Imo, a problem with both movies was that they were too damn long. I was able to watch the originals both within a few hours of their respective remakes, and I very much enjoyed their tighter, leaner pace. Jackson's Kong also had too much action in the T-rex fights. It felt like a ride; it was more exhausting than entertaining, whereas the original Kong got it right: slower pace, easier to follow, and from a single, not-flying-all-over-the-place POV. More like if I was there as an actual witness. That said:
Originally posted by Lestov16Overall...not sure which movie I liked better. Monster-wise, I like Godzilla more than Kong, but Kong had better developed characters, including Kong himself. Godzilla was better paced, though, and had better visuals (hard to beat massive city destruction), ie, it was more spectacular.
Which film do you think was better, Peter Jackson's King Kong, or Gareth Edwards's Godzilla?Plot
Characters
Visuals
Suspense
Pacing
You can add other factors
I suppose, if I had the time to watch only one movie, I would choose Godzilla over Kong, original or remake. You can imagine my disappointment then, when in the actual film, KK vs G, it was KK we saw swimming away.
Originally posted by Mindship
Jackson's Kong also had too much action in the T-rex fights. It felt like a ride; it was more exhausting than entertaining, whereas the original Kong got it right: slower pace, easier to follow, and from a single, not-flying-all-over-the-place POV. More like if I was there as an actual witness. That said:
Overall...not sure which movie I liked better. Monster-wise, I like Godzilla more than Kong, but Kong had better developed characters, including Kong himself. Godzilla was better paced, though, and had better visuals (hard to beat massive city destruction), ie, it was more spectacular.
The point a lot of people are missing is that the original Godzilla & King Kong were guys wearing BULKY rubber suits destroying small scale model buildings...thus the slower pace.
It seemed a little ridiculous designing the MUTOS to look agile like the Arachnids in Starship Troopers but then pay homage to "guys in rubber suits" when it came to the slow speed they moved.
Same with Godzilla...he moved like he was perpetually in slow motion. At least '98 Godzilla matched his speed & movements to his size.
Kong on the other hand had more human traits & the audience could relate to what he was feeling...pain, anger, longing, loneliness...I didn't feel that the fight scenes were drawn out, they were long enough to witness Kong going from too cocky, to the under-dog to finally defeating the T-Rexes. It was a believable struggle IMO.
Originally posted by Esau CairnThe original Kong was stop-action animation. And the original Godzilla (ie, the action scenes) were filmed at high speed, so that played back, he deliberately looked massive and lumbering.
The point a lot of people are missing is that the original Godzilla & King Kong were guys wearing BULKY rubber suits destroying small scale model buildings...thus the slower pace.
I love CGI. But sometimes it's overused.
Originally posted by Esau Cairn
I was referring to the '76 version with Jessica Lange.Not the original black & white.
Well, it was a bit confusing because of how you used the word original, but that version is often overlooked when discussing Kong, so I appreciate the reference. As Mindship said, the slow speed on Godzilla's moves was deliberate so he looked massive so you could say it's just as true for the monsters in Godzilla 2014.