So Kath and I arranged for child care for Caroline and went to see “King Kong” yesterday, hitting an early morning show when the kids were all in school.
Is it worth seeing? Right, like anything *I* say is going to make a difference to you one way or the other on that score. Bottom line: If you intend to see it, absolutely don’t wait for it to show up on DVD. You should see it on a big screen. Spoilers follow:
Things I liked: All the tips of the hat to the original, which is fresh in my mind because we just watched it last week. Some wonderfully snarky in-gags, such as Carl Denham grousing over Fay Wray’s unavailability to star in his picture (and the hilarious reasons why), or snatches of dialogue from the original (including a shipboard conversation from the original film being restaged as a segment from Denham’s film). Or the stage show accompanying Kong’s presentation in New York, including music from the original and native costumes lifted from the 1933 version.
The relationship between Ann and Kong. Yes, I said relationship. The original Kong’s interest was strictly one way. In this go around, made in an era more sensitive to the sensibilities of animals, Naomi Watts’ Ann Darrow–rather than doing nothing but screaming in Kong’s presence–actually bonds with the big galoot. You can chalk a chunk of this up to the brilliant CGI, modeled on Andy Serkis’ performance (Serkis does double duty as the ship’s cook, uttering a memorable Robert Shaw-esque tale of a previous survivor of Skull Island). But the bottom line is that when human actors interact with huge green screens, if the human doesn’t sell it, the audience won’t buy it. And Watts does it brilliantly, so much so that this “King Kong,” as opposed to the original which was mostly a horror movie, is truly to all intents and purposes a romance.
The rest of the cast. There’s not a misstep in the bunch. I, along with many others, was dubious about Jack Black as Denham. But the new take on the character absolutely works. The original Denham was an aggressive adventurer, largely modeled on Marion Cooper, the original director. Black’s Denham is one third adventurer, one third con man, one third crazed movie maker. He’s Orson Welles with a map. With the most expressive eyebrows since Nathan Lane, Black always reins himself in just when you think he’s about to go over the top.
And if he’s the storm, he’s well matched with the steady eye of the storm with Adrian Brody as Driscoll, transformed from ship’s first officer to thoughtful playwright turned screenwriter. Although I have to say, the one thing that bugs me about Brody is that I kept waiting for him to change into a slouch hat, large black flapping coat, whip out a pair of guns and recede into the shadows while laughing dementedly. I’m sorry, I can’t help it: Adrian Brody looks more like Lamont Cranston than any actor in the English speaking world. Peter Jackson’s next project should be to produce a “Shadow” film for Brody to star in. Hëll, bring Naomi Watts along for Margo.
The pacing. People don’t understand how important pacing is: A three hour film such as this can fly by in the right hands, while I’ve been to films that were 95 minutes and I checked my watch five times in the course of it.
Kong and Ann go ice skating. Screw the dino stampedes. For my money, Kong and Ann cavorting on a frozen Central Park lake was the single best sequence in the entire film, even though by rights both of them should have had breath misting out of their mouths in the cold New York air.
Things I didn’t like: The special effects. Okay, bear with me on this–yes, they’re brilliant. Yes, they brought Kong to life in a way that was previously impossible. Yes, there were tons of edge-of-your-seat moments, most particularly the battle between Kong and the three T-Rexs over Ann. (Although I have to say, watching three T-Rexs all fighting over who gets to eat Ann Darrow is like watching three sumo wrestlers slugging it out over a single Ruffles. You appreciate their artistry and enthusiasm, but my God, that’s a lot of work for one little chippy).
