Verdict: 8/10
Cons: Lack of novelty, remind you of other movies
Pros: Wonderful character development
I have not watched the original King Kong movie and so to me, this was an entirely new experience. The director surely took his time in developing the characters and hence the 186 minutes show. Although there are scenes after scenes that reminded me of other movies and I do end up with a few questions in my head, it is overall a pleasant experience. Quite a number of girls sobbed towards the end so bring lots of tissue papers for you and your partners.
Warning: Spoilers inside.
I can’t help but to keep thinking of Jurassic Park when I saw the prehistoric reptiles chasing scene. It was quite entertaining to watch (the girls next to me were laughing and giggling throughout) but lack of the feel of real danger. When the group encountered super sized insects, that particular scene reminded me of Spaceship Troopers and Aliens. Now, question #1, how could a boy who didn’t know how to use a machine gun rescued a man being attacked by a number of insects by … firing into the man? The accuracy was amazing considering how close the insects were.
Personally I am confused with the relationship development with Ann Darrow (played by Naomi Watts) and Jack Driscoll (played by Adrien Brody) and with King Kong as the third party. There are lots of screen time between Ann and King Kong (hence the name of the show I guess) but there isn’t much a love story between Ann and Jack. Considering how Jack risked his life in finding Ann and how Ann without a second thought to jump back from King Kong’s embrace to Jack when Jack appeared.
I must say Ann looked stunning great even after all the falling through the grassland, diving into puddle of muds and her endurance was amazing running bare feet through the jungle, suffered numerous falls, as well as the roller coaster experience while held by King Kong. That reminds me, I find the computer simulation a bit odd when King Kong swinging Ann up and down before eating her up as a human sacrifice. It was as though King Kong was in some sort of ecstasy. Very unnatural to me.
And how did they manage to move the subdued King Kong from the Island to the ship that was anchored offshore with half of the men dead by this island adventure? Oh well …
Like I said, I have not watched the original King Kong. I would prefer to see a more intelligent plot of how Ann saved King Kong from her world (versus King Kong saved Ann in the island) rather than an aimless heading to the top of the tower fighting fighter planes. Don’t get me wrong, the sunrise scene was beautiful. But it is just rather painful to see the rather long ending. This is the same King Kong who singlehandedly killed three Godzillas simultaneously. I couldn’t help but screaming “do something!” in my head when I saw the defeat sinking in.
Perhaps that’s why it is so successful.
Looking back, I may not be remembering all the Jurassic Park scenes or Aliens scenes but each of the private moments between Ann and King Kong do burn deep in my heart.