From that point on, she's beautiful bait, a gorgeous carrot dangling on a stick that allows the movie to move forward, and Robbie deserves more than that. If anyone's shortchanged here, it's Robbie, who's Jane becomes inconsequential early on in the movie, once she's abducted by Rom. Jackson to break the tension there's just enough "origin story," told via flashbacks there's just enough mustache twirling by Waltz to remind us to hiss at the antagonist and there's just enough exaggerated action to keep us invested in the film's central rescue mission. There's just enough romance between Tarzan and Jane to keep the love story ignited there's just enough comic relief by Samuel L.
until the end - almost there, I promise).ĭavid Yates, who learned how to juggle numerous moving parts while directing the last few chapters of the Harry Potter saga, understands balance. It says a lot that in scenes where Tarzan has to fight CGI gorillas twice his size to re-establish his dominance, I found the match to be quite believable (and the special effects very impressive. Based on the gasps from our preview audience, Alexander Skarsgard is - ahem - built for this role. And yes, when I say "everything," I mainly mean the cast. Everything about The Legend of Tarzan looks fantastic, from the period detail of the London scenes to the breathtaking African scenery that backdrops the adventure from the minute Tarzan and Jane return home.