Anyway, here’s the thing–In the old days, the very limitations of special effects forced the movie makers to be more clever. The plot drove the FX. Now the plot has become interchangeable with the FX, except FX and plot AREN’T interchangeable. Ten minutes of our heroes running from a herd of dinosaurs, no matter how incredibly rendered, isn’t plot. Ten minutes of bugs attacking them isn’t plot. It’s twenty minutes of filler, none of which was needed, and the reason we know it wasn’t needed is because the first film clocked in at 94 minutes and did just fine without them. Don’t get me wrong: It wasn’t boring. My attention was fully engaged. But no matter how wonderful FX are, “less is more” is as true now as it was then. Furthermore, Ray Harryhausen was right. One of the main accomplishments of CGI is to take the nightmarish and render it mundane. The herky-jerky surreal movements of the original Kong–the imitation of reality–made him a creature out of your deepest bad dreams. The new Kong, whatever else he may be, isn’t a monster. He’s a really really big silverback gorilla. So the masterful CGI both elevates him and diminishes him.
The big plot hole. Three hours long. Over seventy years to come up with an explanation. And STILL they take a big sidestep around how the hëll they managed to get Kong TO New York. How did they lift him? How’d they get him to the boat? How’d they restrain him ON the boat? How’d they manage to navigate past the treacherous rocks and shoals? How’d they manage to keep him unconscious for the entire trip? Chloroform? The WHOLE TIME? What did they feed him? Any of that answered? Nope. Denham shouts, “Kong, the eighth wonder of the world!” and boom, we’re in New York.
The end. He falls off the Empire State Building and dies. How depressing is THAT? That’s the most depressing ending since that movie where the boat sinks. They should have fixed that part.
PAD
• 
So when should I take a bathroom break so I don’t miss anything important in a 3 hour movie?
And as long as I am on the subject, imagine cleaning up after Kong on the boat trip to NY! Where’s Hercules when you need to muck out the stable?
You forgot the big continuity flub: the Kong show starts at 8 PM on Broadway. Kong gets loose towards the end of it. He makes it to Herald Square and the Empire State Building and climbs it– and suddenly, the sun rises? No chance in hëll.
I waited for years for the next inevitable remake of Kong, and I walked out kinda teary eyed, but happy. I thought it was great, the movie had alot more heart than I was exspecting, the only thing I really didn’t like was the subplot with Jimmy and Mr. Hayes. It was Pointless, and time could’ve been spent on other plot points. But everything else I loved. As far as the “no frost breath” POV, the fact that Skull island is teeming with airborne incect’s kinda equeled that out for me. And that kong was all matted, scarred, bloody, and I loved the facial animation, especially the eyes.
I urge everyone to check it out, it’s the best movie I seen all year.
Didn’t the 1976 movie cover how they transported him? I seem to remember that being part of the plot, but I haven’t seen it since it was on tv in the 80’s and I was still prepubescent.
Yeah, the 1976 movie (Pah! Feh! May its name be blotted out!) showed Kong in the cargo hold of the ship, though they never said how he got in there.
I recall hearing that one of the ideas they had for a sequel to the original movie was to have an adventure that would take place in that missing middle: Kong is strapped to a raft and escapes on the way back to new York and they have to recapture him. The obvious problems in that idea probably kept it from ever becoming more than Willis O’Brien Unfinished Project #437.
I wonder if anyone will try to do CGI in a way that imitates Stop Motion’s limitations? MARS ATTACKS sort of tried and I thought the martians looked great.
My wife and I are still undecided about going to see King Kong.
We love Peter Jackson’s works, but King Kong itself does not really interest us at all. And with the costs these days of going to see a movie in a theatre, this may be one where we wait for the DVD.
Haven’t seen it yet, but plan to this weekend. I’ve seen the 1933 classic version probably 25 times or so, but I’ve only completely watched the 1976 travesty once (which was more than enough, in my opinion).
I have my fingers crossed for this one. Jackson’s heart seems to be in the right place, and the clips I’ve seen thus far have been stunning. Here’s hopin’!
The end. He falls off the Empire State Building and dies. How depressing is THAT?
What? He dies?
I am serious! I have never seen any King Kong movie. So when my wife told me last week that Kong dies, I just looked at her and said, “You’re joking.” My next thought was, well, this one will be different.
So thanks for dashing my hopes to the ground.
