However with very little buzz surrounding it, I did not really know what sort of expectations to have for it.
Well I did say beforehand, that everyone knows the story. It ended up telling a story that I think the mainstream audience won't totally know. Even some parts of it I was not totally aware of.
I definitely would not call it a great film. But it certainly was better then I expected. I enjoyed the first half. There was some nice development with the characters and the story-telling. The second half did lose its way at times and eventually went all out in the big final act that I felt was rushed and could have been executed better. But I think the strong opening it had made me pretty satisfied with what I got, considering I was not that excited about seeing this.
Alexander Skarsgard for me was a weak lead. He felt to be there for eye-candy and nothing more. So you could say he did well, in terms of the physicality of the character. But despite some good moments, he did not feel strong enough to hold the movie as a lead on the whole.
I had no idea Samuel L. Jackson was in this. It is always a nice surprise to see him, as you know how good he is in pretty much all of his roles. For this film, I think he was a good solid support and has some o.k comedic moments. Margot Robbie I felt had the strongest performance. Robbie is certainly becoming a more polished actor and this film shows it and she gives her character a strong female presence that can make decisions for herself. Christoph Waltz was a pretty good villain. He had a solid amount of threat and did not anyway feel unforgettable once the credits started rolling. One minor role I would like to mention is Djimon Hounsou. He is always great in his supporting roles, and he makes the most of his little screen-time.
While on the whole, it was better then I expected. I still have to mention the negatives. It is not gripping and entertaining enough to be memorable, and that it in every department. The second half is not as strong as the second half. I think a lot of it is just there to sell the film i.e. put in action scenes for the sake of it.
I had mixed feelings on the visual effects. While the landscapes were pretty good, a lot of the animals were not as good as I have seen them in other films. Yes, we are being spoilt with CGI at the moment. But I'm afraid we are in an age, where you need to keep constantly improving the technology.
It was certainly entertaining and fans of the story and the character will benefit the most as they definitely respect the source material. However I think mainstream audiences might get bored, as the action only gets going in the second half, as they seem to concentrate on the characters which I was happy to see. Also, the story is probably not the one they expected or wanted.
I think what would have helped the film, is to have made the tone a bit more fun instead of being full-on serious.
But I think they did the best job they could for a story like Tarzan to be shown in 2016. The performances are solid overall, I liked the look of it, the score is good and most importantly I felt better after seeing it when I was unsure beforehand.
Rating: 7/10
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