Watching this movie is like visiting someones house that has way too much furniture and stuff. This film is sooooo overdone, with side characters getting back stories, so unecessary. Even the action scenes went on too long. The entire movie, except Naomi Watts is miscast. I like the 1976 version better than this one
share"This film is sooooo overdone"
Not really. For what it is, a mythic adventure with a three act structure, it works pretty well. I can think of other movies that are far worse offenders in terms of being overdone (cough, cough "Pirates of the Carribean 2").
"with side characters getting back stories, so unecessary."
It was serviceable. I mean, a lot of the characters in the original were killed off with barely any characterization.
"The entire movie, except Naomi Watts is miscast."
Generally speaking, the cast was fine.
Not really. For what it is, a mythic adventure with a three act structure, it works pretty well.
Generally speaking, the cast was fine.
"The pacing is uneven"
Pacing was alright.
"running time is overlong,"
Not really.
"they become a a chore to sit through after the first viewing."
In comparison to other movies where scenes would drag on for too long (the original "Ghostbusters" included), "Kong" is alright.
"Jack Black was definitely miscast."
Not really. I mean, Jack Black isn't someone that one would think of immediately for Carl Denham, but considering Denham's character in this film, the way it was written and the manner which Black brought said-character to life, he did a good job.
Pacing was alright.
Not really.
"For a simple story that's been done before, 187 minutes IS too long."
Not in terms of how you tell said-story.
"Heck, the original film was only 100 minutes. While that film may be dated on a technical level, it's still much better paced than Jackson's remake, it had the boat trip, the island, and dinosaurs, but didn't dwell on those scenes forever, it's made it's point and moved on."
Yet by the same token, everyone that had been killed by the island's inhabitants were cannon fodder. At least the Jackson remake attempts at sketching out their characters, plus it went the extra mile by including the infamous spider pit that had been dropped from the original.
Not in terms of how you tell said-story.
"Well, this story was not told in such a way to make it sustain a 3 hour + runtime. As said before, too many scenes drag and feel redundant."
Structurally it's fine - scenes being "redundant" or dragging on for too long isn't really an issue here, not in comparison to other movies such as the original "Ghostbusters" and "Pirates of the Carribean 2".
OK, clearly you aren't bothered by the issues I'm addressing, but that doesn't make my criticisms any less valid, especially as I'm not the only one to have made them. But I'm going to stop debating with you now because nearly all your responses consist only of closed-ended replies like "No it isn't", "Yes it is", "Nothing's wrong" etc. etc.. You and I are never going to see eye-to-eye here, so the debate just becomes redundant.
By the way, I don't hate this movie. The good outweighs the bad, but the flaws are still plentiful and difficult to ignore. My overall rating: 6.5/10.
"doesn't make my criticisms any less valid, especially as I'm not the only one to have made them."
Subjectivity is to be expected, and sometimes people's mileage varies, especially when it comes to running time. In "Kong's" case, I don't think those criticisms apply, not when you look at some of the worst offenders such as "Man of Steel". Plus, there was much more of a balance - none of it was monotonous in the way "MOS" was in its action. In terms of scenes being redundant, which scenes exactly?
Mainly the scenes featuring Jimmy and Hayes, I didn't feel they added much or went anywhere, and probably should've been removed from the theatrical cut.
share"Mainly the scenes featuring Jimmy and Hayes, I didn't feel they added much or went anywhere"
I think the movie did a reasonable job of portraying them as actual people as opposed to blank meat. Arguably their getting characterization helps strengthen the impact and horror of some scenes such as Hayes' death, conveying the idea that what's happening on-screen does actually affect characters. Plus, I liked the little bit with Jimmy's reading "Heart of Darkness" and seeing that mirrored in the movie itself.
The island was very primitive. There was no furniture on it
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