(I was trying to avoid too many spoilers by just reading your underlined points. My system didn’t work.)
On a side note, I can vividly remember being in a comic book shop and seeing a cover of a magazine that talked about Tasha Yar in the first season of Next Generation. I scanned the article briefly and thought it said she lived. So when I was watching the episode, I sat through the whole thing thinking she would live. I was shocked when they actually killed her off.
So I will just hope I misread your note and live in denial until I see the movie.
Iowa Jim
One of the few criticisms that I’ve seen reveiwers make, and Nivek, repeats it, is that too much time is spent on Jimmy and Mr. Hayes. Most emphatically, it is not pointless. Jimmy and Mr. Hayes are justaposed against Denham and Preston. “It’s in the subtext.”
Aw, c’mon, PAD… Sure the ending’s depressing, but that’s the point. I think it would have been wrong to mess with the original ending.
I, too, wondered how Kong was transported back to New York. Also, as another poster noted, I noticed how quickly morning arrived in New York the night that Kong went on a rampage.
Overall, a good flick. I hate heights, and the fx on the Empire State Building scenes were so good, I was starting to feel uneasy. 😉
Matt Hawes
COMICS UNLIMITED
654-B E. Diamond Ave.
Evansville, IN. 47711
http://www.comicsunlimited.biz
C’mon, Peter! How did they get Kong to New York? They had some engineers from Halliburton on their ship (they’re everywhere, right?)
Actually, the 1976 version showed Kong sulking in the hold of a giant oil tanker, and some large ships like that have cargo cranes. Also, as I recall, didn’t the “Mad” parody show Kong tied to a big log raft?
Yes, I likewise noticed the time crunch. But my attitude is that I was perfectly willing to allow for compression of time. We don’t know how long Kong was raging around New York for sure. We don’t know how long he was actually spending quiet time with Ann (certainly long enough that an army unit was able to be mobilized, which must have taken some time). Hëll, we don’t know for sure how long it took him to climb the ESB. In something like this, you just have to acknowledge the notion that the filmmaker obviously isn’t going to show you every minute of the time.
For that matter, why assume showtime started at 8 PM? They cut away to the playwright watching his play being performed, and it looked like it was a good ways into the show. So if THAT started at 8 PM, then by definition the Kong presentation must have begun significantly later than that.
PAD
[B]The end. He falls off the Empire State Building and dies. How depressing is THAT?
What? He dies?
I am serious! I have never seen any King Kong movie. So when my wife told me last week that Kong dies, I just looked at her and said, “You’re joking.” My next thought was, well, this one will be different.[/B]
My wife has also never seen any version of Konk, nor does she know the story. I’ve told her to avoid any reviews, and to even turn off the TV or radio if people start talking about it. Part of me wants to warn her, because were it me, I’d want to be prepared. But I’m the big softie of our relationship, so where I’d probably break down into sobs if this were the first time I saw the story, she’ll probably just say afterwords “it was sad how they killed him.”
Assuming we are either brave enough to try and see a 3 hour movie with a 2 month old, or even more brave and ask a friend to watch him for us.
[/B]The end. He falls off the Empire State Building and dies. How depressing is THAT?
What? He dies?
I am serious! I have never seen any King Kong movie. So when my wife told me last week that Kong dies, I just looked at her and said, “You’re joking.” My next thought was, well, this one will be different.[/B]
Get out!! The way I heard it was the he disappears from view and lives out a quiet life of anonymity in SoHo.
Fred
Really? I heard that Jackson simply ripped off the ending to the far superior King Kong Lives.
Welll, technically speaking….
************spoiler**************
Kong dies on top of the Empire State Building [i]then[/i] falls. It’s a subtle difference , but an important one as he dies in the arms (so to speak) of Ann. A very nice touch I thought.
