Blu-Ray Review- King Kong

THE MOVIE- 2 1/2 stars out of 5

This film is the remake of the original 1930’s classic starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody and is written and directed by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame. Set during the depression, the film opens around a down and out actress (Watts) looking to find work so that she can eat who crosses paths with a con artist of a filmmaker (Black) who is looking for an actress for a film he intends to shoot on the high seas looking for Skull Island that appears only on a map that he has mysteriously come into possession of. However, as he is being chased by a group of investors who have pulled the plug on his latest film, he flees New York along with the film crew, cast and the writer (Brody) on a freighter one step ahead of the police to make his movie. While at sea, they discover Skull Island, home to King Kong and several species of dinosaurs and are able to catch the giant ape and return it to New York to great fan fare only to have Kong escape ending in the last battle scene on top of the Empire State Building that ended the original film. The special effects in this film are spectacular. However, the writing and storyline leaves much to be desired. The film is way too long and is essentially a film of one long special effects and CGI scene after another with a little plot thrown in. Is it a great film? Far from it but is does have some incredible audio and video. This release features both the extended and theatrical versions of the film. Recommended as a rental only.

THE VIDEO- 5 stars out of 5

Encoded with VC-1, King Kong is presented in its original aspect ratio and looks incredible. It looked great on HD DVD and looks just as good here on Blu-Ray. The film boasts incredible clarity and detail along with a strikingly beautiful color palette. Black level is deep and rich rendering an image of incredible depth, three dimensionality and detail. This is one beautifully detailed movie, with each skin pore and blemish on each actor’s face visible. I can’t imagine any film looking any better than this film looks on this Blu-Ray release. It is reference in every way and a thrill to experience in the home environment.

THE AUDIO- 5 stars out of 5

While the HD DVD boasted a great sounding encode, it did not feature a lossless track, being encoded with Dolby Digital Plus, a lossy track. The Blu-Ray release features a lossless DTS HD Master Audio track which as far as this writer is concerned, beats the superb DD+ track in every way imaginable. Like the video, the audio on this release is of reference quality. Dialogue is beautifully recorded and well placed in the mix sounding smooth and lifelike. Dynamics here are off the charts with some incredible bass response. The overall sound is smooth and open with superb imaging and transparency. The surround speakers are used to great effect, rendering a totally immersive sound field. The incredible audio here is evident not only during the fight scenes between Kong and the T-Rexes but during the scenes at sea on the boat where all the creaking of the ship is evident making it sound as though you are in a ship at sea without leaving your home. In addition the sounding of the ship’s horn as the ship enters the fog around Skull Island is strikingly realistic and made me jump right out of my seat. This is a fantastic sounding reference track which will thrill fans of home theater and has some incredible demo material.

EXTRAS

King Kong is not exactly equipped with a ton of bonus materials. King Kong is BD-Live enabled and comes equipped with just a handful of extras, including:

·         FEATURE COMMENTARY: With director/writer Peter Jackson and co-writer/co-producer Philippa Boyens (extended version only).
·         BD-LIVE: Access the BD-Live Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!
o        MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage.
·         U-CONTROL: With Universal’s exclusive U-Control feature, one click of a button lets you watch Picture In Picture behind-the-scenes footage, cast and crew interviews, and more without ever leaving the film!
o        ART GALLERIES: Explore the fascinating production of this unforgettable film through conceptual artist renderings (extended version only).

IN CONCLUSION

While King Kong is in many ways a flawed film, it does feature some incredible special effects and some of the best video and audio quality you can experience at home. If you want a disc with some of the best demo material you can find to show off your home theater, this disc has it in spades. Otherwise, while I would recommend that you check out this release, I would suggest that you do so on the basis of a rental only.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009