Friends had given me the impression that this movie would seem too long, and possibly even a disappointment after Peter Jackson's previous masterpieces (LoTR, Heavenly Creatures, Braindead...). But I didn't find that at all.
Granted, we did watch King Kong over two evenings (this happens when sleep becomes more important than anything else) so that may have made a difference. But it didn't seem to me that any part of the film was over-long, boring or unnecessary. Even the dinosaur sequences were highly enjoyable, including the infamous enormous gorilla vs vicious dinosaurs fight scenes.
The inhabitants of Skull Island were impressively savage; they would have been utterly suitable as the Reavers in Serenity.
In the end, it really was Kong's eyes that made the movie, because without their expressiveness we wouldn't be able to relate to him as we did. As I said to the boy, what makes King Kong a better film than Jurassic Park is that it is so much more...human.
It's a little like Raiders of the Lost Ark in its Fifties tradition and danger-at-every-turn pace. It's a little like Gorillas in the Mist because you can't help but be on the side of the gorilla. It's a little like E.T. because all you really, really want is for him to be able to go home again.
So actually, it was a way better movie than I'd expected.
2 comments:
Oh I dunno - they could've lost the first hour or so with all the preamble in New York (proven by my falling asleep during these scenes the second time I saw it). And the savages were just way over the top - the original was better because they expressed curiosity rather than real savagery. And those insects - overkill (to coin a phrase).
Best in-joke? Watching Andy Serkis' character killed by a CGI creature! Dumbest scene? Watching Naomi Watts running around in the middle of a Manhattan winter with nothing more than a negligee and high heels.
However, in the end I did enjoy it both times. I'm not rushing out the buy the DVD tho'. I'll wait till it drops in price (not like our petrol).
to tell you the truth I can't remember much about the original movie. In fact, maybe I never saw it. But I did see The Goodies' version - the one with the giant kitty.
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