The three hour length didn’t bother me at all (though I could have done with a little less of Mister Hays and Jimmie they didn’t add a whole lot to the plot), and can’t wait to see it again. Love the fact that Denham is practically the villain of this version, and when he gives the last line of the film, “It twas beauty that killed the beast,” I wanted his assistant to appear behind him, spin him around, and deck him.
My biggest problem was with the special effects of the dinosaurs (especially during the stampede) they just didn’t seem to be inhabiting the same space as the actors, and the rendering of the CGI wasn’t even up to snuff when compared to the first Jurasic Park. Now Kong himself is so beautiful rendered and animated that I hve to think they just didn’t have the time to give all the creatures of Skull Island the same loving care they gave Kong.
As to how they got Kong onto the Venture…well in the wonderfully bad Toho film King Kong vs. Godzilla, a raft was used after they got Kong drunk, and later he was moved around with giant balloons.
Mike wrote: “As to how they got Kong onto the Venture…well in the wonderfully bad Toho film King Kong vs. Godzilla, a raft was used after they got Kong drunk, and later he was moved around with giant balloons.”
Oh, yeah! I remember that film — the balloons were a scream!
I just got “King Kong vs. Godzilla” and “King Kong Escapes” (where Kong fights a mecha-Kong) on DVD. Yay!
I’ve had the Japanese versions on DVD since the Summer, but I’m glad that I have both versions on DVD finally.
Silly movies? You bet, and that’s part of why I luv ’em!
Matt Hawes
COMICS UNLIMITED
654-B E. Diamond Ave.
Evansville, IN. 47711
http://www.comicsunlimited.biz
Someone has pointed out the really big plot hole in all versions of Kong.
OK, you’ve made it to Skull Island where you discover lots of interesting stuff. So, big monkey or freakin’ dinosaurs living in the present day, which do you think is going to be bigger box office in NYC or the more significant find?
Of course, this could just be set up for the sequel of “Mr. Spielberg Goes To Jurrasic Park, er, Skull Island”. 🙂
Tom, not all versions of “King Kong” have had the dinosaurs. The 1976 version had a giant snake, but other than that critter, and Kong, there wasn’t any giant creatures to be seen.
Matt Hawes
COMICS UNLIMITED
654-B E. Diamond Ave.
Evansville, IN. 47711
http://www.comicsunlimited.biz
“Get out!! The way I heard it was the he disappears from view and lives out a quiet life of anonymity in SoHo.”
On his salary? Have you SEEN real estate prices in SoHo? Now THAT’S unrealistic.
“Get out!! The way I heard it was the he disappears from view and lives out a quiet life of anonymity in SoHo.”
On his salary? Have you SEEN real estate prices in SoHo? Now THAT’S unrealistic.
Of course he can bed down in Soho. Where do you think a fifty foot gorilla sleeps?
Peter, I just assumed the ice skating sequence was a dream sequence. It plays a lot better that way.
For Craig and his wife, debating whether to wait for the DVD… Kong’s got several scenes that really should be seen on the big screen, even when the ape *isn’t* in it – example being the rocky arrival at Skull Island, and a shining view of New York’s theater district on opening night. Another scene, taking place in a east side theater, would also lose something on the TV.
I missed the ice skating scene (drat!) stepping out (yes, by all means plan bathroom breaks ahead of time and don’t get the giant slurpee), but happily also missed the biggest grossout scene with carnivorous worms. Bet that one loses something on the small screen, too.
You got it, Glenn. SoHo’s got those high ceiling studio apartments, just perfect for giant primate on the run.
Just came from watching it. Great movie–I agree, 3 hours and I didn’t even look at my watch.
I definitely like that this Ann interacts with Kong rather than–AHHHHH! faint!
As far as too much special effects–there was only one scene I could have done without. It added nothing and it was almost beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. The Bugs. They are being swarmed by ever increasing size bugs and anyone survived that? Machine guns to save the day? As incredible as surviving the stampede was, that was over the top. And it really didn’t add anything to the story.
