Prince Kong
So, I saw Kong yesterday.
I was mostly unimpressed. Long story short: some things were underdeveloped while others were left sprawling. An interesting take on the story, but ultimately unsatisfying. If you really wanna go on, or if you need something long to read 'cause you're bored, here's my take on King Kong:
The Ape:
Great effects and a tremendously feeling performance by a CG character. After Gollum/Smeagol, this is unsurprising, especially considering Jackson once again employed Andy Serkis for Kong's movements. The effects people in Jackson's shop and Jackson himself have the keenest eye for this kinda thing, and their decisions when it come to these effects show a brilliance that would have been welcome in what I thought was an underachieving Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Adrian Brody:
One of the underdeveloped parts of the movie. I know, it's kinda hard to be a "leading man" when the protagonist is a 25 foot ape, and I know Jack didn't have much of a part in the '33 version, but still... there was a lot of room to develop the relationship between Ann and Jack, especially when it came to perhaps her conflicting feelings about him and Kong. In the end, I'm unsatisfied by that relationship, and that bugs me. Sure, they gave him a chase scene, but that was really just gratuitous.
Jack Black:
Not inspired or anything, but solid. He's always the little boy in a man's body, and his enthusiasm and energy certainly work in the part of the showman. Woulda been nice to see a little more self-doubt, though. I would think after losing about 20 guys and a couple of good friends he might have a little remorse.
The First Hour:
I think I'm one of the few who didn't mind the trip to the island. Coulda done without the whole FirstMate/kid story line, but still, I appreciate that we get a full sketch of the characters before we put them into the proverbial Lion's (or should I say Ape's?) Mouth. Again, I don't think the sketches were drawn particularly well, but it's something. It's about the journey, not the destination after all, right? And ya don't know how far you've come unless you know where you started. =)
The Second Hour:
It was really the second hour that kinda killed the movie as far as I'm concerned. Natives were kinda needlessly creepy. The bronto chase was okay. But after that, did we really need a 20-minute multi-dino rumble? I think an extended one-dino fight woulda been fine. The log fight: I wish the Mate and the Kid woulda died. That was really a pointless story line. The bugs were unsatisfying too. Creepy and amazingly realistic, but did we need to see the guy get swallowed by worms? Would the Kid really been able to shoot bugs off of Jack's face with a Thompson? And after 30 billion bugs are coming outta the woodwork, 3 guys with machine guns (one of them on a vine, admittedly) are able to quell the threat? The thing with Ann and Kong was good, though. It establishes their relationship quite well, though I'm left to wonder: what did Kong do with all the other sacrifices and why not Ann? Sure, I like blondes too, but....
The Third Hour:
Kind of a mixed bag. I understand why Jack and Ann left the show, and the why/how of how Kong breaks out is done well. But then there's the unnecessary chase scene and Ann's appearance out of nowhere. The skating scene is cute, and then there's one of the most famous endings in movie history. But when it's finally all over, I just kinda get the feeling that everyone walks away and that's it. Heck, I'm not even sure if, after what I saw, Jack and Ann end up together!
Naomi Watts:
I wanted to end on a high note. =) She's mesmerizingly beautiful in parts of this movie and infectiously cute in others. But even aside from that, she does a great job of portraying emotions without ever saying a word. Especially when you consider she's emoting towards a green screen. I dunno about Oscar (though the buzz seems to be kinda leanin' that way), but the girl did a good job.
In the end, though, I think I liked Narnia better.
I was mostly unimpressed. Long story short: some things were underdeveloped while others were left sprawling. An interesting take on the story, but ultimately unsatisfying. If you really wanna go on, or if you need something long to read 'cause you're bored, here's my take on King Kong:
The Ape:
Great effects and a tremendously feeling performance by a CG character. After Gollum/Smeagol, this is unsurprising, especially considering Jackson once again employed Andy Serkis for Kong's movements. The effects people in Jackson's shop and Jackson himself have the keenest eye for this kinda thing, and their decisions when it come to these effects show a brilliance that would have been welcome in what I thought was an underachieving Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Adrian Brody:
One of the underdeveloped parts of the movie. I know, it's kinda hard to be a "leading man" when the protagonist is a 25 foot ape, and I know Jack didn't have much of a part in the '33 version, but still... there was a lot of room to develop the relationship between Ann and Jack, especially when it came to perhaps her conflicting feelings about him and Kong. In the end, I'm unsatisfied by that relationship, and that bugs me. Sure, they gave him a chase scene, but that was really just gratuitous.
