King Kong

I finally got around to seeing King Kong, since the DVD came out this week. It was okay. I’d been warned that it was slow-moving, but the backstory stuff before we see Kong didn’t really drag that badly.

I found the “island savages” stuff distasteful, but expected. I was also disappointed in the fact that all three versions of the movie shed no light on how a human civilization could exist on an island with dinosaurs and at least one huge carnivorous ape. How did those people get there? How did they survive long enough to build a wall massive enough to keep out those big creatures? Why do they offer useless human sacrifices to Kong? And how old is Kong anyway? No answers are given.

Kong looked okay, but his face could’ve been more expressive. He had an elderly face, which was an interesting choice. That should’ve made him endearing, but he was mostly alien and unfathomable. His “love interest,” Ann, managed not to come off as shallow, yet no real reason was given for her to go out of her way to save Kong when he went on his rampage. The director failed to establish a real bond between the two.

Despite the shortcomings, I liked the look of the movie. I liked the Depression-era New York. I also was surprised that Jack Black was good in his role. I usually can’t stand him.