchange for Tarzan, who killed his son in retaliation for Kala’s murder. So to get Tarzan or John to Africa, an invitation is sent to him to visit Boma and Tarzan initially rejects it but is convinced by American George Washington Williams to bring light to the slavery and exploitation being done in the region. Tarzan and Jane, who recently lost a baby in her womb, travel to Africa with Williams in tow and meet up with their friends in a friendly tribe. At night, the Belgians attack and take both Tarzan and Jane prisoners but Tarzan is rescued by Williams.
The rest of the movie is a chase, some stunning shots in the jungle and fight scenes with both man and ape and stampeding buffalo and yeah crocodiles. Some humour and some action but hardly a story that dazzles us or keeps us thinking “what’s gonna happen next?”. It’s a bit boring or should I stay “stale” as it’s a generic movie that uses Tarzan’s character as the theme for it but it’s nothing special. I still enjoyed it watching it on the big screen but I wonder how much I would enjoy it watched it at home. A time waster for an afternoon with a cola and popcorn. A 7 outta 10!