You know the score: giant gorilla gets completely obsessed with the barbie doll-like actress he keeps clutched in his hand; ends up on top of Empire State building. Some stuff in between.

I think I got a bit more out of this from having just read Peter Jackson’s autobiography. Apparently the original KK was (one of?) the first movie(s) he ever saw (on tv!) and not only did it totally stir up the imagination of an 8-year boy, but set him on a path of movie-making and special effects obsession.

Jump forward, and the 40-year-old Oscar winner finally gets a chance to remake Kong – but you really do see the influence of that 8-year-old! Alas, the film seems to me to try to be too much at once: yes, there’s some really cool stuff that would have any kid wide-eyed – Kong versus T-rex, anyone? – but it’s also apparent that PJ has done a course on storytelling (the book told me so!) and there’s a huge dollop of that present, in the form of the bonding between Ann and Kong, and other… character progression? It just didn’t sit well together for me.

Worse, though, is having just made the three 3-hour-plus LotR movies, Jackson seems incapable of cutting the running time down: this is another epic, and there are just too many scenes allowed to creep on for a bit too long. I ended up watching it over three nights, an hour at a time, and it really does fit that pattern! Hour one is all build-up: basically, getting to the island, exploring the characters, setting up the relationship between Ann and Jack. Hour two is solid action, as we reach Skull Island and meet the monkey. I haven’t seen the original version, but I understand having so much of the movie on the island is a departure: really, it’s an excuse for lots of boys’ own adventure stuff, dinosaurs and nasty giant bugs, oodles of SFX.

That all works for me, and I even liked a lot of the New York action in the final hour. What I didn’t really get on with was the portrayal of the Ann/Kong ‘relationship’ – yes, I get it, but the minutes-long soulful looks were just… yawn.

Anyway. Could have been better. Overall, just needed to decide if it was an adventure with a soulful side, or a message movie with a bit of adventure – rather than the stuck in the middle it managed.

i am a total LotR fan but have never gotten around to watching any other Peter Jackson flicks. i suddenly realized that it’s been like two years since this came out and i still haven’t seen it! so i put it at the top of my Netflix queue. The first time i stuck it in i was distracted and bored. The next night there were no distractions so i decided to give it another try. Let’s face it, the first part drags and isn’t exciting. But once Kong kidnaps Ann the action never stops and this film gets a whole lot better. i knew there were dinosaurs, but how could it be better than Jurassic Park? i was wrong; when Kong takes on three T-Rexes at once, all the while clutching Ann, it gets way more exciting. And then all the bugs coming out of the cracks… shudder. A tad unbelievable, long as is Jackson’s trademark, but blows you away with it’s beauty and heart. i could have done without the love story, but well acted all around.

I finally got around to watching King Kong, on DVD. First, I think that maybe seeing it on the small screen made it less of the spectacle it should have been, and this is definitely one to see in the cinema. On the other hand, at least in my living room I could take a break… in the movie house you are locked in there for the whole 3 hour stretch…

Anyway, overall I liked it. It was entertaining. The effects were mostly top notch, the action was non-stop (that is also one of my criticisms) and the acting was generally good.

Like most others the biggest problem was the length. I liked the first half. Yes, the bit with no monkey, only people. I liked the set up of the characters and I thought Jack Black was good in a non-goofing around role. Naomi Watts was excellent. I haven’t seen the original, but I hear this material was where this version differed most from the original.

However the action after reaching Skull Island was just a tad too much for me. Ok much of it may have been in the original, but did it really need to go on so long. I have “action fatigue” after the middle section. For me the stampede of the dinosaurs through the canyon was too comical and unrealistic for me. I know it is fantasy but those guys dancing in and out of the dino’s feet was just too much. Also, the dino pile up was also unintentionally funny. The flailing dino limbs seemed to be made of jelly or plasticine and appeared to lack solidity.

Then there were the insects, then the bats, then the head-sucking creatures. And both Kong vs. dino battles. One would have sufficed. All good on their own, but one after the other got a bit tiring.

