King Kong

Before even seeing this I heard a lot of criticisms. After seeing it, I had to agree that this film does lend itself a bit towards the film fanatic. Mostly because of it's length. I will say though that I think cutting the film would have taken away from some of the story. It's not like everything you saw was just fluff. I've always heard that Peter Jackson's favorite movie was King Kong and his dream was to do a remake. I wasn't ever very interested because I had seen bits and pieces of several versions on TV and was never really impressed. Then I finally saw a trailer and I immediately wanted to see this. I think Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, and Andy Serkis were cast very well for this. You might have noticed I left out one important person and that would be Jack Black. If you know me very well you'll know that I love Jack Black - not in the Neil Diamond obsession sort of way from Saving Silverman, but in a 'Jack Black rocks' sort of way. I have a lot of respect for this man and the comedy he creates that leaves me laughing night and day. This role was very similar to many of Jack's other roles. He did the eye thing, the crazy faces, the hands, the voice intonations.....the only thing I don't remember seeing were his happy feet. You know, when he does that little dance thing. I thought Jack did a great job, however, I think somebody else would have been better suited for his role. The animation was great in this movie. I mean really great. But this is Peter Jackson we're talking about. The man that pulled off the beloved Lord of the Rings. King Kong looks amazing, the T-Rexes looked sweet, and even the insects. Cause who could forget those scenes? Poor Lumpy. I also really loved the indigenous people that had on the island. They looked so amazing. Everything from their skin color, their hair, their jewelry, their movements - even the crazy ones with their eyes rolled back in their heads. You kind of get the feeling that Kong is their protector because there's a lot of crazy stuff on that island. I really enjoyed how Kong was personalized in this movie. He wasn't just a crazed ape. He had feelings, hopes and dreams. You realized he had a home and used to have a family. He was the last of his kind. A very lonely creature; living out his days. I can't say I've ever thought of a personified Kong before. I think Jackson did a good job here. I think the only other thing I would maybe point out here is the seemingly growing/shrinking size of Kong. If you take him in relation to Naomi Watts throughout the movie, sometimes she's just this tiny little thing in his hand and other times she's about the size of his whole arm. I suggested maybe he has a little Hulk-syndrome. You know, get angry and become this huge, hulking bohemoth that nobody wants to mess with. Overall I think this movie was very well made and really enjoyed watching it. If you're not into those long movies, like special editions of LOTR, then maybe you should think twice before trying to sit down and watch this all at once.