[Phil Florian]

Quote:

I thought it was funny how the longer Ann was on Skull Island hanging with KK that her hair was getting better and better looking (full of body, the length, etc).

It was all that humidity. Gives the hair a nice lift and more body. Happens to my wife all the time.


Now that we are fully out of spoiler mode, I did have one regret...that Andy Serkis' cook character never got a chance to come face to face with his Kong character. Maybe it would have been a bit too arch (and would have replaced the honest to god most gruesome death in the movie...or any in a while, actually) but still. Would have been fun.

So, has Serkis now cornered the market on awesome, dangerous and yet misunderstood monsters who die to protect their precious?

[Paul_Scott]

a few questions

does anyone consider Jack relevant to the third act?
do we need to see him? would he have been missed if he was absent?
would the film have been better served by giving his part here (Kong seeing him in the theater, chasing him etc)to Denham -which would have provided an opportunity for Kong to eventually take him out, thus giving his character a comeupance that really seemed to be needed?

when Kong died, should Ann have flung herself off the ESB too?
and i am not really being sarcastic either, as the movie clearly shows that she rejected Jack (even though they seem to have been like minded as to Denhams treatment of Kong) and the movie also makes it explicitly clear when she goes back to Kong (in NYC) that she has some kind of bond with the creature that defies a pragmatic or logical reaction and is only really relatable if you can accept it as a pure emotional motivation.

would killing herself in response to kongs death have given her character a more satisfying arc?

had these things occured would anyone who loves it now, more likely have enjoyed it less?

[Jefferson Morris]

Saw it opening night at the Uptown Theater in DC, with a disappointingly small but enthusiastic and applauding crowd. I loved it.

I thought the film worked quite well throughout its running time, but where it really took off for me emotionally was after the return to New York. I found the entire third act emotionally draining, more so than I had expected. If you're the kind of guy that can well up watching an episode of Animal Cops (guilty), then this is wrenching stuff. I almost wanted to leave the theater after the Central Park sequence, to avoid the trauma to come.

For me, the most poignant moment, however, was not Kong's inevitable fall. It was that moment when he "signs" the word "beautiful" to Ann. We get a glimpse inside a soul that not only feels emotion (which we've already seen him display by that point), but a measure of intelligence and genuine nobility. Stroke of brilliance, that.

If this film isn't a hit, then I must have lost touch with humanity once and for all. Now I only empathize with big apes, and I have PJ to blame.

--Jefferson Morris

P.S. And bless James Newton Howard for coming up with what I thought was an excellent score at the 11th hour. I've been humming parts of it for the past couple of days.

[Chuck Mayer]

She apparently rejected Jack because he never said how he felt...hence the play Jack is watching (and wrote) with that very point being stated by the actress "playing" Ann. I think it's clear they still have feelings for one another.

Denham was a bit shell-shocked, and I don't see him chasing Kong through the streets. Jack does it because Jack knows Kong is after Ann. Jack still cares for Ann and is willing to face Kong to see that she remains safe. It's a parallel to Jack staying "true" to Ann on Skull Island. SO Jack does need to chase her.

As for Ann hurling herself off...that would be a character betrayal. Ann is full of life. I think you misconstrue my opinions on Ann if you think she is a slave to her emotions. She has a deep bond with Kong, but killing herself doesn't follow that, even illogically. Let's look at a similar film: Titanic. Does Rose kill herself when she loses Jack? No. Like Ann, she has been developed as a strong, smart character. She copes. She is lucky to have Jack, because he might have an inkling of what she feels she has lost.

I guess one of the reasons I love their relationship (and I keep pounding the table on this) is that it transcends, to a great extent, what we think of in a relationship. It's wordless. Platonic. Sincere. Pure. There is no intelligent reason for Ann to go to Kong in NYC. There is nothing to be gained, except for seeing him. There is no future, no baggage, no obligation, nothing beyond her feelings. Only heartbreak and sadness. But she goes to him anyway, because she needs to. As for Kong, his motivation is completely unencumbered by logic or restraint or fear or doubt. He just wants to feel the way he did on Skull Island when she was around. Comforted, not alone. Maybe even understood. My impressions are certainly colored by how I felt watching all of those scenes, but I think I processed the information as the director presented it, coming to similar conclusions. Who knows? I have trouble imagining it through any other prism than that.

[dpippel]

When she took off the necklace, that made her different enough to cause Kong to decide not to kill her.

What about the fact that she had white skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a dress? These are all physical attributes Kong had never seen before that are MUCH more noticable than a necklace. Wouldn't those differences alone have singled her out as something extremely unusual in his eyes? I'm not buying the necklace logic.

I'm going to have to see it again, but the more I think about my first experience with King Kong the less I seem to like the film.

