KING KONG Reactions

[mkaroly]

Kong 76 is a flawed film in many ways, but not IMO because of Jessica Lange. I think her performance holds up very well given the kind of character she was being asked to play (plus she looks so great in the native costume). I think of all the Kong 76 leads, Bridges was ultimately the weakest link.

I need to see Kong 05 later this week. I'm not surprised the hype isn't being met overall because IMO no one can make this story run three hours effectively on the big screen

It's a tough call Eric, I'll be interested in your take. Michael loved the movie, I was disappointed with it for a number of reasons I listed in my review -- though there's no question it was made with its heart in the right place. I suppose if you can overlook enough of the problems and have a direct attachment to the material you will find it fully satisfying in spite of its excessive length.

That's a good point Andy, and exactly what happened in my case. The strength of the Ann-Kong characters really made me forget all the big and small flaws in the film. I can completely overlook the flaws just because I feel the heart of the story is so strong. I don't always do that, but in this case I did....and so life continues and I'm walking towards MUNICH and MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA now.....

[AndyDursin]

I understand totally where you're coming from Michael.

Though I usually gloss over most "viewer reaction" stories, this ran in USA Today Monday and I thought gave a pretty good analysis of where most viewers are at with this picture. Exhausted is a word I used for my review.

Some fans exhausted by manic 'Kong'

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAYMon Dec 19, 7:55 AM ET

With a three-hour running time and lavish special effects, King Kong left some moviegoers satisfied - if worn out.

"Seeing it once was enough," says David Fone, 52, of San Diego. "I'm glad I saw it, but it's such an exhausting film, with so many quick cuts, explosive noise and huge monsters flying in and out of scenes that I got my fill."

Fone says he enjoyed Kong, "although at times I thought (director) Peter Jackson fell too much in love with special effects. Was he incorporating all these CGI monsters because they were central to the story, or just because he could, to push the 'wow' factor?"

The movie earned an audience grade of A-, according to the polling firm CinemaScore. Distributor Universal Pictures says that about 53% of the audience was male, and 55% was 25 and older.

Moviegoers said they were impressed with the action, effects and star Naomi Watts. But the movie's length may be a drawback to repeat viewings.

"If it was a bit shorter, I would be tempted to see it again," says Paul Wesselmann, 38, of Madison, Wis. "But three hours is a serious commitment to a second viewing. Of course, I did see Titanic eight times in the movie theater."

Jessica Barr, 33, of St. Louis says she went to Kong at the insistence of her boyfriend but was won over by the film's heart.

"I didn't like Lord of the Rings," Barr says of Jackson's previous three films. "But I thought this movie had a lot more emotion than those. It wasn't all action. I don't care if it was about a big monkey. I loved the love story."

[romanD]

finally saw it. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by its first half up until Kong appears. After that the movie went downhill... the endless FX-mayhem got tedious pretty quickly. I hated the design of all the creatures besides Kong.
All the action scenes Ive seen before and I have to say, that PJ is no Spielberg in terms of directing Dinosaurs, heck, even JP3 had better actionscenes. And a giant monster chasing a cab through the streets of NYC is something Ive seen before, too... and am afraid Ive seen it better, too!
The ending on the Empire State wasn't very involving, either. I mean, you know how it will end, not much tension there... and that the damsel puts herself into distress by climbing up the stairs was obviously there just that a little excitement comes up... didn't work for me.

The quiet passages of the score were pretty, but the rest of the score was very generic and way too much. A better spotting would have helped a lot.

Overall I wasn't bored, but still the movie was way too long and in the end not necessary. It didn't bring anything new to it, the FX were ok, but not outstanding, the action generic and nothing we havent seen before...

well... im just disappointed...

[AndyDursin]

Another thing that irked me: someone who raved about the movie mentioned how the dinosaurs "blew away" the dinos of JURASSIC PARK. Well, JP might have been made in 1993, but the design and execution of the T-rex and Brontosauruses in that movie are still hands down more captivating to me than Jackson's KONG monsters.

[mkaroly]

Another thing that irked me: someone who raved about the movie mentioned how the dinosaurs "blew away" the dinos of JURASSIC PARK. Well, JP might have been made in 1993, but the design and execution of the T-rex and Brontosauruses in that movie are still hands down more captivating to me than Jackson's KONG monsters.

I agree with you Andy- Spielberg did an outstanding job that still holds up today.

[Eric Paddon]

I just got back from seeing both Narnia and Kong in the same afternoon and this line sums up my sentiments perfectly about the latter:

"the endless FX-mayhem got tedious pretty quickly."

Exactly! On and on and on with seemingly no rhyme or reason but for the FX people to gloat "Hey, look at what we can do now!" This is precisely why I don't respect modern filmmaking and it's small wonder that today was the first day in 15 months I actually saw any movie in the theater. All I saw was Jurassic Park, and even God forbid, the 98 Godzilla being aped (pardon the pun) in these interminable sequences.

