Tuesday, December 20, 2005

The Eighth Wonder Of The World

Thanks to two unfortunate souls who somehow gave up their prime time tickets, I was finally able to catch the much hyped about movie of the year, KONG. With a production cost of 207 million USD (the most expensive in film history), and the director being Peter Jackson (who directed the LOTR trilogy, for the information of you cavemen), I stepped into the cinema with somewhat high expectations. And what an amazing experience it turned out to be.

The king of apes was undoubtedly the star of the show. Although no more than a character created using the latest animation software, Kong truly dominated the entire movie. Being the villain at first, Kong effortlessly morphed into the hero in rescue of the damsel in distress, and in the end, the hapless victim of a brutal onslaught by man. And guess what, he has an attitude too. The scene where Naomi Watts was doing her repertoire in front of Kong got me in stitches.

Kudos to Andy Serkis (Gol'um...My preciousssss) and the CGI team for portraying Kong in such a wonderful way. I loved the face-off scene between Kong and the T-Rex(es), it was so real and exhilarating. The audience even broke into cheers and applause when Kong finally triumphed over the verocious carnivores. The effects where thrilling, the sound system was a class above, and the action sequences where superb. Which reminds me of one thing: never, EVER watch the pirated VCD version; you'd be losing out a whole lot, not to mention breaking the law as well.

The cast gave a stellar performance; Watts (The Ring), who played the object of Kong's affection, certainly carried her role well. And what a scream too. The brilliant Adrien Brody (The Pianist) plays a scriptwriter who finds himself falling in love with Watts, and ultimately transforms into a hero in his own way to rescue the love of his life from the clutches of the great beast. Jack Black (School of Rock, DUDE!) also deserves a pat on his back for his portrayal of the cunning and manipulative Carl Denham (though I would've loved it if he were to be squashed by Kong in the last moments of the movie).

The thing that really stuck on me was the ending. Seeing Kong being attacked ruthlessly by troops, one cannot help but think: when an animal in captivity goes berserk and injures or even kill people, who is the one to be shot down and prosecuted? The animal, or the people who brought it there in the first place? The tragic end of Kong had me shed some tears....Okay so I'm a sensitive guy, haha.

One thing that bugged me though was the 'cinema etiquette', or rather the lack of it, displayed by some of the movie-goers. Now and then there would be the all-important phone call, the whining kids and the running commentary. I was thinking, WTF is wrong with these people? With the likes of them, no wonder Malaysia will remain a third world country.

All in all, KONG is definitely a movie worth watching. I don't care how you're going to get the tickets, just go, watch it. Now excuse me while I go practise on my Kong impersonation.

thought completed at 8:16 PM | 0 comments

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