KONG IS KING!
Watching KING KONG, I was surprised that the best performance in the film was not by the Oscar winning actor or the Oscar nominated actress… the best performance in the film is from a completely digital character, Kong.
It was only six years ago when the entire world shared a collective groan while watching Jar Jar Binks in STAR WARS EPISODE 1. This was a land mark in film… one of the lead characters was completely digital. Could it ever work?
Peter Jackson proved only three years later with LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS that it could not only work, but a CG character (Gollum) could be one of the most compelling in the story. With Kong, Jackson has taken another leap forward.
Kong is an amazing character, with depth and emotion on par with any great actor. I am not only talking about the special effects. (maybe the best I have ever seen in a film) I am talking about the performance. Now there are several people that collaborated to accomplish this. First is Andy Serkis, who provided the basis for the physical movement, facial features, and reactions of the large ape. Like he did with Gollum, Serkis displays a gift for this unique form of acting. I was one of the ones that was pushing for a nomination for Serkis back in 2002 and I am right there again for his portrayal of Kong.
There is another element to this performance though. It is the dynamic work of the visual effects team at Weta Digital. They are the ones that took what Serkis gave them and created a character out of thin air. The subtlety that went into Kong is simply amazing. From a small facial gesture and a look in his eyes to jumping and swinging through the jungle, this is a complete creation. So this begs the question… Who should get the accolades?
There is no doubt in my mind that this film will win the well deserved Academy Award for best visual effects, but I think there is little chance that Serkis will get any recognition. I think that this is a shame.
One day I believe we will look back and see what pioneers Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis really were in the world of effects and filmmaking. Until then, I just hope that they keep pushing the boundries and thrilling audiences around the world.
It was only six years ago when the entire world shared a collective groan while watching Jar Jar Binks in STAR WARS EPISODE 1. This was a land mark in film… one of the lead characters was completely digital. Could it ever work?
Peter Jackson proved only three years later with LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS that it could not only work, but a CG character (Gollum) could be one of the most compelling in the story. With Kong, Jackson has taken another leap forward.
Kong is an amazing character, with depth and emotion on par with any great actor. I am not only talking about the special effects. (maybe the best I have ever seen in a film) I am talking about the performance. Now there are several people that collaborated to accomplish this. First is Andy Serkis, who provided the basis for the physical movement, facial features, and reactions of the large ape. Like he did with Gollum, Serkis displays a gift for this unique form of acting. I was one of the ones that was pushing for a nomination for Serkis back in 2002 and I am right there again for his portrayal of Kong.
There is another element to this performance though. It is the dynamic work of the visual effects team at Weta Digital. They are the ones that took what Serkis gave them and created a character out of thin air. The subtlety that went into Kong is simply amazing. From a small facial gesture and a look in his eyes to jumping and swinging through the jungle, this is a complete creation. So this begs the question… Who should get the accolades?
There is no doubt in my mind that this film will win the well deserved Academy Award for best visual effects, but I think there is little chance that Serkis will get any recognition. I think that this is a shame.
One day I believe we will look back and see what pioneers Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis really were in the world of effects and filmmaking. Until then, I just hope that they keep pushing the boundries and thrilling audiences around the world.
posted by Humby | 5:16 PM
1 Comments:
I agree that this movie was terrific. The character is looking so real that I also felt involved in the movie.
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