Comprehensive review of king kong - King Kong Reviews

Story: I was a little weary at first. Could a story about a giant gorilla let loose on NYC have an actual backstory? After watching the first 10 minutes of the movie the answer is a resounding YES. The first 45 minutes of the movie could be called by some slow and boring. I call it marvelous and essential. The tale of Ann Darrow, aspiring actress, down on her luck, who by chance of fate runs into producer Carl Denham who is making a film written by her idol, Jack Driscoll, is simply enchanting. The story only gets better as the cast and crew of the film reach their shooting location, Skull Island, home to King Kong himself. I won't say anything else, except for the fact that the story was surprisingly deep on multiple levels. Characters: I thought Jack Black gave a brilliant performance as over-aspiring, under-achieving producer Carl Denham. The role fit him perfectly given his unique sense of humor. Sure, some of his lines may have been cheesy, but they were cheesy on purpose! Adrien Brody, whom I loved in The Village, played the writer Jack Driscoll very good as well. His onscreen chemistry was subtle, but noticeable. The flirting back and forth between the lead actress Naomi Watts was perfect, and totally believable. The star of the evening was of course Andy Serkis who played two roles, both Lumpy the Cook and King Kong himself. You may recall that Andy played the physical actor Gollum in the LOTR series. I would not be surprised if Andy gets a nod as Best Supporting Actor in the coming actors. I highly expect Naomi Watts to receive a bid as Best Actress, I absolutely loved her heart-breaking performance. Special Effects: They were, in a word, top-notch. The effects were on par with Lord of the Rings, and MUCH better than the recently released Chronicles of Narnia. Which is interesting to me because Peter Jackson's WETA Digital team did did the effects for King Kong, while the Industrial Light and Magic group did the effects for Narnia. IL&M has done the effects for movies such as Star Wars: Episode III, War of the Worlds, Harry Potter 4, & The Island. WETA Digital of course has done all of the LOTR movies, as well as I, Robot. After watching both movies, the effects were really night and day, with King Kong taking the lead. I am guessing it was a time & money issue, as King Kong reportedly cost $207m to make, while Narnia only cost $180m. Costumes: King Kong was a period movie, and the costumes everyone in NYC were wearing was right on target. Both Narnia and King Kong made use of Peter Jackson's other company division called WETA Workshop. They did all the prosthetics, clothing, weapons & armor for both movies. That is why I think they each might be up for an Oscar in Best Costumes & Makeup. Overall: This is a must-see movie of the year. Peter Jackson will get nominated for Best Directed, and he just may win for the second year in a row. The mix of acting & action scenes give the movie a wonderful sense of flow. You will be on the edge of your seat the last 30 minutes of the movie, that I guarantee!