King Kong
KING KONG Review:
Let's start with the 800 lb gorilla. Literally and figuratively. This is one of those movies that in the week or so since I've seen it, I must admit, that my opinion has soured A LITTLE since I first saw it, after some reflection. See, this is one of those movies that, when you've digested it, when you actually analyze the logistics behind certain scenes, it turns out that, well ... that frankly they make no sense. Some of the characters reveal themselves to be somewhat flat. Some of the continuity (like, how DID they get Kong off that island?) begins to fall apart upon scrutiny, and some of the cheese factor (yes, we get it, it's called SKULL island, you don't have to TYPE IT IN SLOW MOTION to make it sound scary) begins to become more obvious. But, all that is after the fact, after its been digested. But, as far as this being a theater-going event, an experience, and a thrill ride, make no mistake about it ...
THIS FILM HANDILY KICKED MY ASS.
Now I enjoyed the beginning of the film, enjoyed the building of tension and the mounting anticipation for all that is SKULL ISLAND. I enjoyed the end of the film, marveled at Kong in NYC, and loved the Empire State building finale. But I'm not going to be some pretentious idiot who says that the NYC scenes were the best. Nope, for me the movie came down to one thing -- Skull freakin' Island. Because for that hour, when Jack Black and Adrian Brody were running from stampeding dinos and fighting off mutant spiders, when Naomi Watts was being strung up by crazy-ass island savages and being tossed around by Kong in mid-battle - man, that hour was just pure fanboy ecstasy. And basically, as I sat watching the marvel of Kong vs. T-Rex, and then Kong vs. multiple T-Rex's, the thought did indeed cross my mind that maybe, just maybe, this was the coolest thing I had ever seen.
Peter Jackson directs with such energy, such passion, such pure geek love for the material - he basically is the barnone best action-adventure director there is right now. He is Spielberg circa Raiders of the Lost Ark, only better and with cooler technology at his disposal. Like Spielberg, Jackson always emphasizes character, but never sacrifices action and always delivers something new, something cool, something breathtaking. I mean, the pure visual spectacle of Naomi Watts getting strung up to be sacrificed by Kong - that scene was just incredible visually. Jackson just has that innate sense of what works - not of what is commercial, per se, not of what is cute or easy or marketable - but what is cool - what makes that inner 12 year old inside you want to jump up and down and go buy King Kong toys just because.
Acting-wise, Naomi Watts as always is great, doing a Mulholland Drive-like mixture of old Hollywood innocence and naivete with a dash of modern wit and action heroine chops. Jack Black is suitably energetic and comedic, and Adrian Brody is pretty good as well - my one problem is that neither of the male leads ever bcome very likable. Jack Black is less adventurer and more con artist, and Adrien Brody never feels like a leading man who you really care to root for. No, the real star of the movie is Kong - given life by Andy Serkis and the wonders of CGI, Kong bursts with personality, coming across like a bigger and meaner version of your pet dog, or something. The scenes between Kong and Watts are pretty damn good - even the ones with no action whatsoever.
Overall, this movie is maybe a little too ambitious for its own good. So much is being thrown at the screen that some of the CGI stuff is bound to look a little fake at times. And some of the action is so over all over the place the realism is obviously thrown out the window, and the laws of physics and gravity seem to suddenly appear and then disappear just as quickly, lending an inconsistency to some of the action.
But still ... this is state of the art. This is KING KONG FIGHT ING DINOSAURS like you've only imagined or doodled in your notebook in fourth grade. So yeah, this is Peter Jackson at his unrestrained best. Sure it's 3 hours, sure there's crazy logic holes. But it's a big budget blockbuster DONE RIGHT, done out of passion by a director and crew that obviously gave a damn. There's action, adventure, romance, and giant friggin' monkeys. What more do you want for your 10 bucks?
My grade: A
Let's start with the 800 lb gorilla. Literally and figuratively. This is one of those movies that in the week or so since I've seen it, I must admit, that my opinion has soured A LITTLE since I first saw it, after some reflection. See, this is one of those movies that, when you've digested it, when you actually analyze the logistics behind certain scenes, it turns out that, well ... that frankly they make no sense. Some of the characters reveal themselves to be somewhat flat. Some of the continuity (like, how DID they get Kong off that island?) begins to fall apart upon scrutiny, and some of the cheese factor (yes, we get it, it's called SKULL island, you don't have to TYPE IT IN SLOW MOTION to make it sound scary) begins to become more obvious. But, all that is after the fact, after its been digested. But, as far as this being a theater-going event, an experience, and a thrill ride, make no mistake about it ...
THIS FILM HANDILY KICKED MY ASS.
Now I enjoyed the beginning of the film, enjoyed the building of tension and the mounting anticipation for all that is SKULL ISLAND. I enjoyed the end of the film, marveled at Kong in NYC, and loved the Empire State building finale. But I'm not going to be some pretentious idiot who says that the NYC scenes were the best. Nope, for me the movie came down to one thing -- Skull freakin' Island. Because for that hour, when Jack Black and Adrian Brody were running from stampeding dinos and fighting off mutant spiders, when Naomi Watts was being strung up by crazy-ass island savages and being tossed around by Kong in mid-battle - man, that hour was just pure fanboy ecstasy. And basically, as I sat watching the marvel of Kong vs. T-Rex, and then Kong vs. multiple T-Rex's, the thought did indeed cross my mind that maybe, just maybe, this was the coolest thing I had ever seen.
Peter Jackson directs with such energy, such passion, such pure geek love for the material - he basically is the barnone best action-adventure director there is right now. He is Spielberg circa Raiders of the Lost Ark, only better and with cooler technology at his disposal. Like Spielberg, Jackson always emphasizes character, but never sacrifices action and always delivers something new, something cool, something breathtaking. I mean, the pure visual spectacle of Naomi Watts getting strung up to be sacrificed by Kong - that scene was just incredible visually. Jackson just has that innate sense of what works - not of what is commercial, per se, not of what is cute or easy or marketable - but what is cool - what makes that inner 12 year old inside you want to jump up and down and go buy King Kong toys just because.
Acting-wise, Naomi Watts as always is great, doing a Mulholland Drive-like mixture of old Hollywood innocence and naivete with a dash of modern wit and action heroine chops. Jack Black is suitably energetic and comedic, and Adrian Brody is pretty good as well - my one problem is that neither of the male leads ever bcome very likable. Jack Black is less adventurer and more con artist, and Adrien Brody never feels like a leading man who you really care to root for. No, the real star of the movie is Kong - given life by Andy Serkis and the wonders of CGI, Kong bursts with personality, coming across like a bigger and meaner version of your pet dog, or something. The scenes between Kong and Watts are pretty damn good - even the ones with no action whatsoever.
Overall, this movie is maybe a little too ambitious for its own good. So much is being thrown at the screen that some of the CGI stuff is bound to look a little fake at times. And some of the action is so over all over the place the realism is obviously thrown out the window, and the laws of physics and gravity seem to suddenly appear and then disappear just as quickly, lending an inconsistency to some of the action.
But still ... this is state of the art. This is KING KONG FIGHT ING DINOSAURS like you've only imagined or doodled in your notebook in fourth grade. So yeah, this is Peter Jackson at his unrestrained best. Sure it's 3 hours, sure there's crazy logic holes. But it's a big budget blockbuster DONE RIGHT, done out of passion by a director and crew that obviously gave a damn. There's action, adventure, romance, and giant friggin' monkeys. What more do you want for your 10 bucks?
My grade: A
posted by Danny B at 11:23 PM
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