It would be easy to say, "Haven't we had enough Tarzan movies by now?" After all, filmmakers have shared Edgar Rice Burroughs' stories about the King of the Jungle for nearly 100 years, and while the movies haven't all been good, there are enough of them to make the story feel familiar.
A baby is orphaned in the jungle and is raised by apes. He grows up as a friend of all animals, then eventually meets some fellow humans and falls in love with one of them (Jane) before leaving the jungle to try to make a "normal" life for himself in England. Been there, done that.
For the most part, The Legend of Tarzan is right there with you. While it retells Tarzan's origin story through a series of flashbacks throughout the film, the story actually begins after the most familiar part of the character's plot. Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård) has left the jungle behind and is living by his given name: John Clayton III. (Not to be confused with John Carter, another Edgar Rice Burroughs character who had a less-successful journey to the big screen not too long ago.) He's married to Jane (Margot Robbie) and has no interest in going back to Africa. He's already seen it, and it's too hot.
But of course he goes back to Africa. He takes off his shirt, wrestles some apes, snuggles with some lions, stares into the eyes of some elephants and makes some physics-defying swings from vines (seriously, one of those swings is so egregious it would make Spider-Man jealous). There is a lot of CG wildlife along the way, but most of it is impressive enough that you can suspend your disbelief. Somehow, the idea that Tarzan has an ape brother that he can communicate with isn't the thing that should cause anyone to raise an eyebrow.
Honestly, the most unbelievable parts of the movie are due to cheese rather than plot. The worst example is a scene that attempts to set a romantic mood by having Jane talk to herself about various animal mating calls while wandering through empty rooms.
The movie does something interesting beyond skipping to the middle. It blends fiction with history.
Tarzan's main antagonist is Léon Rom (Christoph Waltz), a corrupt Belgian soldier whose lust for power drives him to kill those in his way without a moment's hesitation. Sometimes he does so by choking them with the crucifix-adorned jewelry he keeps with him at all times. While The Legend of Tarzan obviously isn't a biographical account, a real Rom did exist, and research suggests that he wasn't pleasant.
Samuel L. Jackson's character, meanwhile, is Civil War veteran George Washington Williams. In both the movie and in life, Williams is concerned by atrocities he sees during his visit to the Congo Free State. This concern is the driving force behind Tarzan's return to the jungle - he can't relax at his fancy home in England if there's a possibility that his family in Africa might be enslaved.
The Legend of Tarzan benefits greatly from mostly skipping the well-tread territory. There is no on-screen "Me Tarzan, you Jane" moment. We don't have to watch Tarzan struggle to learn English. The movie assumes you're smart enough to put those pieces together yourself based on snippets and glimpses of the past.
But it's still a movie that, for better or worse, is trapped by faithfulness to its source material. Predictably, Jane ends up as a damsel in distress (though, to her credit, she tries not to be). There are also moments that flirt with uncomfortable conversations about race - these are handled mostly well, though they sidestep any opportunity to say something too deep.
All told, though, Tarzan's adventure back to the Congo is enjoyable. It tells enough of the backstory that newcomers to the character won't be lost while breezing over enough that old-timers won't immediately feel bored. It makes several non-human characters relatable without resorting to make them audibly speak (or sing). And it's got flashy spectacle and action scenes that are fun to watch (even if you're only in it for shirtless Skarsgård).
It doesn't re-invent the vine, but The Legend of Tarzan swings its way into being one of the better on-screen adaptations of the classic character.
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (B-)
Directed by David Yates. PG-13 (for sequences of action and violence, some sensuality and brief rude dialogue). 109 minutes. In wide release.
