Movies

King Kong Review

I just saw the advanced screening of "King Kong" last night in Edmonton. I thought that the movie was good overall, but there are some things that could've been better.

First off, the movie is too long, and Kong doesn't show up for almost 45 minutes. Don't eat a big dinner before you head out or you'll fall asleep like my friend did. The action scenes are frenetic and also vertigo-inducing, due to Jackson's love of slo-mos and odd camera angles. The special effects range from jaw-dropping to campy cheese from a 50s B-movie. Kong looks awesome, as do the rest of the creatures on Skull Island, but some scenes of the crew running or paddling/sailing are very lame (whether this was intentional or not I'm not sure). 1930s New York also looks fantastic.

Jack Black proves once again he is one of Hollywood's worst actors. Fortunately, Naomi Watts and Adrian Brody have some chemistry and do a good job. Kyle Chandler provides some excellent comic relief as the stereotypical spoiled, pretty boy Hollywood actor. One thing that adds to the campiness of the movie is the dozens of lines lifted right out of the 1933 version. Personally, when some of these lines were spoken, I started chuckling, thinking of the Simpsons spoof -- King Homer.

The best part of the movie is when Kong is in New York. His rampage and subsequent climbing of the Chrysler Building were excellent. By the end of the movie, you are actually cheering for Kong to knock down all the biplanes that are harassing him.

My guess is that this movie will make a lot of money (if you enjoyed LOTR, you'll probably enjoy this one too), but I'd still recommend waiting a while to see this one. Either way, you will either love it or hate it.