Still haven’t seen it yet but I know what Kip is talking about from seeing clips and previews. The original Spider Pit sequence was removed because it was considered too horrific. There were not thousands of insects, just a giant spider, a crab-like creature, a few worm monsters…they later showed up in Willis O’Brien’s THE BLACK SCORPION.
Sometimes, less is more. A few giant insects devouring men at the bottom of a pit is a lot scarier than thousands of CGI bugs swarming. It’s like the reason why ALIEN is a horror movie and ALIENS is an action/adventure.
What has totally sold me on KONG (And I would go to see it even if it had the worst reviews in history. I went to see A*P*E in 3-D. Anyone else every seen that piece of crap? If so, you are my brother, for he any man that wastes his time with films so vile shall be my brother.
I just wonder if, in this version, Kong is revived by lightning as he was in KING KONG VS GODZILLA. This is based on the little known biological fact that gorillas are able to absorb electricity and make it shoot out of their fingers.
Seriously, Iowa Jim and others who say that they really were unaware of Kong’s fate make me realize just how increasingly obscure our supposed cultural icons are becoming. I not only have to tell kids that George Washington did NOT cut down the cherry tree, I first have to explain what the whole cherry tree story was about. half the jokes in a Bugs Bunny cartoon and 7/8 of anything in a Marx Bros movie must fly over the heads of the average teen.
I guess one good thing about remakes is that they will keep alive some of the icons that might otherwise die with us old fogies.
Adrian Brody as The Shadow or…Sherlock Holmes…we can only hope.
With regard to movies and plotholes …
Can anyone tell me how, if Charles Foster Kane dies alone, anyone knows what his last words were?
Even when movies AREN’T classics, I tend to go easy on them for plotholes like these–after all, I’m there to be entertained.
(And hëll; I’ve seen the entire comedy oevre of Nico Mastorakis, for cryin’ out loud! “The power to ignore gaping plotholes is strong in this one …”)
the only thing I really didn’t like was the subplot with Jimmy and Mr. Hayes
Am I the only person who liked that relationship? I felt it added depth to both characters, and as the other person said, was a great counterpoint to Denham and his sidekick’s relationship.
As for the dino charge and bug attack, they were new loops on this rollercoaster, while it might not have needed them, I highly enjoyed them and do not regret seeing them.
Kong made $9,755,745 on Wednesday. The $9.7mil opening is only #21 all-time. This has to be a disapointment for those involved with the movie. Some of them were quoted as saying how it would rival Revenge of the Sith for best opening day ever(Sith raked in over $50M).
Quick edit: Kong’s $9.7M is 21st all-time for a Wednesday opening. It doesn’t even come close to an all-time best opening record.
I have nothing against this movie and I’ll be going to it the weekend. I just find it interesting that after so much hype, and so many good reviews, that it did poorly opening night.
You forgot the big continuity flub: the Kong show starts at 8 PM on Broadway. Kong gets loose towards the end of it. He makes it to Herald Square and the Empire State Building and climbs it– and suddenly, the sun rises? No chance in hëll.
Nothing to explain – he just got stuck in crosstown traffic, that’s all…
(Although I have to say, watching three T-Rexs all fighting over who gets to eat Ann Darrow is like watching three sumo wrestlers slugging it out over a single Ruffles. You appreciate their artistry and enthusiasm, but my God, that’s a lot of work for one little chippy).
What makes you think they wouldn’t have eaten Kong?
Nothing to explain – he just got stuck in crosstown traffic, that’s all…
More likely he stopped to get a slice of New York pizza, the world’s finest. Others may claim that title but they are as the buzzing of tiny gnats compared to the glory that is New York Pizza.
One thing I don’t get–people keep saying that Kong is 25 feet tall. This is so much poppycock; as the song says:
“King Kong
You know the name of
King Kong
You know the fame of
King Kong
Ten times as big as a man!”
Although I suppose they could have been talking about a very short man…
Does kong bounce off the empire state building, like he does in the original? heh
How can you go through life and NOT KNOW how King Kong dies? Its been parodied a million times.
