Shannon Nutt

Not impressed. Granted, I'm not one of those who worships at the shrine of Peter Jackson (like many posters on these forums), but definitely looks like a step DOWN in both storytelling and effects from what we got in the LOTR trilogy. Now, that doesn't mean I won't see the movie...it just means I've lowered my expectations for it a great deal after taking a look at the first trailer.

jmj713

There is a 720p HD version on mininova.org and KongisKing.net boards have a link to an even higher-quality HD trailer (1920x resolution).

Dr. DVD

I just hope that people don't lose track of the fact that this is not a visual version of good vs. evil and philosopphical issues like LOTR, but a movie about a GIANT APE!!! Looks like PJ is sticking close to the source material like he did with LOTR. However, the source material for this isn't anywhere near as strong as what he had with LOTR. I think the shortcomings for this movie will all be traceable to the source, which a lot of people might not buy in today's age.

B.A.

Thanks - I assumed that they weren't the final shots. Either way, I wasn't too anxious to see this before I saw the trailer and now I really don't care to see it at all.

jaeufraser

I think it looks great. A big, fun, epic adventure monster movie. I'm not sure what everyone else was expecting, but this looks right up my alley. Personally I wouldn't want the film to be as serious and ponderous as some seem to want. I love the look, the SFX look fine imo and I'm there opening day.

mike45

I have to agree. The trailer struck me as being not very impressive. It just doesn't have a LOTR epic feel.

Kal-El

It was ok. Dinos looked horrible though, not saying they should copy pixel-for-pixel the Jurassic Park dinos, but you gotta admit for something from 10 years ago, those look much better than what this teaser showed. It'll be interesting to see the finished product.

Geofferson

Peter Jackson's 4th straight movie with a December release. I'm sensing a pattern here...

DealMan

You know, every time a trailer for a movie comes out that has iffy fx shots everyone always says similar stuff, but i've never seen it improve from a trailer to the feature. Trailers for Hulk, Spider-man, etc, had the exact same shots from the trailer---->film.

And I think you're underestimating the importance of a trailer for a big blockbuster movie. I highly doubt the studio would allow crappy unfinished sfx shots into a trailer since they know early buzz can make or break a movie like this.

I'm willing to bet those are the exact scenes that you'll be seeing in theaters this december. That being said I'll still be there opening weekend.

jmj713

Jurassic Park dinosaurs are older than 10 years But i loved the trailer. Get the huge HD trailer at KongisKing.net boards.

Dr. DVD

I wonder how long it is before a bunch of anti-PJ people (read: Star Wars fanatics who can't let go) start a KongisCrap.net website?

Groucho

No idea. But you can tell who they are in this forum just by reading the replies to this thread.

ylomnstr

The only trailer I see is the Volkswagen site. Where's the HD one?

Cygnet74

and i think you're underestimating a first-hand knowledge of the process. our client set a date they wanted this trailer out. despite that, they always request changes right up to the last minute. their marketing dept finally approved the cut and so did peter. but at that point the offline cut only had very early renders of the fx shots in it. it was a mad dash to get the most recent versions of those shots from weta. a handful of them weren't good enough yet so they had to be replaced with alternates. then peter and the studio had to approve the revisions. it went to film. client reviewed pix at the sound mix and even though most of the fx footage was still temp, its the best it was going to look at this point. now YOU may not be able to perceive the difference, but that doesnt change the fact that weta has already revised many of the shots people are worried about. also, there ARE a few shots in this trailer that are final -- all those at the end of kong facing off with the t-rex and naomi in between -- because its been known for a long time that this would be used in a lot of the campaign so it was given priority.

jmj713

On the boards at KongisKing.net, specifically here: http://boards.kongisking.net/perl/gforum.cgi?post=57343

chess

Love LOTR.

Like PJ's other movies.

Wasn't impressed by the trailer.

Think a King Kong remake is pointless.

Nothing to do with Star Wars or anything else.

juanmgonzalez

My 4 year old son and I will be there on opening day

He LOVES dinosaurs and has watched the Jurassic Park movies many times since he was 2 years old

He also loves monkeys/apes, so they have us hooked in to watch it.

Jackskeleton

No need to play the lucas card here. The last thing the discussion needs is a lucas vs. jackson debate.

Dr. DVD

Sounds like you thought it was pointless from the get-go and unless the trailer was out of this world, you weren't going to drop that pre-conceived baggage.

Shannon Nutt

If that's a finished shot, then the concerns about the F/X are warranted...that's a pretty unimpressive scene, given the state of technology in 2005. That shot would have been "iffy" 10 years ago.

While this movie shouldn't be ABOUT the quality of the F/X, if the F/X aren't at least somewhat "believable", the whole movie is going to sink.

Someone in this thread or another on the Net said this could be another "Godzilla" (the 1998 remake)...I'm starting to lean this way as well. That was another movie where the poor F/X totally took the audience out of getting into the story (which was pretty bad too, I think most will agree).

Terrell

I didn't realize those two things were mutally exclusive. So Star Wars fans must be anti-PJ. That must mean LOTR fans are anti-Lucas.

TheAllPurposeNothing

I know I'll probably get some flack for this, but I'm going to come out and say it...

Gollum was a mediocre special effect. The digital seams showed constantly through the second two LOTR flicks.

Boris Karloff's Frankenstein was obviously a guy in make-up.

Jaws rarely seemed like a real shark.

You could see the matte squares constantly during the dogfight sequences in Star Wars.

And Oz never seemed like anything more than a well-designed soundstage.

But who cares?? The secret of the movies is less a matter of convincing you that something is actually real than to make you believe it is real while you are watching it. Its a magic show, where the idea is to lure your eyes away from the palming of the card to make you actually think it disappeared.

For two hours, the combination of everything (acting, script, set direction, etc.) convinces you that what you know is fake is actually real. Doesn't matter how seamless the special effects are, as long as the directors can keep you attentive to a number of other things. You buy the trick as long as the whole package works.

Star Wars was exciting, matte shots or not. Jaws was one scary beast, mechanical or not. Gollum was anchored by a superb piece of acting on Andy Serkis' part. Oz has never dipped in enchantment. And Frankenstein may still be the greatest horror story ever told.

The problem with a trailer for a movie like King Kong is that there is no way it is going to convince you the magic is there in a handful of quick cuts. The genius of the original Kong is that he is the one you sympathize with at movie's end. In all the years I have seen the film, I can't ever remember anyone cheering his demise at the end. But that sympathy is developed over 45 minutes of film time, not 45 seconds.

A trailer can only show you that Kong is a monster. It will take the movie to show you that he is not. And if Jackson can pull that off even half as well as the original, then he will have a worthwhile flick on his hands.

chess

Fair enough, but I wouldn't call it baggage. If he'd done something on a bigger scale, I would have been more enthusiastic, but it looks to me like Kong is only 20-25 feet tall.

Meanwhile, I remain open-minded. It is PJ, after all. If anybody gets the benefit of the doubt, it's PJ. But I can tell from the trailer that he didn't go the way I hoped he would on Kong's size. Plus I hated Jack Black's character. He pretty much single-handedly ruined the one minute trailer, so I can't wait to watch him for two hours.

Sonny Corinthos

Kong looks way too small to me.

Joe Molotov

I think he looks about the right size. If you make him too much bigger, it would be hard for him to clutch Ann in his hand the way he does.