Saturday, November 30, 2013

Tarzan by way of Avatar?

 
My buddy Bill Crider just posted about this movie, and I have to say that I'm underwhelmed.  This isn't the Tarzan that I grew up with, and if they're going to reinvent the character, why not just create a new one and be done with it?
 
Maybe no one really wants another Victorian era Tarzan besides me, but Tarzan, like Sherlock Holmes, occupies a certain time/space continuum.  I know Sherlock is enjoying success in the UK and in the US (and I'm enjoying both takes), but the convention there remains the same:  a guy smarter than the police and the bad guys he chases.  Is he really Sherlock?  No, not in my opinion because the Victorian era is missing in one, and the era and London is missing in the other.  But he's a good Sherlock in both places.
 
This might be a good Tarzan in the long run, but it's a take on Tarzan, not the original story.  Maybe the only true way to get Tarzan these days is by reading the books.

 
 
 

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