Here's the review I wrote for it:
At first, I was just a little skeptical of Peter Jackson's undertaking of "King Kong." I was never a big fan of the original or even its concept--especially not the whole "crazy natives sacrificing the screaming woman" factor. But the trailers were nice, the reviews extremely positive overall, and the clips increasingly awesome. So I went in in "cautiously optimistic" mode...and came out happy as hell. "King Kong" kicks ass. Plain and simple.
The worst thing I can say about my showing of the film was the audience. We had the worst audience imaginable. We had crying babies, people answering their cell phones, and worse. Behind my brother and I was some kid who just wouldn't stop talking. (S?)he repeatedly spoke throughout the film, and about halfway through kept asking his/her (it was hard to tell from just the voice) if they wanted [insert candy name here], and if they said yes, then the person would say, "Too bad" before eating a piece. The kid got bored, you could tell, because this went on over and over and over again. I asked the kid to be quiet, and the kid just laughed and said, "I'd kick this n***a's ass" or something along those lines. (I always find it a little odd how many black youths refer to everyone as "niggas" these days....) Eventually my brother and I just moved down to the seats in the front, the only seats availible that weren't near this annoying kid.
Another problem with "Kong" is that it feels like two different movies. The first hour takes place entirely in New York and on the ship, spending its time building up the characters, establishing their motivations and relationships, showcasing the Great Depression, and gently hinting at what was to come. A lot of people found these scenes boring, but I didn't. I found the first hour highly entertaining, even if it had a few chessy lines. It certainly didn't drag. But it felt odd when they did finally get to Skull Island, because suddenly the film became packed to the brim with special effects and action sequences. The transition somehow comes natural, but when looked at from afar it seems a little jarring.
Neither of these things spoiled the experience, though. Nor did the 3-hour running time. To me, "Kong" felt just as long as it needed to be. Few scenes dragged, because there was always something entertaining or exciting going on--and yet somehow, it never seemed to be exhausting. Sure, you could have cut about an hour of it out, but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable or entertaining. Skull Island, in this, is a very real place. When the voyagers come to it, they find all sorts of beasties: giant millipedes, giant spiders with claws, giant tubeworms monsters, smaller giant spiders, giant bats, T-Rex's, brocheasaurouses, raptors, giant prehistoric crocadile thingies, and of course, Kong himself. The entire film, of course, rests on Kong's shoulders...and he doesn't even show up until about an hour and fifteen minutes have passed. At first, we don't really get a good glimpse at him. All we see are a bunch of natives jumping around and looking evil and stuff as some shadowy CG critter comes through the bushes. (I hated all the scenes with the natives because I don't like the way that the film potrays islanders, but thankfully they're only in it for about fifteen or twenty minutes, and then never show up again. Maybe they all got eaten or something.) But when we actually start to get a look at this beast...man. They they nail him. Really, they do. The CG pushes the boundries. Plus, like Gollumn, Kong is another CG character played by Andy Serkis (who seems to die in every role Peter Jackson puts him in--yes, even as Lumpy the cook in this) that you stop thinking of as CG. All of his emotions work believable: he roars, he laughs, he gets furious and starts smashing things, he feels shame, and he gets depressed and confused and overwhelmed. (And if you don't think an animal can have all of those emotions, you need to get a dog. Heh.) And then there's the scene I shall hereby declare to be "geek bliss": the scene where he fights 3 T-Rex's at once to protect Anne Darrow. It is, without a doubt, one of the most jaw-droppingly awesome fight scenes ever made, and it's wonderful that it goes on for at least five minutes.
The other action set pieces are also fantastic, and far above the standard. The visuals are awe-inspiring. But none of this would matter if the acting wasn't great, right? Well, it is. It's fantastic all around, from Noami Watts's funny Anne Darrow to Adrian Brody's subdued Jack Driscoll to Jack Black's zany Carl Denham to Andy Serkis's big ape himself. It even becomes quite touching when Kong starts smashing through New York, and even moreso when he meets his (spoiler--oh hell you know it happens) demise. "Kong" isn't a complete tear jerker, but it's a tear-toucher--the sort of film that makes you feel like crying and get a teensy bit wet around the eyes without actually crying. It's too entertaining to get you crying, too cool, too filled with awesome creatues and amazing camera shots. But it's quite effecting nonetheless.
That damn kid laughed when Kong died. Bastard.
But anyway, there are a few nitpicks that pop up. A cheesy line here, a shaky camera shot there, a scene that's a few minutes too long...but you know what? Who cares. Look at all the work that went into this film. Every frame of "Kong" seems so filled with love and care from all who worked on it that I can't help but forgive its imperfections, and the fact that I dislike the overall concept and story. It just goes to show that it's always more about execution that concept. This is one of my favorite films of the year, and this has been a good year.
01 Jan 2006, 7:06 pm
