-
Recent releases:
- Jericho Ridge
- Civil War
- Mothers' Instinct
- Sweet East, The
- Ghost Busters: Frozen Empire
- Immaculate
- Roaring Twenties, The (reissue)
- Soul
- Dune: part two
- American Star
- Dune: Part 1 (reissue)
- Jerry & Marge Go Large
- Argylle
- Forever Young
- Jackdaw
- All of Us Strangers
- Holdovers, The
- Mean Girls
- Poor Things
- One Life
Legend of Tarzan, The
Stars: Alexander Skarsgard, Samuel L Jackson, Margot Robbie, Djimon Hounsou, Jim Broadbent, Christoph Waltz, Ben Chaplin, Simon Russell Beale, Yule Masiteng
Director: David Yates
Never underestimate the power of the movies to create completely convincing fables. Nowadays special effects largely eliminate the need for movies to spend too much expensive time on location.
Special effects effectively create the animal-infested jungles that spawned the celebrated swinger, here portrayed in fine physical form as an adult by Alexander (I grew up running on all fours) Skarsgard.
We are treated to Tarzans traditional backstory - growing up nurtured by apes in the jungles of Colonial Congo - and meet him as the adult Lord Greystoke who is living the aristocratic English life with his wife Margot Robbie in their large country mansion.
But he soon resumes his heroic jungle high jinks when he returns to the Congo as a trade emissary and faces danger and death battling evil Belgian Christoph Waltzs murderous exploitation of the enslaved locals
Jacksons comment Aint this a helluva day? neatly sums up an audience friendly, intellect-low reboot. Any whining you hear is probably Edgar Rice Burroughs spinning in his grave.
Alan Frank
USA 2016. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers . Colour.
104 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12.
Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.
Review date: 28 Oct 2016