Kong

July 5, 2010

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

September 3, 2010

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

July 12, 2010

Well, unlike many of the reviewers here, I do like the original movie. But, though I enjoyed it, it certainly had a number of flaws that kept it from being as good a movie as it could have been. This cut fixes nearly all those flaws and the final product is the best version of Kong I’ve seen other than the 1933 movie (which is a classic but also not perfect).

The pacing is much improved, more so than I would have thought possible. All the important parts of the story are still present and much padding and over-long development is gone. Very little of the material cut is missed. The only time I felt something missing was in the early restaruant scene where Denham convinces Ann Darrow to come by mentioning Driscoll is involved. Although I was impressed by the very clever use of dialogue from another scene inserted into this scene to bring Driscoll in to the discussion, since we no longer have the scenes that showed how much Darrow wanted to work with Driscoll, her reaction in the new edit seems to come from no where. I can live with it but it is a bit jarring.

I very much enjoyed how some of the scenes on the island were trimmed to just enough to carry the story (the giant bugs in the crevice and Kong and the dinos swinging and fighting in the vines). Both scenes went on much too long in the original movie, so much so that they became silly and comical instead of dramatic. This cut gives us just enough. The one scene that should have been cut still more or, even better, completely eliminated, was the dino stampede. This was simply unbelievable in the original movie and is still too long in this edit.

Though I did like the original movie, I expect that this is the version I will watch from now on. It’s not perfect, but it is damn good.

August 16, 2011

Great edit. It makes this movie watchable for me now, especially as an homage to the original. As others have mentioned, this edit really shows just how superficial and bloated the PJ version is. As much as TMBTM cut, quite frankly, even more could have been cut. I could have done without one of the search party monster scenes entirely.

One thing that would have been nice to have more of is some bonding time on Skull Island with Kong and Naomi Watts. I never fully buy into their strong connection, but as a fun eye candy movie done in the style of old Hollywood I am able to suspend my disbelief. Plus Naomi Watts helps to sell it with her graceful beauty and always amazing acting performance. Because I can only imagine what lengths I might personally go to in order to be with her and keep her safe, I can almost imagine myself as the big blundering ape. This is the level at which Kong works for me. TMBTM mostly captures this feeling. At the end with the line, “No, it was beauty killed the beast,” I am left a satisfied viewer. I turn off the TV contemplatively thinking God, ain’t that the truth.

9/10

Overview - Hard to improve on a definitive classic. Jackson’s relies on recreating deleted footage, as well as scenes excised before filming. Also, his Kong is not some mindless brute, but one gets the sense there is a soul in there. An intelligence. Unfortunately, the film is bloated by Jackson’s 3+ hour running time. The man, and his writers, seem incapable of telling a story concisely.

TMBTM cut overlong or useless scenes, tried to minimize casting fiascos, and made this more satisfying.

Video - More hits than miss. I would have liked the bug pit to play longer, except it becomes stupid, so OK. Chopping to one T-Rex is smarter. I never caught any edit miscues, and there is a nice bonus to check afterward.

Audio - Robust 2-channel. Editing was excellent. I kept listening for the Max Steiner clip but missed it.

Narrative - Flaws abide, big time, but the narrative structure holds solid. In the first act, all characters are sketchy, which is fine. Aside from Naomi Watts and the ship crew, the two male leads remain terrible. Black is miscast. He can not act outside of his limited range, and is utterly wrong in his 30s portrayal. Brody sleepwalks throughout, obviously bored, and has negative chemistry with Watts. TMBTM did great reducing their screen time.

Enjoyment - I appreciated this, I did not enjoy it. Kong is too tragic a character for me. At Skull Island, he is a swaggering ruler. In Manhattan, it’s all over for the poor bastard.

This is a terrific job, but enjoyment might depend on your capacity, or lack of, to emphasize with Kong. As with the 1933 original, I will never watch this version again. But I am glad I did.