In a tale of high adventure and wild romance, Tarzan of the Apes lives again thanks to the genius and passion of director David Yates. Working from the idea that audiences know the basic history of Tarzan, Yates takes his story in a different direction, focusing on his central character’s return to nature, and rediscovery of his inner savage as he fights to save the ones he loves.

Holding his own on the big screen as Lord John Clayton/Tarzan is Alexander Skarsgard, whose physical commitment to the character is  clear to see. Skarsgard truly gives his all as this classic hero, and his transformation from mere mortal to jungle beast (which has been well documented) definitely shows on screen. Skarsgard is the truest representation of Edgar Rice Burrough’s character that I’ve ever witnessed, and he balances an animalist strength with grace and agility as he swings through the jungle. But while his physical skills are outstanding, it is his handling of the Tarzan’s emotional core that really impresses. He crafts the presence of a man who is lost between two worlds and racked by the pain of not belonging.

Joining Skarsgard’s Tarzan in his adventures is Margot Robbie as his beloved wife Jane Porter. But this is not the Jane of yesteryear, and this fiery redhead is no damsel in distress. Pragmatic, feisty, sharp, quick-witted and sassy, Robbie’s Jane is a fireball who throws back quick one-liners and gives as good as she gets, utilising her unique knowledge of the jungle to bring out the worst fears in her captors. Whether playing up the seriousness of her character’s kidnapping or the love she has for Tarzan, Robbie is completely committed to the character, and completely steals every scene she’s in.

Joining these two phenomenal young talents is Hollywood legend Samuel L. Jackson, who has plenty of fun as true life explorer and adventurer George Washington Williams. Williams uses Tarzan’s mission to the jungle as a way to right wrongs and uncover the misdeeds of greed and corruption of a foreign power. Giving both support and wisdom, Jackson’s adventurer provides the audience with a deeper insight into the character of Clayton as he transitions back to the man he once was as Tarzan, and he’s also first into every action scene with his own set of big guns.

Tarzan is always one to have a worthy adversary, and it doesn’t get much better than Christoph Waltz as the disturbing Captain Leon Rom, a mercenary with his own agenda and whose nastiness knows no bounds. Waltz definitely applies considerable creep factor in his face-to-face meetings with Jane, and his total lack of empathy for human life is chilling to watch.

The Legend of Tarzan combines amazing practical effects and CGI to bring to life the untamed wilds of the jungle, and the great apes who rule it. Skarsgard’s interactions with his ape family are beautiful to watch, and his challenge for leadership of the pack makes for a brutal action set piece. Praise must also be given to Henry Braham’s exquisite cinematography, which captures the rich colours and vast scale of the jungles of the Congo. Audiences will find themselves getting lost in the grandness of the sights that appear in front of them.

With a superb story, great characters, epic action and amazing visuals, The Legend of Tarzan is a film experience that will have you gripped from beginning to end.

Image: Roadshow Films

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Check out the final trailer below:

The Legend of Tarzan will be released in theatres on June 30 in New Zealand and Australia, and on July 1 in the US and UK.

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After teasing the song on his Instagram, Hozier has now released the full music video, which has the singer at a piano inter-spliced with some terrific new footage.

Hozier’s melodic voice accompanies the love ballad perfectly, and the new footage showcases the complex relationship that is shared between Alexander Skarsgard’s John Clayton, and his soulmate Jane Potter, played by Margot Robbie.

The Legend of Tarzan will be released in theatres on June 30 in New Zealand and Australia, and on July 1 in the US and UK.

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While star Alexander Skarsgard is sure to enjoy plenty of vine-swinging action as the mighty Lord of the apes, it’s his mission in the jungles of the Congo that draws out the historical implications of the film. Set during the height of the Belgian occupation of the Free Congo State, Skarsgard’s Clayton will find an ally in real-life Civil War veteran and African American historian George Washington Williams, played by the legendary Samuel L. Jackson.

Williams’ involvement in the plot is crucial to the story. Following the American Civil War, he travelled to the Congo and was witness to the atrocities inflicted upon the natives by the Belgian contingent on orders from King Leopold II. Leopold had invaded the Congo region in an effort to exploit the lucrative ivory and rubber trades that were established there, and he was not above using terror to get what he wanted. In 1890, Williams took steps to address these atrocities publically to both the king and the international community in a damning letter and legal case, where he called for an investigation to be carried out.

