Rating: Summary: Fantastically better than expected!!! Review: I saw this movie out of duty pretty much. It was much better than I dared expect. While not as perfect as THE PHANTOM starring Billy Zane, this film did a great job. I never expected it to be so impressed and Casper Van Dien presence and acting ability in bringing the role to life amazed me.
Rating: Summary: Ruined by Magic and Fantasy Review: I watched "Tarzan and the Lost City" hoping to see something resembling the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. The movie portrays Tarzan much like the original character but it has lots of magic and fantasy which makes it very unlike the original books. It is not at all plausible and it completely failed for me. One movie that came close to the original Tarzan novels was "Greystoke" The Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes" which was far more mature and believable. One of the producers of "Greystoke" wanted to make a sequel and after 14 years, apparently "Tarzan and the Lost City" was the result. Unfortunately, it's no "Greystoke." Early in the movie I started to worry about plausibility when Tarzan received a message telepathically from a Zulu shaman, or whatever he's supposed to be, that the Zulus were in trouble. At that point, I thought it was the movie that was in trouble. But telepathy is far more plausible than what happened in the second half of the movie. After Tarzan receives his message, he resolves to return to Africa. A silly lovers' quarrel ensues. I had to side with Jane in this dispute. She never told him not to go. All she wanted was for him to stay a few more days so they could have their wedding and, I assume, consummate their marriage. Considering that it took 6 weeks for Tarzan to reach his destination in Africa, would a few more days make that much difference considering that his pending marriage was at stake? Subsequent scenes are pretty good until the movie suddenly plunges head on into complete fantasy, and all plausibility goes out the window. The TV series, "Tarzan the Epic Adventures", which aired in 1996-97 was based largely on the original Tarzan novels but it was loaded with magic and fantasy which destroyed plausibility and ruined the show for me. "Tarzan and the Lost City" did likewise. Though this movie portrayed Tarzan much like Burroughs' original character, for some reason the filmmakers mixed in some elements of later versions of Tarzan. Tarzan's chimpanzee side-kick, for example, although he thankfully was not called Cheetah. Another unfortunate example was Tarzan's pathetic yell which was an embarrassingly bad imitation of Johnny Weismuller's yodel. The yell was a ridiculous concept in the first place. The closest thing to this that Edgar Rice Burroughs described was the victory cry of the male ape when he made a kill. It was never described as anything like a yodel and it was never anything but a victory cry. But Tarzan's yodel in the movies was able to magically impart whatever message Tarzan wished to convey. It meant "Jane, I'm home!" or "Jane, I'm coming to save you!" or "Will the nearest herd of elephants please stampede this village and set me free?! And gorillas, feel free to join in!" But this Tarzan does the yell for no apparent reason. When we get to Opar, we see a somewhat impressive pyramid. One character in the expedition sees people walking on the steps of of the pyramid and says, "Who the Hell are they?" The chief villain, Ravens, replies, "Let's go find out." But we never do find out. We see them in strange masks lining the steps of the pyramid but we never learn anything about them. We think, "Who are these people? What are they doing? Do they do nothing but pound on drums all day? Why don't they seem to notice the expedition that is walking right past them?" So later, when one of Tarzan's friends exults in the fact that Opar is again safe, I think, "Who cares?" Ravens meets his fate soon after arriving in Opar but I have no idea what was going on in that scene except that it was bizarre and completely unbelievable. Casper Van Dien is not a bad Tarzan. His only shortcoming, no pun intended, is his short stature. Tarzan was supposed to be about 6'3''. Tarzan and the Lost City had some good elements, nice scenery and cinematography, but it had a lot of ridiculous elements which ruined it.
Rating: Summary: Sluggish jungle excursion Review: I would like to be more enthusiastic about this movie than I actually am .As an avid Burroughsian ( Edgar Rice,that is and not the unedifying William Burroughs,whose books can only be enjoyed by those of dysfunctional social tendencies)I was pleased to see a movie adhering so relatively closely to its fictional original. Casper Van Dien is a quite capable actor and,lack of inches not withstanding,physically right for the part Yet it never quite got going for me .The problem I think lay partly in the acting.Jane March is a dull Jane and the villains not sufficiently menacing So it was that the story of Tarzan's bid to foil a planned raid on the lost city of Opar never became the tale of derring-do and excitement it could and should have been It simply failed to involve me at any stage Put it down to some dull acting and slack writing.I remain convinced that there is room for a good live action Tarzan livelier than this and miles away from the ponderous parade of piffle that was Greystoke.
Rating: Summary: Sluggish jungle excursion Review: I would like to be more enthusiastic about this movie than I actually am .As an avid Burroughsian ( Edgar Rice,that is and not the unedifying William Burroughs,whose books can only be enjoyed by those of dysfunctional social tendencies)I was pleased to see a movie adhering so relatively closely to its fictional original. Casper Van Dien is a quite capable actor and,lack of inches not withstanding,physically right for the part Yet it never quite got going for me .The problem I think lay partly in the acting.Jane March is a dull Jane and the villains not sufficiently menacing So it was that the story of Tarzan's bid to foil a planned raid on the lost city of Opar never became the tale of derring-do and excitement it could and should have been It simply failed to involve me at any stage Put it down to some dull acting and slack writing.I remain convinced that there is room for a good live action Tarzan livelier than this and miles away from the ponderous parade of piffle that was Greystoke.
