Written by Logan J. Fowler and Justin Matchick
Release Date: July 1st, 2016
Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Jim Broadbent, Dijimon Hounsou
Director: David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2).
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: The saga of Tarzan has been adapted into many different feature films. Based on the story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the baby is lost in the jungle and raised by gorillas. He finds compassion and also bad vibes by human people he encounters in his adventures. It’s not a concept that really breaks new ground now, but with special effects the way it is, especially after the great motion capture work in Dawn/Rise of the Planets of The Apes, perhaps it is time for Tarzan to swing again into cinemas. -LJF
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: I honestly had almost no idea this movie existed until I saw a quick commercial during the NBA Finals. I was surprised to find out this was not only the new film from David Yates, director of many of the Harry Potter films including the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but also that it was due to come out in less than two weeks. Could the minimal marketing campaign be a sign that the studio doesn’t entirely have faith in this movie? – JTM
Rate the Trailer: 2 out of 5. Well, those special effects on the monkeys aren’t that good. Also, like I said before, the concept of Tarzan isn’t new. So what’s the real pull here? It’s gotta be the all star cast, sinking their teeth into roles that require some really solid acting. Even though I love everybody who is in the movie, nothing is really going to get me to go see another iteration of the king of the jungle. I actually like the Disney cartoon version, thank you very much. –LJF
Rate the Trailer: 3 out of 5. This actually looks better than I had anticipated. Yates’ experiences with grandiose visuals in the Harry Potter franchise have allowed him to create a visually interesting world here. A lot of the film seems to rely heavily on CGI, and it remains to be seen whether this will help or hinder the impact of the actual movie. An over-reliance on it for the jungle setting and animal characters might stick everything deep in the uncanny valley. The movie seems to be blending the fiction of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan story with the real life events of the Congo Free State to help flesh out the character and story. With this new direction, Yates and crew are able to create more interesting set pieces instead of just trying to base everything off of Burroughs’ original stories. – JTM
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? No Thanks. That cast is awesome, but I really don’t think I’ll be missing out on much if I skip this altogether. -LJF
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks? Rent. I’m not really drawn to going out and seeing this in theaters, but I’ve definitely been swayed to at least check this out on streaming. The added bonus of Christoph Waltz, Margot Robbie, and Samuel L. Jackson all together in the same movie just seals that deal that I want to eventually give this a watch. – JTM
The Legend of Tarzan is in theaters July 1st, 2016
===========================================================================================================
