The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

[jah1986]

Am I the only person that has seen this?  I thought it was entertaining. The special effects were really good but I felt like they were obviously good special effects.  I haven't previously seen Margot Robbie in anything but I really enjoyed her Jane. I think what I liked most is this wasn't yet another origin movie. I get tired of the Spiderman, Batman etc. movies that  insist on starting over again every time a new director takes over, we know the story move on.  

[thuganomics85]

I saw it a week ago, but I just didn't think about making a topic for it.  I thought it was entertaining enough, but I don't think it will stick with me for very long.  I agree with some of the claims that it felt like an old-school film at times, which isn't a bad thing, but it was a simple enough plot, and pretty much every character held no surprise, and went the way I expected.

Alexander Skarsgard was OK as the King of the Jungle, but I was kind of hoping for more, since I know he is capable of making gold out even something as ridiculous as True Blood.  I won't fully blame him, since I suspect a lot of it was the writing and the Tarzan character in general, being simple and stoic.  Samuel L. Jackson did his thing and got a few chuckles, but this was nothing new for him.  Speaking of nothing new, Christoph Waltz really does only play one character now, huh?  Which leads to Djimon Hounsou, who once again plays a "sub-boss" a.k.a. an opponent that the hero needs to dispatch, before getting to true main villain.  I guess it's good money, but I know he's better then this.  Had no idea Jim Broadbent was going to be in this.  I would think winning an Oscar would warrant a spot on the posters and advertising.

Got a kick seeing Casper Crump in this, after stinking up Legends of Tomorrow.  He was better here, which holds to my theory that he's fine as a henchman-type character, but he ain't cut out for being the big baddie.  And since I felt like a lot of his performance in Legends felt Waltz-lite, I'm believing he was taking notes from the man himself, during all the filming.

This leaves Margot Robbie as the surprising highlight of the film.  Sure, Jane gets kidnapped (twice!), but they at least managed to avoid dipping too much into the damsel in distress troupe, and I liked that Jane was smart, caring, and brave in her own way.  And she's still incredibly gorgeous, so I'm not surprised she's currently one of the next big things, although time will tell if she can succeed long-term.

The special effects weren't bad, but it probably didn't help that it came out the same year The Jungle Book did.  It's just hard to top that. 

[LVmom]

I liked it. It was an old school movie trying to be pretty true to the books while updating a bit for todays audiences. I would watch a sequel.

[AimingforYoko]

Plus there was equal opportunity eye candy.

[bettername2come]

I saw it at my local cheap theater today. I liked it. It made me want to track down the 2003 series for more blond Tarzan eyecandy.

[Hanahope]

Just watched last night.  I definitely loved Margot Robbie's Jane.  She was very capable, smart, and resourceful.

Agreed that the other actors seemed to be 'doing their thing.'  Christopher Waltz is great as a villian, but I do hope he stretches into other roles as some point.  The dinner scene with Jane reminded so much of Inglorious Basterds.  

Alexander did a very capable job as Tarzan.  He physically fit the part (oh boy), though I thought the acting a bit one-note.

Samual Jackson is always fun in his movies.  I did like the disappearing and re-appearing rifle.

And the CGI was very well done.  

Story line was, it was nice to see a different version.  Yes, we got the origins in flashbacks (some holes, but easy enough to fill ing the blanks in this well-known story), but briefly done so you still got another enjoyable story.

[NumberCruncher]

I happened to catch this movie randomly playing in the background on HBO and was surprised how much I got sucked into it.  Tarzan isn't exactly my kind of thing...never read the books, haven't watched the movies, but this actually held my attention.  I also liked that it wasn't a typical origins story but rather an original premise which only hinted back to the origins.  I agree with others that Margot Robbie was the best thing about the movie.  Also, Christoph Waltz needs to branch out from his bad guy roles.  He's great at them, but we're now at overkill stage.

[VCRTracking]

I like reading this Vanity Fair story on Robbie and finding out that the late producer Jerry Weintraub originally wanted Michael Phelps to play Tarzan(because Olympic swimmer Johnny Weismuller played the original 30s Tarzan) but watched like 5 minutes of Phelps on SNL and changed his mind:

Quote

The conversation finally came around to Tarzan. For the last several years of his life, the great bearish movie producer Jerry Weintraub, who died while the film was in postproduction, had been trying to get Tarzan back to the big screen. Tarzan, the classic of Jerry’s outer-borough youth, the dark theaters of the Bronx, the jungle cry and swinging vines. It was the old man’s white whale, the holy grail shining at the end of the dream, on and off the rails, as he chased scripts, directors, and movie stars of the proper magnitude. “George Burns played God,” he said at one point, “but this is Tarzan!” For a moment Jerry believed he’d found Tarzan in Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. It was all Jerry talked about. “It’s going to be like Johnny Weissmuller,” Jerry told me. “All the reporters are going to say, ‘Weintraub found the new Johnny Weissmuller!’ ” At that point, Jerry had never seen Phelps do anything but get in and out of a pool. Then, as if arranged, the swimmer hosted Saturday Night Live. As this went on past Jerry’s bedtime, he asked his assistant to record it. I was working with Jerry on his memoir at the time, a project that grew out of a 2008 Vanity Fair profile, and so sat beside him the next morning in his living room in Beverly Hills, identical breakfasts on identical trays set before us, my portions slightly smaller. As he watched Phelps’s monologue, I watched him, his mood shifting from excited to perturbed, green to red. Two minutes in, Jerry turned to his assistant and shouted, “This isn’t Tarzan! This isn’t Johnny Weissmuller! He’s a goon! Why didn’t anyone tell me he’s a goon? Turn it off. Goddammit, turn it off.”

[dusang]

BWAH HA HA HA!!!

That shouldn't be so funny but ... Poor Phelpsy!!

Re: the movie, I agree with most people above.  Is this getting a sequel?  I almost pity Skarsgaard having to get back into that shape -- he joked about losing his will to live after months of grueling workouts and tasteless food.

Edited August 9, 2017 by dusang