King Kong

KING KONG (2005) - Dec. 12, 2005
This was a good movie that could have been a great one; it's three hours long and it feels it, with almost every section of the film feeling overlong to some degree. There were a lot of really good parts -- stuff that was as thrilling as anything I've seen: the dinosaur stampede, King Kong versus the T. Rexes, the bugs attacking, Kong rampaging in New York, etc. The performances were really good, particularly Kyle Chandler, who stole pretty much every scene he was in. And then there was Kong himself, certainly a high achievement in special effects, as he always looked completely convincing. He was also remarkably expressive, and it's weird to say it, but he gave an Oscar-worthy performance. I've never thought all that much of motion-capture, but if this is what it's capable of I guess it's not all bad. The depth of the emotions Kong is able to convey is certainly the absolute antithesis of the stiff, creepily zombie-like facial animation of something like the Polar Express. It's too bad, because at about an hour shorter, this could have been one of the best films of the year. ***