Four stars. Rated PG-13, for dramatic intensity, violent action and mild sensuality
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 7.3.16
The original Tarzan franchise ran
an impressive five decades, starting during the silent era and continuing
through the late 1960s, when Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famed character finally was
silenced by the James Bond-influenced spy movie craze (which the final few
Tarzan films attempted to emulate, with predictably awful results).
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| Having just returned to the African Congo that was his childhood home, John Clayton (Alexander Skarsgård, right) and his wife Jane (Margot Robbie) take in long-unseen familiar sights, while their new companion George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson) wonders what he's getting into. |
No doubt hoping to revive what
once had been a great thing, Hollywood subsequently mounted a fresh Tarzan
roughly once per generation, with little success. Robert Towne’s highly
anticipated Greystoke: The Legend of
Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, with Christopher Lambert in the title role, wound
up seriously compromised by behind-the-scenes squabbling, and died an
ignominious death upon its 1984 release.
Even so, that was a better fate
than that suffered by 1998’s dreadful Tarzan
and the Lost City, Casper Van Dien’s stint in the loincloth not even a blip
on the cinematic radar. Indeed, were it not for Disney’s wildly successful 1999
animated feature, I’m not sure the character would resonate in this 21st
century, aside from the ongoing devotion shown by Burroughs fans.
How ironic, then — how pleasantly ironic — that just when the
regal jungle lord seemed doomed to extinction, a fresh team has delivered a
truly majestic Tarzan film.
We’ve not seen an entry this entertaining
since Gordon Scott’s terrific double-header of Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure and Tarzan
the Magnificent, back in 1959 and ’60.
Scripters Adam Cozad and Craig
Brewer managed a truly impressive balancing act. On the one hand, they’ve
faithfully honored the Burroughs template, acknowledging John Clayton as a
feral child who grew up in the African wild, but later reclaimed his British
roots as the fifth Earl of Greystoke, and a member of the English House of
Lords. He’s a deeply moral and perceptively intelligent man (as greatly opposed
to the monosyllabic dummy Johnny Weissmüller made him, in so many early films)
At the same time, Cozad and
Brewer have addressed contemporary sensibilities, granting John and his wife Jane
the enlightened awareness to recognize — and repudiate — the heinous late
19th century imperialism that arrogantly (and arbitrarily) “divided” great
swaths of Africa between various European monarchs, who subsequently subjugated
and/or enslaved the resident populations.
All that aside, this film also
succeeds as an exhilarating adventure that pits the remarkable jungle lord against
overwhelming odds orchestrated by a hissably evil villain. Everything builds to
a (literally) smashing climax, which drew more than a few enthusiastic cheers
from Monday evening’s preview audience.
This is a Tarzan to admire.
Events
begin in England, as Clayton (Alexander Skarsgård) —
in his role within the British Parliament — receives an invitation to tour the
“great works” that Belgium’s King Leopold II has accomplished in his chunk of
the African Congo. John initially declines, believing that part of his life
behind him; he is persuaded to reconsider by George Washington Williams (Samuel
L. Jackson), a visiting American soldier-turned-humanitarian, who has heard
rumors that Leopold’s mercenary soldiers are enslaving entire tribes.
John
is influenced further by Jane (Margot Robbie), who grew up doing missionary
work in the Congo — where she and her future husband met — and regards the
region as more “home” than their English estate. On top of which, John and Jane
adore each other, and neither can stand the thought of a lengthy separation.
And,
so, John relents; he, Jane and Williams embark on the lengthy sea voyage that
eventually brings them to Africa.
Ah,
but what John doesn’t know, is that his “invitation” is a plot hatched by King
Leopold’s primary emissary, Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz). The goal: to capture
Tarzan and deliver him to the jungle lord’s mortal enemy, Mbonga (Djimon
Hounsou), chief of the Mgolonga tribe that guards the Opar region, which is
rich in diamonds and other minerals. Mbonga has a longstanding score to settle
with Tarzan, and wants his head on a plate.
So,
we’ve got it all: social and economic relevance, enemies old and new, and a
loving bond capable of driving an already miraculous champion to even greater
feats. What more could a Tarzan fan desire?
