Cinelinx: Is Making a Tarzan Movie Only For Tarzan Fans a Bad Idea?

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From Cinelinx, by Rob Young (a longtime ERB fan)

David Yates’ The Legend of Tarzan does an effective job bringing the iconic King of the Jungle back to the big screen in a way that stays true to the classic books. With beautiful cinematography and a surprisingly strong lead performance by Alexander Skarsgard, The Legend of Tarzan delivers an entertaining adaptation of literature’s first super hero. However, will this film resonate with modern audiences who are unfamiliar with the character?

 The character of Tarzan was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs over 100 years old (having debuted in All Stories Weekly magazine in 1912) and has been adapted over 100 times internationally, on film and TV. The majority of these projects have ranged from mediocre-to-poor, with only a few actual gems in the bunch.  Only a small handful of them touched upon the spirit of the Burroughs books. It’s been a long time since there has been a live-action version of Tarzan on the screen and long-time fans (myself included) have been hoping that this latest attempt to reintroduce the Ape Man to modern viewers would be worth the wait. Is it? Well, that depends upon your expectations. If you’re a Tarzan fan, then the answer is “Yes”. If not…probably “No.”

Read the full post at Cinelinx.