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Published On: Oct 08, 2008 10:45 PM
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Published On: Oct 08, 2008 10:45 PM
"King Kong" review
The Professor gives it an
A.
IMDB.com plot outline: A film crew filming a movie on an uncharted island stumble upon many strange, dangerous creatures, including 'Kong', a giant ape who captures the lead actress.
I was tempted to delay reviewing this until I'd taken another look at the 1933 version, but then I decided that was unfair; I'll review this on its own.
I was enchanted. This film can't be a horror flick; the standards for shocking audiences have gone up quite a bit in seven decades. So, it has to be a tragedy, and the only way for it to be a tragedy is if the audience sympathizes with Kong.
And Jackson had the answer for this: Hire Andy Serkis to play the role. Serkis and the animation team have done an amazing job. Kong is old, tired, battle-scarred, and lonely. His relationship to Anne is that of playmates and equals, not that of ape and toy. The scene on top of the Empire State Building, for all its problems, is also incredibly touching.
So why not an A+? Jackson has seen too many Japanese films. Now, the great Japanese directors excel at creating mood; they do this by burning lots of feet of film for shots of flowers blowing in the wind, etc. Well done, this adds to a film; overdone, and the film starts to drag. Even Kurosawa was guilty of this on occasion.
Jackson desperately needs a strong producer who respects his vision, but nevertheless has the chutzpah to say, "Peter, old man, let's just have the camera circle the ship ONCE as she sails away from New York." "How about we don't show each and every one of the seventeen crewmen dying in detail?"
If Kong succeeds at the box office, unfortunately, he's not likely to get that producer for a while.
IMDB.com plot outline: A film crew filming a movie on an uncharted island stumble upon many strange, dangerous creatures, including 'Kong', a giant ape who captures the lead actress.
I was tempted to delay reviewing this until I'd taken another look at the 1933 version, but then I decided that was unfair; I'll review this on its own.
I was enchanted. This film can't be a horror flick; the standards for shocking audiences have gone up quite a bit in seven decades. So, it has to be a tragedy, and the only way for it to be a tragedy is if the audience sympathizes with Kong.
And Jackson had the answer for this: Hire Andy Serkis to play the role. Serkis and the animation team have done an amazing job. Kong is old, tired, battle-scarred, and lonely. His relationship to Anne is that of playmates and equals, not that of ape and toy. The scene on top of the Empire State Building, for all its problems, is also incredibly touching.
So why not an A+? Jackson has seen too many Japanese films. Now, the great Japanese directors excel at creating mood; they do this by burning lots of feet of film for shots of flowers blowing in the wind, etc. Well done, this adds to a film; overdone, and the film starts to drag. Even Kurosawa was guilty of this on occasion.
Jackson desperately needs a strong producer who respects his vision, but nevertheless has the chutzpah to say, "Peter, old man, let's just have the camera circle the ship ONCE as she sails away from New York." "How about we don't show each and every one of the seventeen crewmen dying in detail?"
If Kong succeeds at the box office, unfortunately, he's not likely to get that producer for a while.
Posted: Tue - December 20, 2005 at 05:53 AM | | | | |