I can kind of see why the opening did poorly. I mean, if someone doesnt know how Kong dies, theres got to be 70 people who vaguely recall what a king kong is (by people, I mean people under 32)
>> Posted by sneezythesquid at December 16, 2005 02:37 AM
the only thing I really didn’t like was the subplot with Jimmy and Mr. Hayes
Am I the only person who liked that relationship? I felt it added depth to both characters, and as the other person said, was a great counterpoint to Denham and his sidekick’s relationship.
Nope, I liked it too. Nice touch.
>>Posted by David at December 16, 2005 07:43 AM
How can you go through life and NOT KNOW how King Kong dies? Its been parodied a million times.
I wondered about that too, but then again, if you don’t know what the subject of the parady, you might not realize it. Then as you watch the movie, suddenly all those paradies click.
“How’d they manage to keep him unconscious for the entire trip? Chloroform? The WHOLE TIME?”
Some laboratory must’ve made a huge profit in chloroform sales that year. But who was prescient enough to anticipate purchasing the amounts necessary for the trip? Maybe a crew member took too much of a liking to Ann Darrow? (Sick, I know. But it had to be said…no, it didn’t, but I said it anyway. So there. Nyah!)
How did they lift him? How’d they get him to the boat? How’d they restrain him ON the boat? How’d they manage to navigate past the treacherous rocks and shoals? How’d they manage to keep him unconscious for the entire trip? Chloroform? The WHOLE TIME? What did they feed him?
…
Can anyone tell me how, if Charles Foster Kane dies alone, anyone knows what his last words were?
…and how come Rick couldn’t get on the dámņ airplane at the end of Casablanca? All the Natzis were dead!
…and, if C3P0 didn’t know who Leia was, why did he earlier say There’ll be no escape for the Princess this time.?
…if the whole world is just a computer simulation, and they can grab any weapon or piece of equipment ever imagined, why didn’t Neo just put on a suit of Iron Man armour when facing Agents?
…shouldn’t Spidey shrivel up as he is web-slinging across Manhattan, if all that webbing is really coming outta him?
…movies suck. I’m gonna go read a book 🙂
You hit everything on the head Peter. Everything about this film that I felt, you said. Also don’t forget the plot hole about Denham having a warrant for his arrest when he leaves and then he comes back and it’s as if nothing happened, plus I don’t think he showed Kong to anyone until the big reveal at the show. So what happened? I didn’t think about Adrien Brody as the Shadow until you said it. I still like Alec Baldwin as the Shadow, but that just makes sense.
Sounds great. I can’t wait to see this movie. I’m looking forward to this more than I did Peter Jackson’s other notable work: the Lord of the Rings. Though a fantasy fan, I often get more of a kick out of dinosaurs, giant apes and stuff like that than elves, dwarves and hand-wringing hobbits. No offense to any big LotR fans.
I’m glad to hear they added more to the Darrow/Kong relationship. Previously, it had been very one-sided. It was something of a trend in monster movies of the time. People also talk about Creature from the Black Lagoon as a sort of Beauty and the Beast love story, but in that movie the “beauty” didn’t really do anything but scream and faint when she saw the Gill Man. It wasn’t until Revenge of the Creature that the girl started to show a tiny bit of empathy for the poor, scaly sap (geez, I am such a monster movie geek).
(geez, I am such a monster movie geek).
You say that as though there is some conceivable way that this could be a bad thing…
There haven’t been too many movies with he reverse: the monster seeking a man. Even the She Creature didn’t do that. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Species are the two that come to mind as the exceptions
…movies suck. I’m gonna go read a book 🙂
But sometimes with books, you hit the same problem.
F’rinstance, in Heinlein’s last few novels, he introduced a device capable of accessing six to the sixth to the sixth alternate universes. It was learned that if any given fictional universe has enough fans who wish intently that it were real, this generates the “fictons” that cause the universe to exist somewhere among the fifteen billion possibilities the device can access.
