I saw Peter Jackson's King Kong last night with my wife. While I enjoyed the film very much, I could not help getting the feeling that it could have been much better. On the positive side are the excellent script & direction, superbly chosen cast down to the smallest roles, good acting great settings of the 1933 New York and great sound effects. Best of all was the overall ethos of the film; there is none of the sexual undertones in the relationship between Kong and the girl - something that marred the earlier versions. In Jackson's film, Ann Darrow is more like a pet to King Kong, who plays a more fatherly (or big-brotherly) figure to her.
But the thing that disappointed me most was the uneven editing; some scenes were too long drawn out while at other times there was too quick a 'jump' from one scene to another. For example, after all the adventure in reaching Skull Island, there should have been some footage of the crew's attempt to secure the ship and reach land - not just one runaway lifeboat. There are several such small 'jumps' on the island scenes which affected the smooth running of the story. Finally, I was very unhappy with the switch from a passed-out Kong to New York, without any shots of the ape in transit.
My other disappointment was in the rather ordinary Cinematography, given the availability of CGI special effects these days. Of course, King Kong himself was fantastic, as were the Dinosaur shots, but the Island set-up was too artificial looking. Most importantly, King Kong's initial appearance was rather tame and I wish there had been more footage of his first approach though the jungle to encounter the trapped Darrow. (For this one scene, the otherwise justifiably derided Dino de Laurentis' 1978 version did a great job.) Even the New York scenes could have been shot with more imaginative angles.
Overall though, a wonderful film.
But the thing that disappointed me most was the uneven editing; some scenes were too long drawn out while at other times there was too quick a 'jump' from one scene to another. For example, after all the adventure in reaching Skull Island, there should have been some footage of the crew's attempt to secure the ship and reach land - not just one runaway lifeboat. There are several such small 'jumps' on the island scenes which affected the smooth running of the story. Finally, I was very unhappy with the switch from a passed-out Kong to New York, without any shots of the ape in transit.
My other disappointment was in the rather ordinary Cinematography, given the availability of CGI special effects these days. Of course, King Kong himself was fantastic, as were the Dinosaur shots, but the Island set-up was too artificial looking. Most importantly, King Kong's initial appearance was rather tame and I wish there had been more footage of his first approach though the jungle to encounter the trapped Darrow. (For this one scene, the otherwise justifiably derided Dino de Laurentis' 1978 version did a great job.) Even the New York scenes could have been shot with more imaginative angles.
Overall though, a wonderful film.