In the treehouse, an ape named Kala (Madeleine Worrall) and her son Akut (Matt Cross) find the baby John. Moments later, John II was attacked and killed by a band of gorillas. We see a flashback of decades earlier when John's father had kept himself and his wife Alice in a treehouse as she gave birth. George follows John outside and tries to persuade John to consider otherwise, and to let him join. John declines the invitation, to the dismay of George and the PM. Jackson) urges John to go, as he is really Tarzan, the famed ape man that lived in the jungle and was raised by apes and has now returned to civilization to claim his place as the last surviving Greystroke family member of the Greystroke estate. In England, the Prime Minister (Jim Broadbent) speaks to John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke (Alexander Skarsgard), who is invited by King Leopold to head an expedition to Boma. Rom agrees and says he only needs a name. Mbonga says he can give Rom all the minerals if he brings him one particular man. In his hand are three little mineral rocks. Rom is approached by the leader, Chief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou).
Other members of the tribe stand above the rocks and retaliate by killing all of Rom's men. Rom's men open fire, killing dozens of African tribesmen. Rom leads a large group of men into the Congo where they find a large rock formation that looks like a face. When the resources began to run dry, Leopold sent Captain Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) to secure more minerals. King Leopold of Belgium seized control of the land's minerals, which resulted in large profits for his country. In the late 1800's, a conference was held to divide up the African Congo region.The synopsis below may give away important plot points. Who dares to challenge the authority of Tarzan, the Lord of the Apes? Now, Lord Greystoke has no other choice but to reconnect with his African roots. But, there, an unforeseen complication awaits, as unsuspecting Jane becomes a vital part in scheming Rom's sinister plans. Civil War veteran-join the expedition to the great continent to expose the truth. Reluctantly, John-along with feisty Jane and George Washington Williams, an adventurous U.S. However, everything is about to change when Léon Rom, a prominent colonial official, invites him to see firsthand the gradual progress in the rich Belgian Congo of King Leopold II.
Without a care in the world, John Clayton III, the rehabilitated and mild-mannered fifth Earl of Greystoke, lives a comfortable life in his Victorian London mansion with his loving wife, Jane Porter. A tribal leader, Chief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou), offers Rom the diamonds in exchange for an old enemy: Tarzan.
Rom's expedition is ambushed and massacred. He sends his envoy Léon Rom (Christoph Waltz) to secure the fabled diamonds of Opar. The country is on the verge of bankruptcy, Leopold having borrowed huge amounts of money to finance the construction of railways and other infrastructure projects.
Washington joins him despite being told that he might not make it.Īs a result of the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, the Congo Basin is claimed by King Leopold II of the Belgians, who rules the Congo Free State in personal union with the Kingdom of Belgium. With Washington's help he escapes and sets out to rescue Jane by going across the jungle. When they arrive, a man named Rom, who works for Leopold, attacks their village and captures Tarzan and Jane. Clayton agrees and his wife insists that she accompany him because she misses Africa. He says that Leopold might be committing all sorts of atrocities to achieve his goal, like slavery. But an American, George Washington Williams, wants him to accept so he can accompany him. He is asked by Belgian King Leopold to go to Africa to see what he has done there to help the country. Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.įollowing his parents' death in Africa, John Clayton has been be raised by an ape, was known by the name Tarzan, but eventually left Africa and for his parents' home in England, along with the woman he fell in love with and married, Jane Porter.