Rating: Summary: Great fun for children! Review: I'm puzzled by so many negative reviews, whining about something that I have not even expected in this movie ("no deeper meaning", "unimpressive acting", "superficial characters", etc.) I have never, ever considered the whole Tarzan idea or any of the books and movies on the subject anything more than an entertainment for children. Also, from such perspective only I am evaluating this movie. My 7-year old son, who is a big Tarzan fan, asked me to buy him this movie on DVD, so I did. We've watched it together. He enjoyed it enormously and this is, in this particular case, a perfectly sufficient reason for me to rate this movie highly, as I did. The actors playing the main roles are both very attractive, charming, and play very well, having in mind that the script is about Tarzan and his jungle, not about Hamlet or Brothers Karamazov. The movie is full of lush, wonderful scenes of African nature, exotic wild life. It's also very dynamic, full of action, definitely not boring. The good guys win over the bad ones. And if it's a great and clean enough entertainment for a seven-year old, it should be also appreciated by his, or her parents. Regarding all that magic at the end, which frustrated so many reviewers. Well, it's no Dostoyevski guys, it's a pure children's entertainment, so why not some magic? Maybe those African tribe leaders really have the power to call back the souls of their long dead soldiers, in case of a realy prominent danger? And those souls return to defend their tribe! And what's wrong with some power from above changing the leader of the tribe into a humongous King Cobra, in the Moment of Truth? Haven't you seen magic like this, and much more, in any other movies? Disney maybe? Is it really so bad? To me all those whiners look like someone who picked ice cream for a main course at a dinner, and then complained badly that "it was too light, too sweet, lacked any spice or more definitive substance. That's because you've picked ice cream guys! And a good one!
Rating: Summary: Casper Van Dien is pathetic Review: In this version a 150 pound actor called Casper Van Dien, is photographed with wide angle lenses to make him look hunky. See him in "JANE" magazine. He's shown there as nothing like the filmakers made him look inTarzan. His acting is pathetic. Hollywood must really be a crazy place if someone thinks this guy can act or carry any picture. Picture grossed less than any Tarzan film to date.Wait till The Titans, Spellings new Melrose Place is cancelled after 6 weeks this Fall.Then maybe Hollywood will stop throwing good money after bad money with this actor. Casper? What has Hollywood gone crazy?
Rating: Summary: Tarzan and the Lost Plot Review: Is there any reason to watch this movie? (1) Appalling acting The high-voice whiny Caspar van Dien and the vaguely wooden Jane March together fail to set the screen on fire. (2) Illogical script The hero is rescued from numerous dangerous scrapes by - what's that? - magic. If the natives can cast such powerful spells then why on earth is Tarzan needed? (3) Flat characters All of the characters are one-dimensional, and deliver their lines accordingly (4) Unconvincing action From obviously-costumed gorillas suffering from "bad hair" days to unappealing chimps and strange editing decisions, this is a lesson on how NOT to make a movie. I normally do not dissect movies but this time the story was so poor that I had nothing better to do. I'd much rather watch "The Mask of Zorro" or "The Mummy" than this jungle turkey. Disney's cartoon version featured better acting.
Rating: Summary: better than Disney one!!! Review: It is better than the Disney one currently playing!!It has the look and feel of one of the Tazan novels on the big screen!!!Casper and March are perfect for the movie !!It was also fun !!Too bad it wasnt a little bit longer in the running time!!!
Rating: Summary: An effective movie despite slow pace Review: It's not actually a bad Tarzan movie but it could have been alot better than it is. The special effects are good and the cinematography is real good. but as a hole i was unhappy mainly because of the slow pace. It could have had a faster pace. all in all an effective movie
Rating: Summary: Tarzan as a late 20th-century environmental warrior Review: On the plus side of the ledger for "Tarzan and the Lost City," the 1998 revival of the Tarzan character, is the fact that somewhere along the line screenwriters Baynard Johnson and J. Anderson Black actually read some of the original Edgar Rice Burroughs stories. This is because when this Tarzan (Casper Van Dien) is not in the jungle he really is John Clayton, Lord Greystroke, articulate, well read, and fluent in several languages. Of course, this time around his intended, Lady Jane Porter (Jane March), is English and not American, but consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. The film starts days before the wedding when way off in darkest Africa bad guy Nigel Ravens (Steven Waddington), stumbles upon the legendary lost city of Opar. This time around instead of being the forgotten mining colony of Atlantis, Opar is the cradle of civilization (keep in mind that ERB would have thought it was the Fertile Crescent). When Ravens and his thugs start throwing their weight around in Opar, the old shaman sends a mystical message to Tarzan, who comes running back to the jungle. Of course Jane follows her beloved because if anybody is going to get rescued in this film by Tarzan it is going to be her. Above all, Tarzan seems to be a champion of the environment, which is not exactly news to anybody who read the original novels. Casper Van Dien has the sculptured bronze body for Tarzan, which director Carl Schenkel reminds us of time and time again with lingering camera shots. However, nobody in this film is really motivated to do any serious acting, including the guys in the ape suits. It suddenly strikes me that all the Tarzan novels and Tarzan movies that have come out in the last 100 years have merged into one giant story where bad white men come into the jungle and Tarzan stops them, rescuing Jane along the way. You can change why the bad guys have come into the jungle (gold, slaves, animals, etc.) and change the damsel in distress from Jane to somebody else, but it is the rare Tarzan adventure that violates this formula (e.g., "Tarzan's New York Adventure" turns the jungle into the Big Apple and has Tarzan traveling there to rescue Boy, which would be the exception that proves the rule). To be fair, this film is aimed at kids, who could still be intrigued by the idea of Tarzan and not know what they are missing in terms of the character's rich legacy. There is lots of action, which is always a good thing in a Tarzan movie, and the scenery is pretty good. Not quite as good as "Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes," but still way above average for a Tarzan movie. The violence is acceptable for kids, although the final fate of the villain might be one of those scenes too intense for small children. If the standard is all the Tarzan films that have come before, then this one is average and in color.
|