Tarzan (2014): Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
During an expedition to a remote African jungle, the Greystoke family’s helicopter crashes, leaving one survivor: the young boy J.J., nicknamed Tarzan (Kellan Lutz). Raised by gorillas, Tarzan lives by the laws of the jungle — until he encounters another human being, the beautiful Jane Porter (Spencer Locke). For Tarzan and Jane, it’s love at first sight — and the beginning of a thrilling adventure — as Tarzan must protect the jungle from a group of greedy New York City business men who want destroy his home for profit.
We’ve all seen the story of Tarzan many times over the years and there have been good ones and there have been some not so good ones. This one is actually pretty damn good. I’m not going to lie though, it starts off kind of weird. Let me just give you the scenario. I started the movie and members of my family walked into the room or through the room and the conversation went the same way:
Family Member: What are you watching?
Me: Tarzan.
Family Member: What?
Me: Yes.
Family Member: When did Tarzan involve dinosaurs?
Me: :shoulder shrug:
Yeah, It happened just like that…….3 times. Thankfully it was only in the first 8 minutes or so because it would’ve been REALLY weird. From there we get a story that is a bit more familiar to what we’ve seen but with a slightly different take which I didn’t mind at all. There were moments that were a bit “out there” towards the final act of the film and seemed right out of a superhero kind of film but I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. I thought the animation was some of the best I’ve seen in a non-Pixar movie…..and that says a lot! The humans still looked a bit cartoon-y but the animals in the film looked pretty realistic to the point that when the gorillas showed up on screen I made a double take. With this being what it was I was just waiting for the emotional moment and there definitely was that. Those moments were courtesy of Tarzan and Kala the ape. They were able to slow it down just enough to give some really touching scenes. This is definitely a “re-imagining” of the Tarzan story but it’s not bad at all. Usually I’m not a fan of the “re-imagining” but this film holds up nicely. It’s not the “mouse” version but the older crowd will find this one a bit more adult yet still catering to the youngsters. If you’re even the least bit curious I say check this out.
Special Features:
Becoming Gorillas – A look at the actors that do the motion capture for the gorillas in the film.
The Making of Tarzan – This feature takes a look at the motion capture as well but also has interviews with the cast.
Behind the Scenes with Kellan Lutz and Spencer Locke – Pretty much more of the previous feature. The should have just edited them together for a lengthier “Making Of” feature.