And storywise, I found it a muddled mess, needlessly complicated in certain spots, like for instance, the fact that Denham is searching for the island, but NOT for Kong, which no one has ever heard of. Bad move having the crewman tell the story of the survivor from Skull Island picked up by the Norwegian bark to Denham. Denham I felt was poorly written and portrayed overall. He was more dislikable ultimately than Charles Grodin's Wilson in 76, so why do we get him still alive at film's end to utter the line about Beauty killed the beat that given all that's gone on before rings false?

I wasn't too impressed with Naomi Watts either. It seems like that instead of the more overt romance of 76 we were getting a Kong-Ann that was more buddy-type bonding, and that's a kind of theme more appropriate to Mighty Joe Young than a more sweeping tale like Kong. Nor was I impressed with Kong's slouchy look either, which again made him seem more like an oversized Joe Young. The upright Kong of the previous two films was a more impressive design IMO, and this was one case where they shouldn't have been trying to mimic accurate gorilla movements.

Didn't care for the changes to Skull Island in terms of no beach, and also these zombie like natives were not a welcome change either.

Anyone catch the in-joke about Denham asking if an actress named "Fay" is available, and his assistant says "She's doing a picture for RKO," and he then says in disgust, "Cooper."? There was also one steal from the 76 Kong at the end of the film, believe it or not, in the shot of two photographers on top of Kong's body in the street and the soldiers pushing them away. The staging was identical to a similar shot of two photographers getting pushed off Kong's body by NY policemen in the 76 finale.

I had to see this, but never again theatrically. It won't do record business ultimately because this is the kind of movie that requires an "I survived" t-shirt.

[Michael Ryan]

Hello All,

I just saw KING KONG last night and I have to agree with a lot of what has been said here. I don't mind long films, but KONG was at least an hour TOO LONG. I felt almost nothing for any of the characters, except for Kong. Sorry, Jack Black was a big mistake. Every time I saw him on screen it brought flashbacks of SCHOOL OF ROCK (which my kids have watched about 92 times).

Mike

[Eric W.]

The score isn't half bad, really, considering that JNH had little time do whip it up together.

It's not earth shattering, but it's fairly solid, overall. You could do a lot worse.

[AndyDursin]

I think the length has really been the #1 complaint -- but it's far from the only problem.

I agree with Eric and Mike: as I wrote in my review, the Jack Black character was all wrong. Why does he get to speak the last line when it's HE who killed the beast?? I agree Eric, you make a great point: he should have been killed off by Kong, at least allow the ape the opportunity to get some measure of "Revenge" or payback for the wrongs that have occurred (like Grodin suffered in the '76 film).

The portrayal of Kong -- I agree there too. Mighty Joe Young was a more "likeable" character and the relationship between Ann and Kong was never portrayed in this manner in previous versions...

I've re-listened to JNH's score. Saying it's not bad is hardly a compliment. It's really NOT bad, but on the other hand, it sums up everything that's wrong with film music today: there aren't enough themes to go around, nothing to take away from it at all. It's serviceable. One expects more from a score like this.

At any rate, NARNIA has pulled away from it, and Kong will have to take a backseat (to the surprise of most) as the #2 film of the Christmas season.
I find their new advertising campaign, with the stoic narrator quoting all the great reviews it received (still can't fathom most of them), somewhat amusing...especially when he says "it made me feel like a kid again" in the most monotone voice-over possible

It's going to be profitable with international revenues, but it definitely -- no doubt -- did not become one of the all-time blockbusters they were hyping and, naturally, hoping for. Cutting the movie would have helped, but there were other issues Jackson needed to address before filming.

[AndyDursin]

Eric: I also can't believe you sat through ANOTHER movie after KONG. That movie is not the kind I'd ever pair a double-feature together with...I'd seen enough that day after watching it.

Just imagine having a migraine AND the screen being somewhat out of focus -- like what happened to me when I saw it....made it even more excruiating and endless!

[Eric Paddon]

I actually saw Narnia first, which I think was the smart thing to do.

When I saw the previous FX scenes going on forever and ever, I knew that a perfect time for a restroom break would be when the spider pit scene came up. I knew that was going to go on forever too so it was the optimum time to step out!

[AndyDursin]

I actually saw Narnia first, which I think was the smart thing to do.

When I saw the previous FX scenes going on forever and ever, I knew that a perfect time for a restroom break would be when the spider pit scene came up. I knew that was going to go on forever too so it was the optimum time to step out!

LOL, smart move indeed....actually I stepped out a few times to attempt to get someone to fix the focus, but neither the usher nor the popcorn guy had any interest in making the call, lol. Next time it's the customer service desk or bust, where they simply pick up the phone and don't make a judgement call on whether they believe you or not.