Splatter: on FILM

Visually stunning, this film contours the blue hues of the prim aristocracy then allows a wash of yellow sun on African grasslands before swinging through the dark jungle.

As much as this revival film was a visual win, it attempts to crescendo but fails to payoff. It tries to be both classic story drama and action and fails to find either side. Lots of build up and running toward the action. Lots of discussion about “what Tarzan will do to you when he finds you…”
Pretty man, Alexander Skarsgård, speaks very few lines, but believably crosses between man and beast. Christoph Waltz is the quintessential bad guy now. And Margot Robbie was a surprise. I’ve never been a fan of her work, though I respect that she is smart enough to know what she is selling. I’m also grateful that they chose a woman to play the role, not a Twiggy personality-less girl with a ready save-me scream. Robbie’s Jane is sassy and playful and believably hearty enough to have grown up with a tribe near the jungle.On a final note: did filmmakers forget to mention that Samuel L. Jackson was going to be in almost every scene and have almost ALL of the lines in the film? He is almost the main character, yet he isn’t shown in the trailer and isn’t billed early enough to notice. Suddenly, he shows up in England at the beginning of the film with his unmistakable presence as the American ambassador with a plan to stop the bad man from selling slaves. He follows Tarzan back to the jungle and tags along as witness to Tarzan’s violent family reunion and subsequent battles. Though I cannot remember his character’s name, the attempted comic relief of Jackson one-liners became the pervading score in his sarcastic tone-filling role.Tarzan 2016 felt like that nice trip to the grocery store where you find a lot of great things you wanted but get home and realize you forgot the one thing you went for.