"King Kong"
Peter Jackson's "King Kong" is incredible. It's one of the most intense spectacles that has been made in the movies. It does the remarkable job of updating the 1933 original for a more "sophisticated" time, while increasing its scope, majesty and running time. Everything is heightened--the violence, the emotion and the romance.
Where the original 1933 film was a fairly short, light film suitable for virtually any age, Peter Jackson's version is definitely designed for adults. The violence is far more intense and brutal than anything he's made since the gruesome zombie pic "Brain-Dead" (aka "Dead/Alive"), featuring giant dinosaurs, multiple T-rexes and an insect pit that must have been designed in a nightmare.
The stakes are raised on the emotion, too. Where the original featured filmmaker Carl Denham as a noble adventurer, Jack Black plays the character as an opportunistic hustler who cares about little except himself and his fame and fortune. The original featured Ann Denham falling in love with Jack Driscoll on board the tramp steamer Venture, with Jack saving the helpless, terrified Ann from the giant ape's lair. In Jackson's version Ann and Jack's relationship pales next to her bond with Kong. The lyrical, operatic quality of the story was more an implication in the original--here it IS the story.
Kong himself is a masterpiece, as created by actor Andy Serkis (who also created the movements and voice of Gollum) and WETA Workshop's computer animators. He's absolutely the most sophisticated animated character who's existed yet, with a personality and a realism that makes it easy to forget he's a computer creation.
I spotted only a couple of places where I felt the animation or the computer effects were "obvious", or could have been done a bit better, and I can't think of any complaints about the story or the acting. Jack Black is ideal for this part, with his bluster and bombast, and Naomi Watts is terrific as Ann Darrow.
If you haven't seen the 1933 original, it is still the father of all special-effects blockbusters, with nonstop action from start to finish. Peter Jackson's remake is the movie of someone who loved the original film with a passion, and seeing it will only help you appreciate the remake that much more. But Jackson has definitely done it justice in updating the story and the effects. It's truly a masterpiece.
Jeff
Where the original 1933 film was a fairly short, light film suitable for virtually any age, Peter Jackson's version is definitely designed for adults. The violence is far more intense and brutal than anything he's made since the gruesome zombie pic "Brain-Dead" (aka "Dead/Alive"), featuring giant dinosaurs, multiple T-rexes and an insect pit that must have been designed in a nightmare.
The stakes are raised on the emotion, too. Where the original featured filmmaker Carl Denham as a noble adventurer, Jack Black plays the character as an opportunistic hustler who cares about little except himself and his fame and fortune. The original featured Ann Denham falling in love with Jack Driscoll on board the tramp steamer Venture, with Jack saving the helpless, terrified Ann from the giant ape's lair. In Jackson's version Ann and Jack's relationship pales next to her bond with Kong. The lyrical, operatic quality of the story was more an implication in the original--here it IS the story.
Kong himself is a masterpiece, as created by actor Andy Serkis (who also created the movements and voice of Gollum) and WETA Workshop's computer animators. He's absolutely the most sophisticated animated character who's existed yet, with a personality and a realism that makes it easy to forget he's a computer creation.
I spotted only a couple of places where I felt the animation or the computer effects were "obvious", or could have been done a bit better, and I can't think of any complaints about the story or the acting. Jack Black is ideal for this part, with his bluster and bombast, and Naomi Watts is terrific as Ann Darrow.
If you haven't seen the 1933 original, it is still the father of all special-effects blockbusters, with nonstop action from start to finish. Peter Jackson's remake is the movie of someone who loved the original film with a passion, and seeing it will only help you appreciate the remake that much more. But Jackson has definitely done it justice in updating the story and the effects. It's truly a masterpiece.
Jeff
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