Tarzan and the Lost City . Tucson Weekly . 05-03-98

Tarzan and the Lost City

DIRECTED BY: Carl Schenkel

REVIEWED: 05-03-98

Casper Van Dien of Starship Troopers anonymity stars in this uninteresting outing wherein Tarzan must defend his beloved Africa from white looters. The film gains points by portraying the Indiana Jones-styled Nigel Ravens, an archeologist who thinks nothing of stealing local treasures, as a ruthless and cowardly villain. I never understood why we were supposed to cheer at the beginning of the first Indiana Jones movie when he robs those people of their sacred gem. If only they'd killed Indy and feasted on his imperialist flesh. Oh well. Jane March, of The Lover, loses the last of her art-house cred by appearing as Tarzan's fiancée Jane, but she at least provides a beautiful face to distract audiences from this poorly paced tale, which eschews clever storytelling for a deus-ex-machina ending and several improbable assists from an African shaman with the supernatural power to fill in plot holes. Maybe youngsters would enjoy the scenes of Tarzan freeing trapped and caged animals, and teaming up with gorillas to fight the white boys, but Tarzan and the Lost City's 100 minutes will feel quite a bit longer to adult moviegoers.

--DiGiovanna

Capsule Reviews
Tarzan and the Lost City

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