The transition from capturing Kong to New York also seemed very abrupt. I happened to catch the second half of the 1976 remake starring Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges recently and enjoyed the scenes on the boat while Kong was being transported back to the US.

On the good side was the New York scenes. The recreation of period New York seemed very authentic, and this part of the film snapped along at a better pace. The climax at ESB was well done and looked beautiful. If I had a nit-pick it would be how come Kong can climb up these sheer buildings one handed. Ok, ok, I’ll get my coat now…

3.5/5 I look forward to some small scale PJ films in the future.

My favorite line from the whole movie: “Are there any boobies?”

had some boring parts.
was too long
had some gross parts.
dont think it was worth my time.

I think Peter Jackson is tripping down that same lane that George Lucas loves so much. A big gorilla fighting three dinosaurs seems a bit like a fifteen year old boy’s wet dream.

While I didn’t think the acting or writing was bad, there just wasn’t enough of it to engage my interest. It was sandwiched in between long passages of action/adventure type malarkey that seemed pointless at times.

Although the first forty minutes of this movie are in some need of drastic editing (IMO, they could have just started the film on the boat) but once they get to Skull Island it is a fricking masterpiece. It is much better to have a film tha starts badly and goes out on a high note than a film which starts well and has a shitty ending.
Naomi Watts is the true star here, as she sells the believibility of Kong in every one of her actions and the look in her eyes. If it wasn’t for her, the film might have been harder for the audience to accept.

Peter Jackson’s King Kong just barely qualified for the ‘worth it’ button. Most of the scenes were simply too long and a few were just gratuitous (especially what happened to the guys who fell down the chasm on the log).

The special effects looked great, though.

Like watching someone’s final exam in special effects…

It was a good movie; although some of the scenes went on too long.

The movie was ok. I was amazed that the director managed to keep me in suspense longer than I thought possible. 3 h 15 min was long but I was not too disappointed. I also have to point out that the special effects in this movie are pretty cool!

Not a brilliant movie, just ok!

Long and boring. Way, way, way too long. I’m sorry, but there is no reason for a remake of a movie to be nearly twice as long as the original.

What a borefest!

Nooooooooooo, It didn’t make it into my

All Time Favs

nor my TOP 10 LIST

and I believe you can guess my
OSCAR PREDICTIONS
involving IT :P
UPDATE: No, this will never find its way into my personal

DVD collection

My Beef*

I can only imagine the horror if there were an extended cut released..
which should only last about 5 and a 1/2 hrs …......

BLOCKBUSTER OR BUST?

Flush your money down the Toilet instead

and save 3 precious hours of your life! : )*

“It really isn’t an adventure story, is it, Mr. Hayes?”

“No, Jimmy. It’s not”

King Kong is a tough movie to remake in this decade. Audiences come already full of expectations on a simple, clean story with a moral message about human nature during a time when society doesn’t seem to clamor for either. It’s probably also hard to make a lovable depression

Weta Digital did some fantastic work on this movie. Fighting with dinosaurs was exciting, the creepy crawlies were frightening and the depression era New York skyline was breathtaking. King Kong himself has actually swung across the uncanny valley, with stunning realism. Complex facial movements and realistic body movements along with intracately detailed texture were captivating. This is the opposite of bad computer generation as seen in The Hulk; digital Ethology seems a better description. Unlike the the original Kong who was so unrealistic, Weta’s hyper-real one allowed the plot follow the relationship between beast and beauty.

Hopefully the mixed reaction from audiences will cause the editing team to take a new approach next time. Many scenes felt drawn out beyond their what they needed to be for us to get the point. Perhaps some of the restraint put on Jack Black, who did his best straight man yet, could have been passed around.

Does Peter Jackson hold some kind of record for world’s largest bladder?

Could have used a bit stronger editing (not every film has to be an epic, Pete). Looks pretty. Kong beats the pulp out of some dinosaurs. Did I mention it’s long?

6.5/10

It’s tough to live up to the hype of an icon such as Kong but I think Peter Jackson has done an admirable job. It would have been very easy to rush to Skull Island but everything happened in its own time. Very impressive!