So, in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, when Task Adam Selene went to šhìŧ (when the other time-travel groups attacked), why didn’t the Council of Ouroborous put together a rescue team consisting of, say, Superman, Green Lantern, Wolverine, and Phoenix?
Of course, the one moment in movie history that still grates on me, and probably always will, is the ending of Star Wars: A New Hope, when Skywalker and Solo get their medals. Chewbacca was copilot on the Millenium Falcon for that mission – why didn’t he get a medal too? For that matter, the last time the movie was re-edited, Lucas managed to change things around so much that Greedo shot first (blasphemy!) – why couldn’t he have CGI’d in a medal around Chewbacca’s neck?? It’s anti-Wookie discrimination, I tells ya…
Ðámņ, Just read that John Spencer died. http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=22043
He was a fine actor, the only real reason I would ever occasionaly watch WEST WING. Sad.
“There haven’t been too many movies with he reverse: the monster seeking a man. Even the She Creature didn’t do that. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Species are the two that come to mind as the exceptions.”
I haven’t seen those. I guess I’m just a moderate monster movie geek (maybe I should call it MMMG for short).
Anyway, I’ve gotta ask. Did the men in those two movies scream and faint when they were encountered by the monsters too?
the guy in 50 Foot Woman screamed like a 5 foot woman. The guys in Species did too but that’s to be expected when you are beingtorn apart by an alien xenomorph.
“I have nothing against this movie and I’ll be going to it the weekend. I just find it interesting that after so much hype, and so many good reviews, that it did poorly opening night.”
It may just be how busy people are getting ready for Christmas this holiday season. Most the guys I work with seemed to think that it opens this weekend rather then knowing that it opened two days ago. Most of them aren’t the rabid geek that I am and don’t check the net as often as I do when they’re not running their tails off shopping and pulling overtime to cover the shopping.
It also has to fight the DVD factor. I’ve seen and own both of the other Kongs (plus VS Godzilla & Escapes) and have been torn on seeing it now or waiting for the DVD. This is a remake of a film that most my age group (35 YOA) and above saw in theaters and over and over again on cable. My home system isn’t mega $$$$ or as good as many of my friends but it’s still pretty good for action flicks and the like. Lots of guys I know are of the same mind. I’m going for the theater but I think most the people I know are going to wait.
Monday’s totals will tell the tale. I hope Kong (and Jackson) pull off a huge weekend so that Jackson can write his own ticket on the next few films he makes but I’m afraid that this film was a major risk (with an insane budget) and it may bite him in the rear.
Here’s to hoping I’m wrong in that fear.
If you WANT to see it, I dont understand the hesitation. How much reinforcement do you need to hear? I had at least 5 people tell me tonight their waiting till X-mas weekend to see it. I’ve seen it twice now, both times the theatre was at least 4/5ths full for weekday matinee (Wed. and Friday) showings. I dont get why people are waiting and hesitating.
Yes, the movie is KNOWN DOWNER. At least I thought it was, what kinda oddball didn’t see Kong 33 in the past 70 years? I grew up in the NY tri-state area, Kong was shown every Thanksgiving on channel 9 (Along with Son of Kong and King Kong vs. Godzilla). I just dont know how you could have never seen it or heard about the movie! Even Kong 76!!! that was 30 years ago!
“Big black and bad stereotyping
By Kwame McKenzie
Most black men I know will think twice about going to see King Kong. First because of the story, second because of Peter Jackson’s other recent blockbuster movies.
The story feeds into all the colonial hysteria about black hyper-sexuality. This imagery has a long history and is difficult to shift.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-1922429,00.html
Kwame,
“Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” – attributed to Sigmund Freud but true author is unknown.
That “Kong represents black men” thing has always been the biggest load of crap I ever heard, and I’ve heard it for years.
Anf if you actually seen PJ’s King Kong, you would realise this comparison is REALLY not there in any context. If anything, Kong is just a lonely, mean ol’ bášŧárd.