Director: David Yates
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie, Djimon Hounsou
Have I Seen it Before: At the time of this writing, it was a new release. If it counts for anything, I certainly haven’t seen it since.
Did I Like It: I’ll let the review speak for itself.
The following review has been adapted from a blog post entitled “Movie Theaters of Days Past: Eton Square (51st and Memorial),” previously published on August 6th, 2016.
So, I saw The Legend of Tarzan. Honestly, there’s not a whole lot more to say about the film than that, but here we go.
Shot with the certain misty production-designed panache that Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) made fashionable and Avatar (2009) made de rigueur, the film is an inoffensive action piece that nearly completely disappears from memory the moment you exit the theater.
Of note, I completely didn’t notice that Margot Robbie played Jane until I collected my thoughts just now and did a quick IMDB search. Not for nothing, that’s a fair indication that she may have a longer career ahead of her if I don’t automatically think “Oh, Margot Robbie is in this movie” the moment she comes on screen. Here she has managed to not be dragged down by the mediocre film around her, while she is also managing to close out the summer by being a scarce bright spot in a train wreck like Suicide Squad.
Also, I was more than a little surprised to learn that both the character and actions of Samuel L. Jackson’s character were taken from history in a baffling move somewhat akin to the title card at the end of Bloodsport (1988), that claimed the film was based on a true story.
Otherwise, the film will probably be forgotten pretty quickly. If you look at the box office returns, then there’s something to the notion that people largely forgot the film before its release date.