Cozad
and Brewer are deft storytellers, balancing the ongoing “current” events with
brief flashbacks that reveal how John Clayton came to be adopted by a gorilla
tribe, grew up learning how to communicate with all jungle animals, went afoul
of Mbonga and, finally, met Jane and re-entered so-called “civilized” society.
(The
latter qualification is significant, because this story’s various Congolese
tribes — and the gorillas — behave with far more civilized decency than Rom and
his minions.)
Flashbacks
require a careful balance. Too many, and they impede or even destroy the
continuity and atmospheric flow of the core narrative; too few, and we lack
essential back-story details. This film achieves just the right blend, with
director David Yates and editor Mark Day maintaining an equally deft pace.
Yates
is an old hand at larger-than-life literary franchises, having helmed the final
four installments of the Harry Potter film series (along with this fall’s
upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them). Yates demands sincerity from his cast: These events may be
fantasy/fantastic, but they’re presented with credible earnestness by all
concerned.
To
be sure, humor is present — much of it deriving from Williams’ stubborn,
forever winded efforts to keep up with John — but only in service of the
storyline, not at its expense.
Skarsgård
makes a superb Tarzan, balancing John Clayton’s integrity and intelligence with
impressively buff physicality. The 6-foot-4 Swedish actor has a commanding
presence, and we don’t doubt for a second his ability to free-run through
jungle undergrowth, swing through the trees — truly thrilling, each time he
does it — or engage his gorilla “brother” Akut in brutal, alpha-establishing
combat.
At
the same time, Skarsgård has a brooding, pensive nature — well remembered from
his long run as Eric Northman, on HBO’s True
Blood — that perfectly suits this interpretation of Tarzan. Our jungle lord
grieves over man’s inhumanity to man and other creatures, and what gets lost
(and butchered) along the way.
Skarsgård
also shares palpable chemistry with Robbie; there’s no question that theirs is
one of the Great Loves Of All Time. As befits the consort of a jungle lord,
Robbie’s Jane is no simpering “damsel in distress,” as even she contemptuously
insists, at one point; this is a smart, wily, resourceful woman with no fear of
the jungle that intimidates most of Rom’s European intruders.
Robbie’s
scenes with Waltz, after Rom has (predictably) kidnapped Jane, are choice:
crafty verbal fencing that Jane, despite being quite skilled, cannot hope to
win.
Poor
woman: She has no chance. This is Christoph Waltz, fergoodnesssake: inarguably
the finest, most craftily civilized — and heinous — villain working in today’s
film industry. I always think back to that opening scene in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds, which introduced
the soft-speaking Nazi scoundrel that earned Waltz his first Academy Award, and
brought the actor to our attention here in the States: a magnificent, somehow
irresistible handling of a ghastly human being.
Not
since Anthony Hopkins’ debut of Hannibal Lecter, had we been confronted with so
charismatic a baddie: one on whose every word, and every expression, we hung.
Waltz’s performance here as Leon Rom is no different.
Jackson
looks damn fine for a guy just a few years shy of his 70th birthday, and he
delivers an impressively shaded role. As mentioned, Williams is the source of
most of this film’s lighter moments, whether spoken or displayed; at the same
time, he’s essential as the narrative’s verbal conscience, and therefore must
be taken seriously. Jackson never misses a note.
The
sweeping African tableaus, both flora and fauna, are majestic: a luxurious
collaboration between cinematographer Henry Braham, production designer Stuart
Craig, and visual effects supervisor Tim Burke. It’s sobering to consider how
frequently the latter’s talents were demanded, given that today’s African Congo
looks nothing like the stunning vistas and creature-laden jungles showcased so
casually here. But it’s a lovely fantasy, and we easily go with it.
Every
summer movie season offers a surprise or two: a film that far exceeds cautious
(or even nonexistent) expectations. The
Legend of Tarzan is one of this year’s treats, and I couldn’t be more
pleased.
Thanks to Yates, Cozad,
Brewer and Skarsgård, Burroughs’ fifth Earl of Greystoke should be with us for at
least another generation.
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