Movie Reviews for Tarzan and the Lost City

Tarzan and the Lost City

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Movie Reviews of Tarzan and the Lost City

Movie Review: Unsuccessful, but Ambitious Burroughs-Flavored Tarzan Tale...
Summary: 3 Stars

Carl Schenkel's 1998 production of "Tarzan and the Lost City" deserves kudos for attempting to recreate the ambiance of the Edgar Rice Burroughs' 'Tarzan' novels, setting it in the past, and introducing Tarzan (Casper Van Dien) in formal attire, celebrating his impending nuptials with Jane Porter (Jane March). An even nicer touch follows, as the animals of Tarzan's African home send him a telepathic 'SOS', forcing him to postpone the wedding, and race back to the jungle. All this plays out promisingly, yet the film soon loses focus, with Tarzan ultimately drifting into a supporting role in his own film (the Witchdoctor of Opar becoming the decisive hero), and Jane simply getting in the way, more a naive adolescent than a strong, sexy, loving partner to the Jungle Lord. This change of direction is rather startling, and throws the entire film off-kilter!

Casper Van Dien, after a good initial impression, is disappointing as Tarzan; his physique is good, but he is short, and looks more like a frat boy than a truly dangerous predator. Jane March, as I said, lacks maturity as Jane; I'd be surprised if the 'actual' Tarzan would pick a partner so superficial. The film's villain, Nigel Ravens (Steven Waddington) is completely miscast; a Tarzan villain must be larger than life, and a worthy adversary; Waddington looks like a CPA on holiday, and wouldn't be much of threat to Spongebob! Bravo for Winston Ntshona, however; it's truly nice to see an major African character not dumbed down into a stereotype.

"Tarzan and the Lost City" has moments worth watching, and it's obvious that there is a measure of respect for Edgar Rice Burroughs...but this isn't the 'live action' film Tarzan fans are waiting for!

Movie Review: Marginally Entertaining, But Nothing Special
Summary: 2 Stars

So many Tarzan films have been released since the days of black-and-white serials in the 1930s, and we have seen an animation version (from Disney), re-told version (`Greystoke') starring Christopher Lambert and Andie McDowell with dunned voice, and just awful versions (`Tarzan the Ape Man' featuring Bo Derek). This Hollywood version with Casper Van Dien/Jane March is not so awful as is sometimes regarded, but still a below average.

There are a couple of bad things about `Tarzan and the Lost City': its scanty and poorly-directed actions and very dull characters. You can hear Tarzan's yelling and see vine-swinging, but as the action sequences (constructed in banal ways) are made with really choppy and hasty editing, there is nothing exciting about the end results which betray the lack of budget and zeal of the filmmakers. Though the film is distributed from Warner Brothers, and some scenes showing the nature of Africa are beautiful to see, the production designs and the props are at best those of the films made for TV. Cheesy effects at the climax scene only made me sad, and this was made only one year prior to the release of much more enjoyable `The Mummy.'

Speaking of which, `Tarzan and the Lost City's resembles at some points this blockbuster hit from Universal Pictures. Both are set in Africa, both about the hidden treasures, both striving to be an Indiana-Jones-like romp. The difference is Casper Van Dien is no Brendan Fraser. Casper Van Dien (and his muscles) is certainly convincing as Tarzan as long as he doesn't talk. It may be his strange British accent or bland acting (or careless direction) that disappoints us most, but whatever it is, this Tarzan could have been better with someone else as star or director. And his fiancé Jane by stilted Jane March doesn't help, nor the dancing chimp in white dress.

This film does one good thing at the beginning, and that is that it reminds us that actually Tarzan is not his real name. He is born John Clayton, now Lord Greystoke, so he has an aristocratic origin. But soon the film forgets that fact, and continues to show the uninspired and unexciting action scenes.

Perhaps Peter Jackson is the only candidate for the right director who can pull off the difficult job of making this legacy of Tarzan a truly thrilling and exciting film. He knows the right cast, the right use of CGI, and would undoubtedly spend enough time and money to realize the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Let's wait until then.

Movie Review: ick
Summary: 2 Stars

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.

Movie Review: Pure Schlock!
Summary: 1 Stars

Tarzan And The Lost City is a film that should never have been made, much less released. Sure the lead actor is handsome and built, and the leading lady is photogenic, but both never reached their potential in this parody--which I attribute to bad direction and uninspired script writers. He can't act, and she was totally vacuous. Only the villan was believable (aren't they all?) and while the shots of what 'may have been' the African scenery were OK, the rest of the film STANK. The action scenes looked contrived, the emotional content pure vanilla, and the wild animals were all too tame to be even the least bit threatening. AVOID THIS FILM AT ALL COSTS!!! (My DVD will be going to the local library as a contribution--but will probably just gather dust on the shelves, it's THAT BAD.)