[Jefferson Morris]

When she takes off the necklace and sticks Kong in the finger with it, that might also have been a discriminator. She fights back.

--Jefferson Morris

[Kami]

Umm, what Chuck said.

BTW if anyone is wondering, the song featured in a lot of the Kong TV spots is "Fix You" by Coldplay. Ever since I heard it it has been bugging me because I knew I heard it before...but yeah today I finally figured it out. :p)

[Paul_Scott]

Quote:

As for Ann hurling herself off...that would be a character betrayal. Ann is full of life. I think you misconstrue my opinions on Ann if you think she is a slave to her emotions. She has a deep bond with Kong, but killing herself doesn't follow that, even illogically.

actually, Chuck, after a decent start in the NYC opening, i think Anns character sadly becomes completely illogical starting with "you don't look a thing like your picture but i know it must be you".


re-reading this earlier post of yours

Quote:

only twice did she actively go after Kong...after the V-Rex fight (which makes logical sense), and in NYC (which makes emotional sense). On Skull Island, Ann did not pursue the relationship except out of self-preservation (post-VRex).

got me reflecting and i came to the conclusion that the more i think about it, the less i like the idea of her going back to him after the VRex fight.
i know 99% of the people who loved the film will throw up their hands and think i'm just trying to be argumentative for its own sake- but i really am quite stunned that so many people have accepted these plot points so easily.
considering her being abducted by natives and snatched by a huge wild ferocious animal and almost eaten by dinosaurs has all occured within 24 hours (and much more likely under 12) it seems a little too pat and easy that she has processed the insane nature of all this and come to a sober, pragmatic conclusion regarding her future welfare.
in fact i think its downright silly and actually hurts the film. a lot more Ruth Rose Ann Darrow was needed at this point in the story, because i could have bought her- at this point- being too exhausted (emotionally, physically) to put up any resistence if Kong had snatched her back, and just surrendered to his power.
but to the contrary, the film has her running back to him is such a definitive, proactive response that i think that was the point i stopped seeing her as an honest character and more as a contrived vehicle for Peter to put his own stamp on the material.

i keep bringing up Mighty Joe Young, and even that isn't really fair, because in both versions of that story, the girl and the apes (platonic, Kong-line) relationship is predicated by the fact that she has 'known' him since she was a child.
the motivation in that story (on the part of the girl) is well established and logical for her to be concerned reflexivly about the animal.

and i know fans hate to hear some nay-bob on a message board spout off on how he would improve a work of art, but had she (post Vrex fight) simply collapsed out of exhaustion and let herself be carried away by Kong (back to his lair) and if we (and she) now saw Kong altering the way he interacted with her somewhat (being more gentle, more transfixed, etc) and had her not becoming so sympatico with the creature here, but rather letting the actions of the creature at this point plant the seeds in her subconscious that there is some kind of extraoridinary need there on his part-
and had her mulling this over (on the boat ride back)
THEN i think i could have accepted her return to the ape in NYC as an honest pay off to her experience on the island.

[dpippel]

When she takes off the necklace and sticks Kong in the finger with it, that might also have been a discriminator. She fights back.

Possibly, but still a stretch in my opinion. I have an extremely hard time believing that when faced with certain death, Kong's previous "offerings" didn't fight back as well. Resistance shouldn't have been anything new to him.

[Chuck Mayer]

Kong coming to save her from the Vrex's was Kong showing intent in the relationship. You can argue that she is a possession (and maybe she is, at that point), but the minute Kong saves her and then begins to walk away, that motivation is gone. He saved her because he values her. It's critical that he NOT try and take her against her will at this point. She recognizes his motivation, and acts on impulse (and good sense), and goes after him. This shows her intent in the relationship. She trusts him. This isn't the end of their relationship, but the beginning.

The story layered this relationship on the choices of the characters. And it started with Ann fighting back. It continued with Ann entertaining him. Once he laughed, perhaps he changed a little in her mind. But when he saved her and then turned to leave, that changed him a lot. When she saw him watch the sunset, surrounded by his family, that changes her perceptions more.

Paul, I know and trust your posts. I know you aren't (totally) doing this just to be argumentative (not anymore than the rest of us). You have this thought in your teeth, and you won't let it go I've seen that in other arguments. But I honestly am on the other side of the coin. I don't know how someone could question their relationship with the information presented Ann never surrenders to his power, but to his heart. This film very specifically makes that point (with decisions and visuals). And I love the film for it. I love the film for making them equals.

In other news, I appreciate a film with such heart having such a black sense of humor. PJ has a real knack for incorporating it (throwing away the other blonds, some of the deaths, etc) into straight dramas or adventures. It played pretty well with my audience.