Didn't find a thread on this movie (just went through half the threads and searched for Kong in my internet browser); which is surprising but anyway onto the movie:

Wow, just wow. The movie was great, the acting was great, couldn't believe that Jack Black was actually in a serious role. But it was definitely the effects that stole they show, they were extraordinary, the way that Kong moved and reacted was great. There were some funny moments, but they were outweighed by the downright cool and actually some parts were scarier than your run of your mill action / drama, and this is exemplified through the effects, and you feel like the critters are actually real.

Only dissapointment I had with the experience, was to do with the actual cinema, in that it was cramped, and that I had to end up going to one session later after finding out the 10.20 one was a babies in arms screening, although I would definitely have to say that the movie was rated lightly by the OFLC, in that there are some gruesome moments and downright scary (mentioned above) and would find it hard to believe that a kid would sit through the movie.

But definitely a great movie and I'm really starting to warm up to Peter Jackson as a director, to think that my cousin's wife used to date him (Jackson) before she met my cousin. I should have seen the movie on a Silverscreen (comfier / better) or Gold Class (even better than Silver).

Definitely reccomended.

Yeah, a rare 10/10 from me. Twas a great film.

I saw the film yesterday and was impressed, I don't think I saw the 1930's original, but I remember an 80's version that was horrible, anyway I was aware of the general story of the 30's version despite not seeing it and Jackson's version stays true to the original, only it's longer - 3 hours.

I'm not sure if the movie had to be this long, maybe it's simply Jackson's way especially after LoTR, but despite the length for what's essentially a monster movie, I didn't find any dull moments. If anything the longer length provided some justifications for the characters actions, which I wont spoil here. There is an interesting relationship between Kong and Ann (Naomi Watts), you tend to feel for Kong rather than the people he smashes in his path.

The most memorable moments are of course the action scenes, with the Kong v.s. T-Rex fight being probably the most exciting, and when Kong finally lets loose in the city it's certainly a great watch :) .

Great film that is indeed worth your time :)

8/10

I heard that the first hour was a bit of a dull affair before the action started up. However as much as I want to see it, my best friend who's coming to Perth next week saw it last weekend and my brother who I thought for sure wanted to see it, saw the latest Harry Potter movie instead *groan*

I don't want to go by myself but I might have to, and it'd have to be DURING the day! AND I'd have to ride there on my bike! Either do that or wait for it to come on DVD *sighs*

Heh, my friends went to see it and I was sick...BAH! They all thought it was good though so I might still try and see it. Apparently it hasn't had the box office earnings everyone was expecting.

Domestic: $81,935,050 49.7%
+ Overseas: $83,002,080 50.3%
= Worldwide: $164,937,130

Is this high or low?

Actually when making a film, they often produce roughly 3 hours of footage which is usually cut down, however when Jackson presented it to the Studios they said that they didn't want to remove a thing.

[m]av: A film of this calibre should gross aroun $400mil so it still has quite the way to go. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King grossed $377mil.

http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross

Ha! That's pretty much a landslide in quality there. :P

A running time of 187 minutes is going to turn alot of potential viewers off though.

Honestly I felt the same as you, but trust me it feels nothing like 3hrs. Although the beginning can drag on a little...

I didnt feel that it was that dull, it didnt take them that long to go on the ship, Kong appears about 45 minutes in, but I can see how it would be frustrating for some.

The original was better. Forget all the outdated special effects and take a look at the direction and pacing. Jackson tried hard but ultimately failed.

Lord of the Rings grossed massive box office numbers with each film coming in over three hours. If the story is compelling enough the length isn't going to affect ticket sales [m]av.

They were my thoughts posted on another forum. Now that it has been a week (almost), I actually kinda want to see it again.

I havent seen the original but I did see the 70s version, which was horrible. I do remember reading this comparison about the original's pacing with Jackson's version in a review, with it stating that if you take out the first say hour you have a great film.

Personally I felt the new version was still good despite the length, I should probably check out the original just for a fun comparison.

The 70s version was a terrible remake. But if the movie had actually been clipped during post-production by an hour, like you mentioned, it probably would have been better.

I saw this last night, and it was a pretty good picture. I tried to suspend my disbelief for 3 hours, so as to lose myself in the movie and help empathise and relate to the characters, but when a huge ape is fighting t-rex's, it's a bit hard to. Not enough time was spent on the King Kong/Anne plot, which, when Kong falls, means there isn't quite that emotional hit you'd expect. Still top movie, but the pacing was way off. People were saying the editors didn't wanna cut anything, well, I could've found a lot to cut.

2 and a half hours = classic. But in reality, that extra half hour dragged it down a notch. Plus, getting out of the cinema at 1AM isn't the most awesome thing ever.

It is a bit strange that apparantly 'nothing' was edited, if there is no deleted scenes what will we have on the DVD? :P

Saw it tonight, top stuff indeed.

CGI highlights for me was when Kong had the snow on him and shook it off(that would have taken ages to render) and when Kong was beating up the Rexs.
Freaking awesome.

Oh and one thing I was thinking through film was "Damn, I wonder how many bullets he's got in him..." :P

Jackson will probably go back into the studio and record another hour of 'padding' and call it a super deluxe uncut version.

Only after six months after the standard DVD edition has been released though. :P

Hehe, I am still waiting for the super deluxe ultimate supreme set of Lord of the Rings... might come out on Blu-Ray or HD DVD I hope... :D

Yeah, I've been holding out on buying the Extended Edition DVDs cause of HD.
It's the set you really want in your High Definition collection. :P

:lol: funny because it's true.

I must be the only one who saw this movie and went 'meh, its alright'. I don't know, maybe I'm just becoming slightly jaded with all these over the top special effect movies ... geezus I hope not.

I never saw the original, and never really 'appreciated' the king kong licence like so many other people do. I enjoyed the movie, but ultimately, I found it to be rather forgettable. The whole relationship with Kong and Naomi Watts character felt contrived, alot of the special effects were too obvious, and as much as I like Jack Black, I just can't take him seriously in a serious role.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't HATE the movie ... I just didn't think that much of it. Great popcorn flick, easily forgotten. I hate to say that too because I LOVE most of Peter Jacksons flicks ... hell, the Frighteners is one of my black horse favourite movies, and lord of the rings goes without question.

I want to see King Kong again just to make sure I wasn't in the 'wrong frame of mind' when i saw it the first time, but I'll wait until DVD.

*sits back and waits for the flaming*

I dont think there is a need for flaming, there are many that felt as you did with this movie Yug.

Man, I remember The Frighteners. That rocked.

I loved that movie.
It was soooo well done.
Peter Jackson is an amazing director. :D

I thought it was ok, the part with the trex's was amazing but weird, i mean that scene broke every rule, its like the dinosaurs didnt have any bones at some stages in the tumble and fight.