Look...King Kong has an audience. There are all kinds of people who are into kaiju, and the huge gorilla story is a really good one. But just set your criticisms aside for a moment and think of the possibilities of good television ala Game of Thrones quality or some movie wherein the timeline of King Kong is rewound a thousand years and the following questions are answered:
1) Who built the wall before the island started to sink? What was this great civilization like? I doubt it had anything to do with the savages that lived there in the 1930's version of the film.
2) Was the civilization a stand alone or did it have competitors? Was the island part of a larger continent that sunk beneath the waves? Did it trade with other civilizations like Rome or China (which would have been great at the time)?
3) How cool would it be to see the whole lost world aspect brought to the screen? Maybe there's an explanation as to the effect that creates the permanent mist around the island. Maybe there's a reason why the compass goes haywire there.
When I think about the possibilities of unmined story that are the essence of King Kong, I think that it's tragic that no one is looking into a prequel for this stuff. In the least, it could be a really interesting segway into some Cthulhu-esque territory of Great Old Ones and strange cities populated by beings not from this dimension who built cities using geometry that was very non-euclidean. At the most, it could be a fantastic setting for stories that depict the rise and fall of a great empire trying to protect itself via magic and technology from gargantuan creatures some of whom they worship as gods.
Anyway...just an idea...one that I felt was worth sharing.
I think you're on to something. At the very least, what is Kong's origin?
ReplyDeletePrequels generally suck and they've already rebooted the franchise with Kong Skull Island. I doubt Jackson's version made enough money or surely they would have capitalized with a prequel.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't interested in the King Kong remake. But now...um, yes. Yes I am.
ReplyDeleteMaybe because Jackson's Kong sucked?
ReplyDeleteThe new one was much, MUCH better, which says a lot considering it was only okay.
And they did hint at the end that they have plans to explain the giant monsters via the Hollow Earth idea.
Why did you think Jackson's Kong sucked? Was it the 1930's atmosphere? I kinda liked that about it.
DeleteIt was all the stupid, stupid things in it, like the fight with the dinosaurs as they all swing in vines. That was just dumb.
DeleteAnd the ice skating scene, which was ridiculous.
Basically, King Kong was completely masturbatory for Jackson, and they let him get away with it because of LotR.
Maybe you should try writing it ;)
ReplyDeleteI've always hated King Kong but you mentioned one of my all time favorite shows - Young Indiana Jones. Few people I know like the show but I adored it with its the blend of over-the-top matinee hero & the frequent interaction with some of the most famous people from the early 20th century. It hasn't aged well and some of the scenes now come off as racist/misogynist but Lucas spent a bunch of his own money on this passion project. You can see it in the production value. I have the whole series on DVD and need to transfer it to digital as I rarely watch anything on DVD anymore.
ReplyDelete