september 1, 2007
I finally got a chance to watch King Kong, here are some quick thoughts about the film:
- Original 1933 version ran 100 minutes.
- Peter Jackson's 2005 version runs 187 minutes. Why? Why did Jackson double the running time? I cannot tell from the watching this film, there was no need for the 87 minutes of padding added by Peter Jackson . Jackson: Just because you pump the number of minutes in a film to "epic propotions" (in my books anything nearing three hours), it does not mean that your movie is "epic" -- frankly, for King Kong, it made the film a bit boring. Before people start complaining, let me remind you that I enjoyed all 9 hours of The Lord of the Rings, where the epic running time was needed. In King Kong the "epic" running time was not needed.
- The first hour of the film was completely unnecessary. I would have been happy if the film started with a shot of the boat discovering Skull Island -- or shortly before that, with introduction of characters on the boat.
- I often complain that movies do not develop their characters and rely only on special effects -- something that this summer's Transformers did. Strangely, in King Kong, I'd rather them not develop so many of their characters. For instance, we have the characters of Hayes and Jimmy develop on the boat. A sort of older/younger brother thing. The characters never pan out. Hell, by the time we hit New York City for the second time, Jimmy is all but forgotten. A lot of screen time developing these characters, no return on time invested. Bad film writing efficiency. The captain of the boat, Lumpy and the strange Chinese dude are all characters that Jackson and his writing team developed on the boat and then quickly forgot about when the action started in the last reel.
- The Skull Island villagers. They come for their plot point, they leave after their plot point. And that's it. What in the world was Jackson and his writing team thinking? The potential of exploring these people was so great, yet they are relinquished to being the extras who just walked off a Dawn of the Dead movie shoot.
- Where the hell did Denham get this secret map (which looks like a kindergardener painted)?
- Jack Black, I like Jack Black. He's great in movies that fit him, but King Kong does not fit him. He was a sore thumb each time he was onscreen. Casting Jack Black for the role of Denham was one of the biggest mistakes of the film.
- Adrian Brody's character Driscoll. Does Darrow love him? Does she not? Hell, we can't figure it out. It seems that he can't figure it out either. Yet he goes romping through the jungles and New York City trying to save her.
- Naomi Watts is wonderful in the film. She and the special effects are what give this film the extra "something" that makes it watchable. She is great in her role as Darrow. Now, can someone tell me, is she and Nicole Kidman actually two different people? Twins maybe?
- As good as the action sequences looked, they -- like the movie -- felt drawn out. How about a fight with three T-Rexes? Or a romp with a bunch of herbivore dinos and raptors? Oh, how about some man-eating insects? Or King Kong on top of the Empire State Building. All of that sounds wonderfully exciting on paper, yet onscreen, it almost induced a yawn. I was actually looking forward to the T-Rex encounter and was sorely disappointed by the drawn out fight. Note to Jackson: More is not more.
- Should King Kong have been remade? In all honesty: No.
- Should you see Jackson's King Kong? Yes, for the spectacle and for Watts.
- Could this remake have been a classic? Yes. A lot of heavy editing and the cutting of 90 minutes. Casting a stronger actor for the part of Denham. Cutting of characters who are not really characters. Tighter editing with the action sequences.
It makes me a bit sad that King Kong did not realize its full potential. I know there are those that really enjoyed the film. I thought it was entertaining, but seriously flawed. King Kong could have been so much better and that is as tragic as the big guy falling from the Empire State Building.
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