She's far from a damsel in distress, because she's definitely not helpless, but the plot constantly puts her in position to be a device or Tarzan's motivation to do something. Although Robbie is very good as Jane, she doesn't get a whole lot to do as she's tied up by the villainous Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) for half the film. Tarzan isn't supposed to be running around cracking jokes, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more lightness to him. In fact, for a good portion of the first half, I found his performance to be quite stiff.

It took me awhile to adapt to Skarsgård's more guarded portrayal. Both give solid performances but neither brought anything new to the characters. Alexander Skarsgård and Margot Robbie portray Tarzan and Jane respectively. David Yates, director of the last four Harry Potter films, does absolutely nothing special with the characters of Tarzan and Jane, but I was nonetheless entertained by the film from beginning to end. It begins the second half of this year with a formidable installment in the long-running ape-man franchise. This film isn't necessarily in either camp. So many bombs and duds overshadow some of the great ones we've had through the first half. 2016 has been a rough year for big budgeted films. While Legend of Tarzan certainly attempts to take a new approach structurally, it never swings off the screen as gracefully as I had hoped. The story of Tarzan is so ingrained into the brains of moviegoers that it's difficult to really put a new stamp or add something fresh to something so well-known.

Hwere to watch the legend of tarzan