WETA has once again raised the bar in CGI. With the arrival of Peter Jackson's King Kong, we've come to a point where CGI can be 100% believable throughout the film. During the action-packed 3 hours you don't even stop to think "wow, that's some good CGI", but instead you recognize Kong as a personality.
I'm talking about the real star of the movie, and that should not come as a surprise. Naomi Watts is indeed an excellent Ann Darrow, Jack Black fits in Carl Denham's boots superbly, and Adrien Brody isn't half bad as Jack Driscoll. But, the star is Kong himself... and of course the man 'behind the mask', Andy Serkis. The realization of this giant gorilla is nothing short of perfect. In fact, the only CGI in the movie that's not amazing hasn't got to do with Kong.
Peter Jackson has turned this classic story into a slam-bang spectacle, with more action than many could've predicted. King Kong is also way more emotional than I personally expected. Ann Darrow's relationship with Kong is depicted in a superior way to the original movie. Despite the unbelievable stop-motion effects in the original, I always thought Kong lacked in persona. Well, that has changed. The audiences will have no trouble seeing what Kong's going through, and those eyes of his are probably the saddest sight in any movie this holiday season.
While being a loud and big popcorn-movie, King Kong succeeds in reinstating the original magic related to this tale, and is surely going to be a huge worldwide hit, that's best viewed on silver screen. I don't think many people could expect anything more from this movie than what it is : a professionally crafted, impressive piece of commercial cinema.
I'm talking about the real star of the movie, and that should not come as a surprise. Naomi Watts is indeed an excellent Ann Darrow, Jack Black fits in Carl Denham's boots superbly, and Adrien Brody isn't half bad as Jack Driscoll. But, the star is Kong himself... and of course the man 'behind the mask', Andy Serkis. The realization of this giant gorilla is nothing short of perfect. In fact, the only CGI in the movie that's not amazing hasn't got to do with Kong.
Peter Jackson has turned this classic story into a slam-bang spectacle, with more action than many could've predicted. King Kong is also way more emotional than I personally expected. Ann Darrow's relationship with Kong is depicted in a superior way to the original movie. Despite the unbelievable stop-motion effects in the original, I always thought Kong lacked in persona. Well, that has changed. The audiences will have no trouble seeing what Kong's going through, and those eyes of his are probably the saddest sight in any movie this holiday season.
While being a loud and big popcorn-movie, King Kong succeeds in reinstating the original magic related to this tale, and is surely going to be a huge worldwide hit, that's best viewed on silver screen. I don't think many people could expect anything more from this movie than what it is : a professionally crafted, impressive piece of commercial cinema.