THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (2016)

David Yates directed this wonderful film from a screenplay by Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer based on the novel TARZAN by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Without compromising any of the plot I will say that even if you never liked any of the previous Tarzan incarnations you will probably like this movie. It’s an epic in every sense of the word, a kind of hybrid of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA that has an intelligent script, stunning photography (with six weeks of location photography in Gabon, Africa), and an extraordinary cast. Forget what you may have seen these actors do in the past, Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie are excellent in very well defined roles. Sometimes actors get identified with certain roles and may come to be loved or hated depending on the nature of the character they’re playing. All I can say is even Samuel L. Jackson, who often times plays villains (and has come to be defined for doing the “Samuel L. Jackson thing”) redefines himself here. The wonderful cast is rounded out with Christoph Waltz, Djimon Housou, Jim Broadbent, Casper Crump, Simon Russell Beale and Charles Babalola among a very large cast of excellent actors. This is a film that should be seen on the big screen if the opportunity avails itself, for you will not be disappointed. ​​