Williams’ real-life journey will provide the backdrop for The Legend of Tarzan, where he teams up with the fictional hero to bring down the Belgian contingent and save Jane. In the trailers released so far, Samuel L. Jackson’s Williams is shown as a dynamic man of action, who will do whatever is necessary to restore justice.

The film has been given another historical touch in the form of Christoph Waltz’s chief antagonist Captain Leon Rom. This debonair but twisted villain has the cadence of a big game hunter, and appears to bear some kind of personal vendetta against Tarzan. Waltz’s portrayal appears to be in keeping with his real-life counterpart, who was a sadistic Belgian soldier appointed to annex the Congo State. He personally enslaved many Congolese into forced labour camps, and showed no mercy to those who fought back. His villainy was so well known that he even inspired famed author Joseph Conrad’s infamous Colonel Kurtz in a Heart of Darkness. Waltz has long had a skill for villainy, and he should prove to be a worthy adversary for both Tarzan and Williams.

The Legend of Tarzan will be released in theatres on June 30 in New Zealand and Australia and on July 1 in the US and UK.

Image source: Roadshow Films.

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In addition to showcasing the film’s breathtaking cinematography, the trailer also gives us an insight into Tarzan’s youth amongst the Gorilla tribes of the Congo, as well as showcasing more of the pulp hero as the gentlemanly Lord John Clayton the Third.

Alexander Skarsgård transforms into the King of the Jungle in our exclusive sneak peek at @LegendofTarzan.https://t.co/d8yKDSxYq1

— IMAX (@IMAX) June 6, 2016

Director David Yates appears to have done an amazing job with Edgar Rice Burrough’s iconic character, and Alexander Skarsgard has turned himself into a beast of a man to truly convey the strength and agility of this jungle warrior. With an excellent supporting cast including Margot Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson, and two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, audiences will be in for an awesome action adventure ride when The Legend of Tarzan is released in cinemas on June 30 in New Zealand and Australia and on July 1 in the US and UK.

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The first spot focuses in on Tarzan’s animalistic fury, while the second zones in on his relationship with his true love Jane Porter (Margot Robbie), and their first meeting in the jungle.

In a third TV spot we finally get to hear Skarsgard speak, and his English accent as the gentrified Lord John Clayton III is spot on in terms of its British upper-classness. This spot also sets up what is likely to be one of the film’s central conflicts in the form of Clayton’s identity clash between being the gentlemanly Lord of Greystroke, while also fighting his base animal nature as the mythological Tarzan.

From everything we’ve seen so far it appears that director David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows) has crafted a film that will honour the source material and original writings of Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as packing the energy and action that modern audiences expect from a summer blockbuster.

The Legend of Tarzan will be released on June 30 in New Zealand and Australia, and on July 1 in the US and UK.

Image source: Roadshow Films.

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Years have passed since John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke (Skarsgard), left the jungles of the Congo and he has now transitioned to the life of an English gentleman in 1880s Victorian London. Summoned by the Queen, Clayton and his beloved wife Jane (Margot Robbie) are dispatched back to the Congo as emissaries of Parliament. But when Clayton runs afoul of an old enemy, the despicable Captain Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz), and Jane is taken from him, he is forced to return to his true nature as Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, and take back what was taken from him.

While Tarzan may have made his first appearance back in 1914, Yates is promising an entirely fresh. In discussing what audiences can expect, Skarsgard, in an interview with USA Today said, “it’s almost the opposite of the classic tale, where it’s about taming the beast. This is about a man who’s holding back and slowly as you peel off the layers, he reverts back to a more animalistic state and lets that side of his personality out.”

Yates is also promising a very 21st century take on the character of Jane Porter, explaining that she is “in no way a passive partner to Tarzan. She’s a really strong, assertive, beautifully knowledgeable, very sexy modern woman who can more than look after herself.”

Yates’ supporting cast are just as impressive as his leads with Samuel L. Jackson playing real-life soldier George Washington Williams, Djimon Hounsou as Tarzan’s ally Chief Mbonga and Christoph Waltz who is teasing another tantalizing and vile villain as Belgium mercenary Captain Rom.

The Legend of Tarzan is set to roar into cinemas on June 30, 2016 in Australia and New Zealand, July 1, 2016 in the US, and July 8, 2016 in the UK.

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