KING KONG - A Bullet Point Review

I’ve not been a huge fan of Peter Jackson because of all the LORD OF THE RINGS hype over the last few years. And when I heard he was doing a remake of KING KONG, I had some serious doubts. But as we all know, the creative impetus in Hollywood is all geared towards marketing and any doubts I had were assuaged by the trailer, which made the film look amazing. But unfortunately, movies are never as good as the trailers make them out to be and now that I’ve seen it, I can’t say that the film met my expectations. Indeed, in all honesty, I was disappointed. But only because my expectations were so high. It’s still a very good film. There’s just not that much to say about it except the following:

• I’ve been a big fan of Naomi Watts since her brilliant performance in MULLHOLLAND DRIVE. Here she delivers once again and although I’m not that crazy about blondes, I can see why Kong would go ape for her.
• I’ve been a big fan of Adrien Brody since his Oscar winning performance in THE PIANIST. He too doesn’t disappoint and I have to give props to Jackson for choosing such an unconventional male action lead. In fact, Watts and Brody have good chemistry and I wouldn’t mind seeing them in another film where they have more screen time together.
• The special effects are very good but not quite as good as I expected. There are definitely times that Kong’s movements seem a little too digital. Also, I find it odd that the most realistic looking dinosaurs are still from Spielberg’s 1993 classic JURASSIC PARK. It’s mind boggling that digital effects havn'tt made much progress since then.
• The action sequences are also very good but sometimes a little over done. In the original KING KONG, the giant ape battles one T-Rex. The idea that three T-Rexes are better than one is typical of the Jackson mentality as evidenced by his tedious and overdone action scenes in LORD OF THE RINGS. For instance, there’s a sequence in KING KONG involving a brontosaurus stampede that goes on way too long - and can anyone explain to me how any of the characters survived that ordeal? But still, Kong’s fight with the three T-Rexes is tremendous fun and definitely one of the film’s high points.
• I hate it when supposedly ordinary people suddenly turn into Indiana Jones in extreme circumstances. It’s one thing when that element is built into the story. But when it’s not, it’s annoying when all of a sudden the characters perform stunts that not even Spider-Man could do.
• There are some really tense and scary moments that are great fun. But I have to say – the scariest moments don’t involve any of the creatures, but rather the native peoples of Skull Island.
• There’s a pointless, distracting subplot concerning the relationship between two shipmates. This part of the story simply wastes valuable screen time and makes the movie longer than necessary.
• Jackson tries a little too hard to push the emotional elements of the story, and because the story of KING KONG is not one that I find intrinsically compelling, his efforts are wasted on me. And let’s face it, how much can one really be moved by the death of a giant ape? It’s not like they had any kind of future together.
• Much has been said about the casting of Jack Black. But his comic energy and persona actually work for the film and not against it.
  

THE BOTTOMLINE: KING KONG is a noble effort to bring the story of the giant ape into the third millennium. Despite its flaws, Jackson’s version is quite good with some exceptional visuals, digital effects and star power. And even though the movie is a little long, his pacing of the story is right on the mark and one is definitely not bored throughout the viewing experience. The action sequences may be a little over the top, but they’re still great fun. If you already love the story of KING KONG, you probably won’t be disappointed, but if you’re like me and indifferent to the story, you’re left a little underwhelmed. Despite everything, the major flaw with KING KONG may be its release date: why did they release this movie in winter – this is classic summer movie viewing.

On the Rickter-Scale, KING KONG rates a 7.0 out of 10.

THE RICKTER-SCALE:
10 (A+) – extraordinary, a masterpiece
9.5/9.0 (A) – exceptional, a milestone
8.5/8.0 (A-) – excellent, a classic
7.5/7.0 (B+) – very good, a near classic
6.5/6.0 (B) – good
5.5/5.0 (B-) – fair
4.5/4.0 (C+) – poor
3.5/3.0 (C) – very poor, a near disaster
2.5/2.0 (C-) – terrible, a total disaster
1.5/1.0 (D+) – torture, a catastrophe
0.5/0.0 (F) – abysmal, the end of film as an art form