Movie Critic: Amandi Perera

Movie Title: The Legend of Tarzan

Movie genre: Action/Adventure

Ontario Movie Rating: PG

Opening Date: July 1, 2016

Starring: Alexander Skarsgrd, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson

Director: David Yates

General age of people in theatre: Age 16-adults

Tobacco Use: No tobacco use

The Legend of Tarzan is about a man named John Clayton III, whose epic story has led him to live life as a lord in England with his wife. After his parents’ death as a child, he grows up in the jungle with a gorilla family that takes care of him as one of their own. In this jungle home, he is known as Tarzan and meets his future wife, Jane Porter. After they become accustomed to their life in England, Tarzan is invited by the Belgian king Leopold to visit Africa and approve of what he has done to help the country of Congo. After some hesitation, he is convinced by an American named George Washington Williams to go, in suspicion of the King using illegal methods to help Belgium escape from debt. They then discover that an emissary for King Leopold named Rom is seeking to kidnap Tarzan and bring him to a tribal leader, in order to get diamonds.

Tarzan, Jane, George, and the animals of the jungle work together to expose King Leopold’s tactics and rediscover themselves in a place they once called home.

I was excited to see this film, as Disney’s version of Tarzan had armed me with high expectations after its beautiful animation and amazing soundtrack. The Legend of Tarzan became a continuation of the original story and surely had its share of assets. What I like most about the movie is the clips of scenic views of Gabon, a country in Central Africa. The production team and cast travelled there to film and the clips of the country’s landscape in the movie show that it was worth it. The cast was chosen very well also, as Tarzan and Jane were definitely not portrayed as one-dimensional and their epic love was amplified throughout the film. The use of flashbacks to show Tarzan’s past and the original story was also a good choice. The only thing I would have liked to see is fewer cliche moments. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who is open to seeing the original Tarzan as a well filmed live-action continuation.

In The Legend of Tarzan, there was no tobacco use, and the absence of tobacco did not affect the plot or quality of the film. The characterization in this movie was well done without tobacco use, which emphasizes that it is not necessary. The decision to not have tobacco in the movie allows younger teen audiences to watch it and not be influenced. This allows any teen fans of the Disney version who want to see this continuation to do so without the unnecessary influence of tobacco being present.