KING COBRA (1999)
If I could give this film a standing ovation, I would. It's not overly impressive as a "giant snake" vehicle, but it has three magic words on its side - the Chiodo brothers. They handled F/X duties in a stunning show of anti-CGI sentiment that took me by surprise. The technology was there. Anaconda (don't worry, we'll get there soon enough) used CGI two years earlier, and it looked slick, but of course, that particular serpent was backed by a significant studio. While King Cobra was released by Lion's Gate, I can't confirm whether the funding came from big wigs or regular-sized wigs. Either way, there is no digital duplicity on display. The title monster, a cross between a king cobra (Ophidiophagus hannah) and an eastern diamondback rattler (Crotalus adamanteus), is one hell of a creation. The thing has palpable personality, more so than our human leads. The acting isn't bad per se; it's just that the characters are offensively uninteresting. I did like Erik Estrada as a gay-for-some-reason event planner. Yeah.
It goes without saying that the plot insists on throwing a major shindig in a small town. This time, it's a beer festival, and I have no idea why. I guess they're opening a brewery or something. Pat Morita stars as the herpetologist who knows everything. For what it's worth, I enjoyed watching him condescend to government officials. King Cobra starts and ends strong. The second act...that's where I had problems staying awake. If I wasn't so won over by the Chiodos' handiwork, it would be hard to recommend this flick. Still, we're in solid 3-Z'Dar territory. The directing team of David and Scott Hillenbrand also shepherded Survival Island, which I believe is about an evil piñata. Now that's a resume.
No comments:
Post a Comment