"Peter Jacksons'Return of the King Kong"
Ok... like Peter Jackson, saw the original as a child, & my love for Dinosaurs, Gorillas & movies was born. I laughed, I screamed & cried, & even today I can watch the original & get completely drawn in.
So after a stream of failed remakes, I was completely at my wits to see what Peter Jackson was going to do with this alltime favourite.
This movie was so good, it did to me what the original did for Peter Jackson...it made me go out & start making my own movies.
Through the entire movie, I was completely engrossed.
For me, this was the best movie I had ever seen. Though with all things, there are a couple of dissapoinments I have to make public.
1: Brontosaur stampede....I love the concept, but I just felt the whole scene did not convince me. I felt the blue/green screen CGI was just not up to spec with all the other scenes in the movie. Which was sad, because it was a scene that Mr Jackson had created from his own noggin'! A brilliant fantastic idea, but the visuals hurt it so bad. The actual animals were well designed, but the shadows, & interaction with the actors just didn't cut it for me. It actually made me realise I was watching a movie because it looked fake, instead of keeping me in the film totally immersed. The shadows while running underneath the bronto's didn't sell, things like the 1st mate's hat staying on for the entire scene really make it falable.
2: The underwater scene with Jack Driscoll in the extended version during the swamp scene... I have to say was the most unconvincing acting I have ever seen in a big budget movie...worthy of a Ewe Boll flick (Yes, that bad) Not only was the acting bad, but the visual effects were poor as well. Mr Jackson pulled this off so well in the LOTR movies I still dont understand how it failed?! The lack of bubbles, or swamp gunk swirlling really hurt the performance as well. So very dissapointed in Weta & Adiran Brody here, considering the quality of both their work in the rest of the movie.
So that's my gripe, now for the praise.
Brilliant screenplay by Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh... flawless & clever. Paying respect to the original, tongue in cheek with the fans & fantastic performances all round.
Jack Black's first serious roll that I know of, was outstanding. Just when a comedian actor started to become slightly annoying from being flavour of the month, he goes ahead & proves he's a great actor as well.
Naomi Watts I would say had the toughest roll, not to mention her first time acting with 90%CG I have to say was great. I think she really wanted to shower her performance with that classic acting from the 30's which seemed to be fitting, but it was not without alot of help. That came in the form of Peter Jackson who did what Directors used to do...give motivation to the actors & "direct"them in their character. So many film makers give a part to the actor & say, do what you will- make it your own.
The other helping hand she had was from method actor Andy Serkis, who out did himself. Playing both Kong & cook "Lumpy"I was really taken by all his performances. (I'll let the ciggarette during the stampede slide) Loved the amount of understanding he pout into the mimical behaviour of gorilla habits.
This must include the Kong CG team, who had to do alot of their own reference acting as well to fill in the gaps that Mr Serkis could not do. Again- you deserve every bit of praise given.
So the acting, & the visuals are fantastic, the story is brilliant, now for the action.
The Kong vs 3x V-rex's, I would have to say, is the best action/fight scene I have scene in my life. And that's big to say considering I study Hong Kong cinema action sequences. The camera work was logical, not messy, tight enough to keep you absorbed, but far enough to not confuse you. The musical score By James Newton Howard was as good as anything from John Williams. Love the simple 4 note melody for Kong & the exact reverse for Ann Darrow's theme is pure genius.
This is in my top 5 movies of all time, across all genres. Pure entertainment, & exactly what the bigscreen was designed for. My fedora off to you Mr Jackson, you created a classic from a classic.
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