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Tarzan and the Lost City

Tarzan and the Lost City

List Price: $9.97
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
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.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: WHY IS THIS ON DVD instead of GREYSTOKE?
Review: This film was lame, WHY ISN'T GREYSTOKE ON DVD? The Greystoke film is far better than Tarzan and the Lost City, so why can't Warner Bros. do everyone a favor and release Greystoke on DVD?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tarzan's Back!
Review: This is my other favorite Tarzan movie, aside from "Greystoke". It's impossible for me to say which one I like better, because while "Greystoke" was on more of a serious, realistic tone (atleast for Tarzan), this is a totally different catagory. But this is one GOOD fantasy-adventure! Although I haven't seen it in a while (I must rent it again), I'll just say what I remember: the acting was good, the jungle sets spectacular, and the plot original and fun. This adds a little more magic and mysticism to the Tarzan legend (not that this has anything to do with any of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan novels), and although the ending is perhaps a liitle wierd, this is still grade-A entertainment, especially if you're a fantasy-adventure-that-never-quite-takes-itself-seriously-and-that's-half-the-fun fan, like me!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A MUST for all Burroughs fans!
Review: This is what Disney's version should have been. As well as those dreadful Weismuller movies. What a relief to see a movie Tarzan who actually speaks in complete sentences! And it was written and produced by people who actually READ the original novels. Casper Van Damme was the best Tarzan I've seen on screen, he actually made me believe him as a jungle man who had a taste of civilization. I always hated the old movies that made Tarzan look like an idiot who couldn't even talk. I also appreciated the absence of Boy and Cheetah. (no Terk either) The effects were stunning as well. Tarzan actually swang through the trees without all that silly vine nonsense. Good pulp entertainment done in the spirit of the original novels. Burroughs would have been proud.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: ick
Review: This isn't even good for children. The whole thing is just horrible acting, scripting, et al.. Casper Van Dien, I'm sorry, is just a really bad actor. In Starship Troopers, he was decent, even good at times, but everything else that he's been in, is HORRIBLE. The Omega Code, Time something?, and now Tarzan. Avoid this movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This was one of the better Tarzan films.
Review: This was one of the better Tarzan films, fist of all Van Dien played a much more likely Tarzan. He was smaller, which gave him better agility and movement through the trees...like a real Ape-Man. He wasn't big and bulky like those fat guys who attempted to portray an agile and strong Jungle Lord. He was also intelligent, more like the Tarzan of the books...other than the magic I think Burroughs would have been pleased.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good middle of the road Tarzan flick.
Review: Van Dien makes a decent Tarzan. Jane March makes one of the better Janes which is fairly easy since the character of Jane is better written in this film than any other Tarzan movie I've ever seen including Bo Derek in Tarzan, the Ape Man.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Enjoyable for Tarzan fans
Review: Visual Effects were good. Had only African animals in Africa, which was a big plus. This is the first time I have seen Tarzan on an African elephant. If Van Dien were Ron Eli's height he would have fit the role better. The sorcery was a unique twist, which some probably liked. All considered, my family enjoyed it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Paging Buster Crabbe
Review: What a waste of money and time. The scenery was beautiful, but except for the villian, the rest of this movie was a real downer. The biggest drawback is Casper Von Dien. He looked like a teenage boy wearing his Dad's loincloth. Jane wore one of the most lacklustre costumes of any female lead in the Tarzan movies. Yuccky slacks and a white blouse and that's supposed to be a heroine's costume?Tarzanis supposed to be heroic, bigger-than-life, a knockout torso! Casper should have waited and played Bomba, the Jungle Boy or wait for a remake where he could play Boy. He never struck me as any kind of a Lord of the Jungle. Maybe Lord of Baywatch. Give me Buster Crabbe anyday, the greatest looking of all Tarzans. OR even Johnny Weismuller in his early Tarzan films before he developed that spare tire around his once beautiful waist. This would be good for kids--but for adults, wanting an hour or more of fantasizing about Tarzan and the Jungle, this one is a real dud!


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