The Legend of Tarzan is one of the strangest blockbusters I've seen this year. It kinda reminded me of Ridley Scott's Robin Hood where your favorite parts of the source material are replaced with political talk which is supposed to be boring, but since it's stunningly directed, it's oddly entertaining.
Except 2010's Robin Hood manages to succeed of ending up being a medieval epic. The Legend of Tarzan on the other hand... you don't exactly know where it's heading. It juggles so much themes and subplots; you can sense there is a rich lore around, but the movie doesn't exactly flourish them properly, at the very least. It's just one plot point after another.
On the technical side, again, the directing work is captivating. The action may go out of nowhere crazy, but focusing on the production and the atmosphere alone make it quite fascinating to watch.
The acting is predictable, but it's fine. Christophe Waltz plays a watchable cartoon villain, Margot Robbie does what she usually does, Alexander Skarsgard makes a convincing reserved/feral Tarzan and Samuel L. Jackson brings the energy that helps brightening things up in this rather gloomy version of the tale.
The Legend of Tarzan overall takes itself into some interesting directions, but it's also a strange mess. It can be impressive in its filmmaking and entertaining when everybody stops explaining stuff. It's a mixed bag at best. People might clamor it could have been a little more lighthearted fun as Samuel L. Jackson's character's bantering, because once you realize what kind of movie this actually is, there is no turning back.
Except 2010's Robin Hood manages to succeed of ending up being a medieval epic. The Legend of Tarzan on the other hand... you don't exactly know where it's heading. It juggles so much themes and subplots; you can sense there is a rich lore around, but the movie doesn't exactly flourish them properly, at the very least. It's just one plot point after another.
On the technical side, again, the directing work is captivating. The action may go out of nowhere crazy, but focusing on the production and the atmosphere alone make it quite fascinating to watch.
The acting is predictable, but it's fine. Christophe Waltz plays a watchable cartoon villain, Margot Robbie does what she usually does, Alexander Skarsgard makes a convincing reserved/feral Tarzan and Samuel L. Jackson brings the energy that helps brightening things up in this rather gloomy version of the tale.
The Legend of Tarzan overall takes itself into some interesting directions, but it's also a strange mess. It can be impressive in its filmmaking and entertaining when everybody stops explaining stuff. It's a mixed bag at best. People might clamor it could have been a little more lighthearted fun as Samuel L. Jackson's character's bantering, because once you realize what kind of movie this actually is, there is no turning back.