Just Saw King Kong. Wow!

Peter Jackson is an astonishing film-maker.

The movie just blew me away.

Go see it!

Ehh.

I liked it, it was a very enjoyable three hours. BUT the film is very overrated - riding high on the post-Lord of the Rings acclaim, the critics slobbered all over themselves to heap praise on this film. Much of that praise is deserved.

This film could have been about an hour shorter. With his clout at delivering 10+ hours worth of "epic" films, there lacked a certain "restraint" that would have tightened this picture up quite a bit. While it was all done with loving respect of the source material, I sometimes wished while watching it, that a producer would have leaned in, grabbed Mr. Jackson's hand and said, "OK, enough!" The bug scene was excessive... And the scene with the ice was cringe-inducing in how sappy it was. Good lord.

Good bits: Naomi Watts was wonderful. Her interplay with the ape, as well as with the writer Jack Driscoll really sealed the heart of the film. It was also nice to see the young boy that played "Billy Elliot" all grown up, as a cabin boy reading "Heart of Darkness." The script of the film was intelligent and witty, with many lines lifted directly from the original film. The recreation of depression-era New York, with Ann Darrow's backstory, was quite nicely done. I liked the whole setup of the relationship with Ann and Jack, and the rest of the supporting cast was charming as well.

Special effects-wise, this film was hit and miss. WETA does some pretty amazing stuff with creatures and motion capture, but their blending of miniature sets, computer-modelled set extensions, and live action actors is sometimes not that convincing - they still don't do that quite as convincingly as did ILM in the latest Star Wars movie. Regardless, much of the visuals were simply spectacular, and the work on Kong was good, evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

The "Ann's point of view of being carried at high speed by Kong" shots were kind of fun, like a roller coaster rider. Jackson did some weird slow-down-time blur the scene shots which I question creatively as to what he was trying to say or point out. They seemed inappropriate.

Anyway, a good film, perhaps not as great as many are saying, but certainly worthy of a viewing in the theater.

I love Mssrs. Bell and Brody, good to hear they were swell.

Shame on me. Edited, thanks!

Definitely not the best film of the year.

He may have a chance at some technical awards, but I think for such things as costumes, production design, sound and special effects and editing, Revenge of the Sith was far superior.

I honestly think that the Best Picture award for Return of the King was more an acknowledgement of the entire Lord of the Rings cycle, rather than just that last movie, and handing Jackson kudos for successfully tackling that monumental project.

Kong is a good movie, but there are several films out there that are more Best Picture and Oscar material.

I STILL can't get over how a film "THIS PHENOMENAL" (not my sentiment) couldn't achieve at least ONE acting nomination.

Kong dies again, right?

his show runs longer than the Fantastiks and Kong ends up sitting around at the end with James Lipton, talking about how he got into show business....

original cast cameo.

:7

Kong Capades was especially lame.

One of the themes that gives the original King Kong its power is that the beast's love is unrequited....King Kong is in love with Fay Wray but Fay Wray is revolted and terrified by King Kong. Anotehr is that fate cannot be escaped--Fay Wray goes to a hotel but King Kong reaches in the window.

Having Naomi Watts trooping after him ruined both.

By the way, if YOU should ever be covered wth giant crickets, it's not a good idea for someone who's never handled a firearm to pick up a tommygun and just start shooting in your direction.

B-) and that's a big ole yeppers, jackson does have a fine sense of cinema, film & screenplay :thumbsup:

What a beautiful and action packed movie.

I had tears streaming down my face at the end. I felt like an idiot.

I think Jackson expressed the love between beast and beauty very well.

What a beautiful touching movie. I was surprised.

... than the self aggrandizing critiques presented in earlier posts on this thread ....

I always suspect overly-critical expressions as being self serving ....

Im seeing this movie ASAP ....

Thanks ....

It was the interaction between Kong and Ann Darrow that made it such a sweet love story. Not to mention the triangle addition of Adrien Brody. The special effects were outstanding.

Andy Serkis deserves kudos for bringing another creation critter to life.

So to give a thought out criticism of a movie instead of just falling into line and lavishingly praising it is "self aggrandizing", and self serving for being overly critical?

I am baffled by that comment, and find it absurd. The point of criticizing a film IS to be subjective about ones reactions to it. Self-serving? Isn't that the point of a critique? To offer ones own subjective opinion of the film?

As expensive as movies are to see today, I would rather criticisms allow me to discern what is hype and what is substantive. This helps me decide if I am going to blow the money to see the thing in the theater, or wait for DVD.

I stand by my earlier critique. It was a good movie, and very entertaining. But it was overly long. It did have a gaping plot hole toward the end. It did have an unforgivably sappy scene that was cringe inducing, and I think really cheapened the film. There was a problem with pacing in the first act, a problem with restraint in the second act, and an almost perfect third act, save for the ice scene and that car chase. The movie DID engage the audience emotionally and then almost blew it with the ice scene.

Despite this problems, I still found the film enjoyable, and would recommend seeing it.

I was very creeped out by the giant bug scene. Yuckola.
ewwww...