What do Elmo Lincoln, Gene Polar, Dempsey Tabler, James Pierce, Frank Merrill, Johnny Weissmuller, Herman Brix, Buster Crabbe, Glenn Morris, Lex Barker, Gordon Scott, Denny Miller, Jock Mahoney, Mike Henry, Miles O’Keeffe and Christopher Lambert have in common? You guessed it. They’ve all appeared, with varying degrees of success and regularity, on the silver screen as Tarzan, the character created by novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1913. (Most cinephiles still consider ex-Olympic champion Weissmuller, who starred in a series of Tarzan adventures for MGM beginning in 1932, to be the real Tarzan.)
The latest thespian to grow his hair, shave his chest, slap on a loin cloth and let loose with a jungle call is Casper Van Dien of “Starship Troopers” fame. He certainly has the pecs and abs for the role. The question is, after scores of vine-swinging films over the last 70 years, what can be done to make Tarzan (a k a Lord Greystoke) fresh and exciting?
The answer, of course, is nothing, and wisely, the filmmakers haven’t tried. Instead, they’ve returned to the serial style of decades past to create an action-heavy tale of right versus wrong that should have great appeal for 11-year-old boys.
In the 1984 film “Greystoke,” Tarzan was brought back to England and civilized. Taking its cue from this story twist, the makers of “Tarzan and the Lost City,” including director Carl Schenkel, have come up with a way to get jungle boy back to Africa.
It is the eve of Lord Greystoke’s wedding to the beautiful Jane Porter (Jane March), but before the groom-to-be can wed his beloved, he receives a mysterious message from an old tribal leader buddy, which appears to him as he stares into a roaring fire. It is a plea for Tarzan to come back and help the natives fight off a pack of British mercenaries who are looking to uncover and loot the lost city of Opar. Tarzan returns, plucky Jane follows, and the two of them, together with the tribesmen and a slew of jungle creatures, work to keep Africa for the Africans.
The whole film is silly and a lot of fun. I especially like the quick-wipe editing, which allows the movie to move forward at a healthy clip, without worrying about such things as exposition or character development.
He may no longer be the pure, unsullied hero that Burroughs conceived, but Tarzan still puts Ninja Turtles, Mortal Kombat and Power Rangers to shame.
Rating: (star) (star) 1/2
