6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Years after the man once known as Tarzan left behind the jungles of Africa for a gentrified life in London as Lord Greystoke with his beloved wife, Jane Porter, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the corrupt Belgian Captain Léon Rom.
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie, Djimon Hounsou, Jim BroadbentAction | 100% |
Adventure | 95% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
English DD 5.1=audio descriptive
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Turkish
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
It's been over thirty years since Warner's last attempt to revive Tarzan bombed at
the box office. After the disappointing performance of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of
the Apes, the studio was understandably skittish about sinking major investment into the popular
but dated franchise. As writers and directors came and went over the years, the project gradually
morphed into what even its eventual director, Harry Potter helmer David Yates, has called a
comic book movie. But Warner already has a full slate of comic book movies (and TV shows)
based on familiar franchises with established fan bases, whereas the Tarzan mythology needs to
be reimagined and reintroduced. By taking the path of least resistance, Yates and screenwriters
Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) and Adam Cozad
(Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) have
produced a Tarzan that feels neither modern nor historical, but merely blank. Yates fills the frame with CGI
vistas and creatures, but he never achieves the sense of romance and adventure that first made
Tarzan a popular figure.
Released over the Fourth of July weekend, The Legend of Tarzan (or "TLOT") failed to ignite at
the box office, delivering a domestic take of $126.6 million against a production budget of $180
million. Foreign receipts boosted the total to $356.1, which is about $44 million short of the
estimated "break even" target. Warner is presumably hoping to make up some of the difference
in video sales and rentals.
Screenshots have been sourced from the included 2D Blu-ray.
The Legend of Tarzan was shot by British cinematographer Henry Braham (The Golden Compass). According to IMDb, the film was shot digitally with the Red Epic Dragon and
finished on a 2K digital intermediate. Warner's 1080p, MVC-encoded Blu-ray displays the kind
of bright and shiny image that Blu-ray fans have come to accept as routine in 2016, with copious
detail, good contrast and an absence of noise, interference or artifacts. With so much of the film
dependent on post-production manipulation to expand landscapes and insert CG wildlife, TLOT
can't entirely avoid an occasionally synthetic appearance, e.g., in shots where Alexander
Skarsgård is replaced with a digitally created double. The film's colors have also been heavily
manipulated in post-production, with a palette that alternates between richly saturated vistas of
green jungle and desaturated expanses of barren rock. Braham and director Yates have chosen to
tint entire sequences with washes of sepia, yellow, grayish blue or purplish gray, and the pattern of these
choices isn't always obvious. Both flashbacks and present-day sequences appear in similar hues
at different points in the film, and the only apparent guiding principle is to keep the color
changing. As far as I can tell, the Blu-ray accurately replicates the intended effect; whether that
effect is effective or aesthetically pleasing is something I leave to the viewer's judgment.
TLOT's 3D presentation may have been created by post-production conversion, but the tech
wizards are getting really good at it, and significant portions of the film seem to have been
designed with 3D in mind. The opening sequence in which Rom stares up at an elaborately
carved rock face gives a vertiginous sense of the height. An ostrich in the flock that runs
alongside Clayton and Williams sticks its beak out of the frame. A delicate blue butterfly flutters
in and out of the two-dimensional plane before landing gently on Jane's shoulder. During the
final assault on the port town of Boma, debris from collapsing structures flies wildly in multiple
directions. These and numerous other 3D effects have been achieved with a complete absence of
crosstalk or other distortion. TLOT's 3D presentation cannot overcome the film's shortcomings
in narrative progress and character presentation, but it effectively expands the story's canvas,
adding further visual interest to a project that has to rely heavily on its eye candy to hold the
viewer's attention.
TLOT arrives with a vigorous Dolby Atmos track that provides all the energy and action one would expect from a film conceived as a summer tentpole adventure. The jungle is alive with the sounds of its inhabitants, and when the apes approach, they're heard even when they're not seen, with grunts and roars from all directions (including overhead). Clayton's battle with the troop's alpha male is a thunderous affair, as is his ultimate encounter with Chief Mbonga. A daring escape from a riverboat through a herd of aggressive hippos combines machinery, water and animal noises. When rain falls, its presence is everywhere and its impact tumultuous. The climactic assault on Boma involves stampeding jungle animals bursting into and through wooden structures, massive gunfire and an explosive finale. In all of these sequences (and elsewhere), the ability of Dolby Atmos to position sound effects throughout the listening space is displayed to full advantage. The dialogue is clearly rendered and properly localized. The romantic orchestral score with its occasional Lion King-style vocals is by Rupert Gregson-Williams (Hotel Rwanda).
TLOT's 3D disc has no extras. The included 2D Blu-ray offers the following extras:
TLOT is dedicated to its producer, Jerry Weintraub, who passed away during production but can
be seen speaking enthusiastically about the film in the Blu-ray extras. As producer and executive
producer, Weintraub put his stamp on many memorable entertainments of the past forty years,
including Nashville, The Karate Kid (and its sequels) and Steven
Soderbergh's Ocean's
trilogy—so I wish I could report that his final feature project was a masterpiece. Unfortunately,
TLOT deserved its weak box office. For those who want to judge for themselves, Warner has
produced a technically superior Blu-ray.
2016
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Ultimate Edition
2005
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1981
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Warner Archive Collection
1932
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