Film reviews – our movie marathon: Tarzan and The Amazing SpiderMan 2

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Published on Tuesday, 13 May 2014 12:00

Last Updated on 11 May 2014

Monica Costa

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Last Saturday my son and I took a trip to the cinema for our first movie marathon together. We headed to Vue at Westfield London (in Sheperds Bush) because of the very comfy chairs and great viewing from any seat of the cinema there. Vue Cinemas are also launching an ‘All-inclusive Family Package’ in conjunction with First Choice holidays. The package gives families entry into a film, as well as a snack of choice and a drink each. Prices start from £10 per person so a family of four will save over 20% on the cost of a trip to watch the latest blockbuster together. This is a really great offer especially with the Summer holidays upon us! We made the most of it and used the offer to watch Tarzan 3D (PG), a classic tale told in a cartoon created with the most innovative CGI technology and special effects, and later on we stayed to watch The Amazing SpiderMan 2 (12A).

I was keen for my son to know the story of Tarzan as it was very popular when I was a girl at his age with a TV series in black and white (gosh I feel I am dinosaur by saying it). Tarzan is a fictional character, a boy who lost his parents while in a jungle during a scientific expedition and was raised in the African jungles by gorillas. The story was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs at around 1912-1914.

In this new CGI movie the story focuses on current topics like the search for renewable energy sources. Tarzan and Jane battle it out with a greedy and ruthless CEO of an energy company, whose plans to source a new energy supply threaten to destroy the planet. The company in question, Greystoke Energies, also happens to be the firm once owned by Tarzans parents, before they were killed in a plane crash. This modern retelling of the classic tale brings the much loved character to a whole new generation; boasting eye-popping animation and the voice talents of Kellan Lutz (The Twilight Trilogy) and Spencer Locke (Monster House), it’s a rollercoaster ride of romance and good versus evil.

My son’s rating of Tarzan is 5/10. My rating is a more generous 7/10. I clearly enjoyed re-living the new modern re-telling of Tarzan more than my son.

Our second movie was Spiderman rated 12A. I was not very keen to let him see it but he said that his 7 year old class mates already saw it so I thought we should try. The film had quite a lot of scenes that were violent and I had to cover my son’s eyes (but he understood it and was fine with it). Strange enough I would have expected him to say that he did not like it because of the violence and fast action but he rated the movie 9.5/10. Funny eh? My rating was 8.5/10. I liked the new actor impersonating Spidey with a sense of humour that only Spiderman has (unlike other superheroes), his weaknesses and doubts. Loved the non predictable finale (expect to shed a few tears) and the different take on Spiderman background story.