In this warm-up to "King Kong," one never feels the producer or directors are quite so possessed about making a great movie as they are about testing some ideas -- establishing a sense of place, framing a shot, having garrulous characters make ironic comments, grafting music onto scenes to see if it truly enhances the effect. Some of this does indeed come off remarkably well, but so much of it has a set-pitch-swing-and-a-miss calculated quality, it can scarcely be compelling, let alone transport the viewer into the story. Clearly, more attention should have been paid to the dialog, the acting, and the pace and flow of the narrative as executed in the edit lab -- and maybe more shots to establish the lay of the land in some scenes. Remember that, by the time you sit with Kong on his lonely mountaintop watching the sun set, you are so totally THERE it's just ludicrous. And that is a feeling you never get while watching this perfectly perfunctory "Most Dangerous Game."
Review of The Most Dangerous Game
