Peter Jackson's King Kong was spectacular! Spectacularly expensive, that is. Sure, it may have cost him 200+ million to bring to the big screen but in relative terms it cost me just about as much to see it at my local cinaplex.
Let's see 2 tickets at $8.25 a piece and we shared 1 small popcorn for $3.50 and a small Coke for $3.25 for a cool $23.50 total. There are families in some third world countries that live on less. Seriously, if Hollywood (the movie business in general) wants to know why people don't go to movies anymore perhaps they should consider this.
Getting on to the review, I must say it was a fantastic ride! It was visually stunning in every respect. Set in the depression era Jackson's version of King Kong looked completely realistic with every New York eyeful.
The scenes on Skull Island were the most visually riveting of any movie I have ever seen. The fight scene between Kong and a trio of T. Rex looking characters was simply an incredible bit of movie making. Not once in this 3 hour spectacle did it ever look fakey or unbelievable.
The acting was superb except for maybe a miscast Jack Black (I think Jack Black is a fine comedic actor but his character's mannerisms seemed out of place as if from a different era). Naomi Watts was excellent as the damsel in distress. Miss Ann Darrow was a struggling vaudville actress who used her slapstick routine to win over the beast in a beautifully touching scene.
There was one scene that could have landed on the editing room floor and no one would have missed it. It was unnecessary to advance the story and elicited moans of disgust in the packed theater. I won't go into it here but if you see the movie maybe we can compare notes, I'll bet you'll pick out the scene I am refering to as soon as you see it.
As movies go these days it is a movie a 13 year-old could see and still remain pure of heart. There was spectacular violence between Kong and the beasts of Skull Island but not blood oozing or even overly gratuitous. There was little to no cussing, no nudity and just a few classy kissing scenes.
Peter Jackson is fast becoming the George Lucas and Steven Spielberg of his day. Lord of The Rings was a masterpiece and King Kong was an admirable follow-up. I may gripe about the amount of money I spent but this movie about and oversized monkey was no dog!
CW
1 comment:
The problem with King Kong is that he reminds me too much of a girl I used to date...
That fight scene you just described was truly a scene plucked from one of our better nights out!
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