When it comes to recycling stories, "The Legend of Tarzan" does a good job. There is a solid story with character development that doesn't rely on special effects and any special effects there are aren't excessive. Flashbacks that provide backstory explanations are seamlessly incorporated into the main narrative and are never intrusive. The movie is respectful of its source material and takes the characters seriously, even adding humor (most of it coming from Samuel L. Jackson). A ripped Alexander Skarsgard plays Tarzan (aka John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) with intelligence and sophistication. Jane (Margot Robbie) is feisty, forthright and definitely not a traditional damsel-in-distress. Jackson pays Tarzan's sidekick, George Washington Williams and Oscar-winning Christoph Waltz, playing Captain Rom, is an effective sneering bad guy.
After a prologue that explains why Rom wants to catch Tarzan, the movie provides a semi-convincing reason for Viscount Greystoke to leave behind his estate and return to the lands where he grew up. Jane, not wanting to be left behind, decides to go with him. Also long for the ride is the American Williams, a representative of President Benjamin Harrison, who believes the King of Belgium might be promoting slave labor in the Congo. Soon after they arrive, they are ambushed, Jane is captured and Tarzan is almost killed. "The Legend of Tarzan" moves briskly and has the overall feel of one of Burroughs' more entertaining stories. Unlike so many of the disappointing entries into the 2016 big budget sweepstakes, this is good summer escapist entertainment. (I'd see it again.)
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