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| Reviewed by: Chris Burton 29 Jan 2009 King Kong
| |  As we saw in all the pre-release coverage of this film, King Kong is the movie that made Peter Jackson want to become a filmmaker. He made a Super 8 short version of the film as a young man, and it was always his dream to make a huge budget remake of the picture. All he had to do was churn out hundreds of millions of dollars in profit to the movie studios with his Lord of the Rings pictures, then he would have carte blanche. It's a shame that for all the hype, overall King Kong is a disappointment.
That's not to say its not an enjoyable film. It is. It just tends to drag over its three hour and ten minute duration. Considering the fact that the original spans a mere 90 minutes, Mr. Jackson took quite a risk in doubling its length. But like I said, he got carte blanche and just over 200 million to play around with, so why not?
Mr. Jackson seemed to like his Lord of the Rings trilogy strategy so much, that King Kong is basically three films rolled into one, each spanning about an hour. The first chapter is the buildup to the island. It involves Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), a struggling young actress trying to make ends meet during the great depression, and Carl Denham (Jack Black), a movie producer desperate to make a great film. There is also Adrien Brody as playwright and screenwriter Jack Driscoll. They all end up on a boat together sailing toward a mysterious island, partly because Denham is on the run from the studio execs.
The second portion of the film involves the island itself. Skull Island is shrouded in fog, and inhabited by native peoples who have gone undiscovered for thousands of years. On this island exists a great beast, not quite man and not quite animal, but basically just a gigantic gorilla. A huge wall has been built around the exterior of the island to protect its inhabitants from Kong, among others (including a whole slew of dinosaurs). Events transpire, and innocent Ms. Darrow is kidnapped by Kong, leaving Driscoll to rescue her. After about fifteen fights with dinosaurs, Darrow and Kong begin to form a bond, and the only thing that's noticeably lacking in this film is a love scene between the two.
So, then Denham has King Kong kidnapped, with a master plan to bring him back to New York and put him on display, thereby making millions. Darrow can't believe the heartless way that Kong is being treated, and we as viewers are merely anxious for him to climb up the damn Empire State Building. So, I really don't need to go into the rest of the plot. If you don't know what happens next, I suggest you rent the original.
This Blu-ray, like the HD-DVD, is a mind blower. King Kong was truly supposed to be the reference disk for this format, and it definitely does not disappoint. It is presented in 2.40:1 widescreen and encoded at 1080p. It simply can't be beat. Colors are so incredible during each portion of the movie. During the early scenes, New York City 1933 reflects a bit of a sepia tone, reminding us of the time period. Its all bold and beautiful. Reds are strong, greens are absolutely outstanding, and black detail (especially on the beast itself) are incredible. There is a considerable amount of cgi in this movie, yet there is no noise evident on the effects. There is zero film grain and there are zero imperfections. Visually, this disc is a masterwork.
Even though Kong doesn't feature a Dolby TrueHD track, the one we're given absolutely rocks the house. Its Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround and its fantastic. Every single scene is absolutely enveloping. If you want an example of the way a high definition disc is supposed to sound, this one should definitely be in your collection. The stampeding dinosaurs sound absolutely out of this world. Every action sequence is a mind blower. And every line of dialogue is crisp and clear, and the music sound outstanding. Its great. |
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Copyright (c) 2007 Rock Star Media Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
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