The Legend of Tarzan 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN is probably as good as a Tarzan film as you’re going to get. I know that doesn’t sound like a glowing compliment to David Yates’s film, but it’s actually intended to be encouraging. The problem with Tarzan in the year 2016 is that virtually everyone alive knows the story and virtually no one cares anymore. Tarzan doesn’t have much of a presence in pop culture and while his signature yell used to be a staple anytime anyone jumped, it’s not nearly as common anymore. Mercifully, the filmmakers chose not to tell a Tarzan origin story and instead picked up with Tarzan and Jane in London, several years after they left the jungle. This was a great choice and somewhat of an indication that they knew selling a Tarzan film was going to be a challenge.
Now living under his proper name of John Clayton, Tarzan (Skarsgard) is asked by George (Samuel L. Jackson) to go back to the Congo and help him investigate reports of slavery. Reluctant at first, Tarzan eventually agrees and along with Jane (Robbie), they travel back to a land he once knew. As soon as he gets there, things go awry when Jane gets abducted by Leon (Waltz), who has agreed to deliver Tarzan to Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou), who is still angry at Tarzan after Tarzan killed his son in a fit of revenge.
So yes, the only female in the film gets kidnapped and serves as the plot moving device and that’s disappointing, but Margot Robbie adds as much as she can to the role and gives Jane a nice strength to her. Samuel L. Jackson’s character seemed out of place, but Jackson delivers his lines with a smile, even if he doesn’t always seem to understand why he’s there. Waltz plays the villain with the same creepiness he’s been known for since INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, which is tired at this point, but it seems we all just accept it. Then there’s Alexander Skarsgard, who is basically playing his character from ‘True Blood’, but with a little more subtlety. Oh, and he’s shirtless for 90% of the film and it doesn’t matter what your sexual preference is; the guy looks good with his shirt off.
The action pieces in the film are few and far between, but we do get some Tarzan on gorilla action, which is fun to see Skarsgard get manhandled by a giant ape, but the fight serves little to no purpose. We also get some nifty swinging through the jungle moments, but you’ll need 3D or 4K capabilities to truly appreciate them. Maybe the best part of the film is the fact that director David Yates kept everything moving very quickly, so nothing dragged on more than it should.
The biggest problem with THE LEGEND OF TARZAN is its subject matter and you can’t really fault the filmmakers or actors involved for that. Unfortunately, Tarzan just isn’t that interesting of a character anymore.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: The African settings look fantastic on 4K Ultra HD. I noticed the added detail was especially prevalent when Tarzan and George were walking through the field. You can see the details in the weeds as they were walking. As great as the non-CGI scenes are, we once again have a problem with a cartoon-y like quality coming in whenever there was heavy use of CGI. For proof, watch any scene with Tarzan’s gorilla family; there was almost a halo around them as they ran through the jungle. This has become a standard problem with the new format, but it was overly disappointing with Tarzan because the film was otherwise crystal clear and beautiful; a nice upgrade over the Blu-ray.
Audio: We do get a nice Dolby Atmos track to accompany the nice picture quality. This is one where the surround channels were utilized pretty well, especially during the final battle.
There are no 4K exclusive features included on the 4K disc, but it does include a copy of the Blu-ray.
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