The Legend of Tarzan

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ hero returns to the screen, played by Alexander Skarsgård; he’s a handsome fellow but with little screen charisma and less chemistry with co-star Margot Robbie (as a rather smug and snotty Jane). Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer’s script is incoherent (Wait, how did we get here? And where did those guys come from?) and filled with unforced errors. (it’s “Lord Greystoke,” not “Lord Clayton.”) David Yates’ direction is maladroit—scenes don’t match or flow, action is clumsily staged and poorly edited by Mark Day, the camera too close and out of focus; Yates resorts to swooping camera moves when he can’t think of any other way to make a shot interesting, which is often. Samuel L. Jackson offers comic relief, but half-heartedly, as if it’s hardly worth the effort. Nice CGI scenery, though.