I’ve heard a fair number of complaints about the length of this movie, but honestly, that didn’t bother me. I felt it zipped along appropriately, and I like three hour movies that you can say that about. It felt like a novelty to see a film set in the thirties that wasn’t in black and white. (Probably, I’ve seen a bunch of ‘em and hadn’t noticed.)
However, I wasn’t moved. Sure, I felt for the big fella, and I thought Naomi Watts was great, but there were some story and technical distractions that made it difficult to buy the story emotionally.
- For example, why did these people go to an island teeming with dinosaurs and come back with a big monkey?
- Why does the wall that the natives have built have an ape-sized door?
- Who built the stairs up to the Kong lair?
- Where did the natives go after their one big scene?
- Why was the CGI so great on the monkey closeups, and so suboptimal on the long shots and the scenes when he’s carrying Anne?
- Why did the dinosaurs in the first Jurassic Park look more realistic than these ‘uns?
The sad fact is, we’re not at CGI verisimilitude yet when it comes to people and creatures. Oh well. Let’s check back in in two years or so. In the meantime, I think I want me a re-viewing of the the original.