Jack Black:
Not inspired or anything, but solid. He's always the little boy in a man's body, and his enthusiasm and energy certainly work in the part of the showman. Woulda been nice to see a little more self-doubt, though. I would think after losing about 20 guys and a couple of good friends he might have a little remorse.
The First Hour:
I think I'm one of the few who didn't mind the trip to the island. Coulda done without the whole FirstMate/kid story line, but still, I appreciate that we get a full sketch of the characters before we put them into the proverbial Lion's (or should I say Ape's?) Mouth. Again, I don't think the sketches were drawn particularly well, but it's something. It's about the journey, not the destination after all, right? And ya don't know how far you've come unless you know where you started. =)
The Second Hour:
It was really the second hour that kinda killed the movie as far as I'm concerned. Natives were kinda needlessly creepy. The bronto chase was okay. But after that, did we really need a 20-minute multi-dino rumble? I think an extended one-dino fight woulda been fine. The log fight: I wish the Mate and the Kid woulda died. That was really a pointless story line. The bugs were unsatisfying too. Creepy and amazingly realistic, but did we need to see the guy get swallowed by worms? Would the Kid really been able to shoot bugs off of Jack's face with a Thompson? And after 30 billion bugs are coming outta the woodwork, 3 guys with machine guns (one of them on a vine, admittedly) are able to quell the threat? The thing with Ann and Kong was good, though. It establishes their relationship quite well, though I'm left to wonder: what did Kong do with all the other sacrifices and why not Ann? Sure, I like blondes too, but....
The Third Hour:
Kind of a mixed bag. I understand why Jack and Ann left the show, and the why/how of how Kong breaks out is done well. But then there's the unnecessary chase scene and Ann's appearance out of nowhere. The skating scene is cute, and then there's one of the most famous endings in movie history. But when it's finally all over, I just kinda get the feeling that everyone walks away and that's it. Heck, I'm not even sure if, after what I saw, Jack and Ann end up together!
Naomi Watts:
I wanted to end on a high note. =) She's mesmerizingly beautiful in parts of this movie and infectiously cute in others. But even aside from that, she does a great job of portraying emotions without ever saying a word. Especially when you consider she's emoting towards a green screen. I dunno about Oscar (though the buzz seems to be kinda leanin' that way), but the girl did a good job.
In the end, though, I think I liked Narnia better.
posted by Drewby at
4:45 PM
4 Comments:
I think I agree with your entire review of the movie. I normally don't dig that deep into movies, but good critique.
I liked how they developed certain parts of the original movie, and they maybe should have developed Jack's character a little more, but I'm cool with the low-Brody content.
I really liked Jack Black's work. Definitely did a great job in recreating the original.
Yes, the dino stampede was way too long and the bugs went too far, but I was cool with the creepy natives.
I liked the movie though.
Did you notice that it was never explained as to how they got Kong to New York? I wanted to know - especially since he seemed so big! I wonder how he fit on the boat...
Lisa, Lisa, Lisa...
They obvioulsy couldn't fit him ON the boat. So, of course, they had to build a giant raft and tow him all the way to NY. This would solve 3 problems:
1) No really stinky Smell of Kong.
2) No Ann-caused flip outs
3) No worry of escape, 'cause as we all know, gorillas can't swim.
Wrong! Peter Jackson made sure the boat was big enough to fit the big ape. True story. Even though they never showed it, he wanted to make sure it could happen.
The dino stampede was the worst part, because it was too long, and the special effects were poor.
That was about the only part I didn't like. Well, I didn't particularly enjoy the bugs, but I thought they were well done.
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