Abel Ferrara tries but unfortunately fails to create competition to a genre which is dominated by 'Scarface'. King of New York had the potential to be something great but in the end it only manages to frustrate you.
The whole plot in itself is amazingly simple. I mean, where's the originality? A guy called Frank White (Cristopher Walken) gets out of prison, kills everybody just like that (I guess it's that easy, huh) and then he rules New York. Then some cops get angry with Frank because he's a criminal (that's the most deepest part in this movie, cops are supposed to be "complex" individuals...) and they decide to kill him. Then there's some shooting and more shooting and finally everybody's dead.
A plot could actually be that simple if there was something extra in it - something interesting to spice things up - a great character, interesting details or ultimately anything to separate this film from the masses. Unfortunately King of New York doesn't have anything to offer in that area. They have obviously tried to deepen Walken's character but they fail miserably. In fact that's the case with all the other characters too. Walken's supposed to be this guy who cares about the poor but this is shown in what, two scenes? Same thing with the police, when they all get killed I don't feel anything because I haven't related to them. Furthermore the dialog is mediocre at best and you can't really call it original.
The biggest problem of this movie is that it's not coherent at all. The scenes are in many occasions completely unattached to each other and the whole movie ends up being like a mess. The atmosphere in the film is good - Ferrara is able to depict the brutality and the overall mood well but otherwise the directing is just average. For example the opening scene is way too long. I'd understand it if the movie was an epic or a masterpiece but now it just seems completely irrelevant and tiring to spend at least five minutes following a guy who gets out of prison without dialog. Same thing with the final scene - it drags too long. I guess if you enjoyed the movie the final scene could work but for me after a messy 1,5 hours it just works as an icing in the cake what comes to frustration.
I guess the main point I'm trying to say is that this movie had potential but it never delivered. The characters are paper thin thanks to awful cutting and the plot is just oversimplified. In the end this movie offers you nothing but frustration and gore.
The whole plot in itself is amazingly simple. I mean, where's the originality? A guy called Frank White (Cristopher Walken) gets out of prison, kills everybody just like that (I guess it's that easy, huh) and then he rules New York. Then some cops get angry with Frank because he's a criminal (that's the most deepest part in this movie, cops are supposed to be "complex" individuals...) and they decide to kill him. Then there's some shooting and more shooting and finally everybody's dead.
A plot could actually be that simple if there was something extra in it - something interesting to spice things up - a great character, interesting details or ultimately anything to separate this film from the masses. Unfortunately King of New York doesn't have anything to offer in that area. They have obviously tried to deepen Walken's character but they fail miserably. In fact that's the case with all the other characters too. Walken's supposed to be this guy who cares about the poor but this is shown in what, two scenes? Same thing with the police, when they all get killed I don't feel anything because I haven't related to them. Furthermore the dialog is mediocre at best and you can't really call it original.
The biggest problem of this movie is that it's not coherent at all. The scenes are in many occasions completely unattached to each other and the whole movie ends up being like a mess. The atmosphere in the film is good - Ferrara is able to depict the brutality and the overall mood well but otherwise the directing is just average. For example the opening scene is way too long. I'd understand it if the movie was an epic or a masterpiece but now it just seems completely irrelevant and tiring to spend at least five minutes following a guy who gets out of prison without dialog. Same thing with the final scene - it drags too long. I guess if you enjoyed the movie the final scene could work but for me after a messy 1,5 hours it just works as an icing in the cake what comes to frustration.
I guess the main point I'm trying to say is that this movie had potential but it never delivered. The characters are paper thin thanks to awful cutting and the plot is just oversimplified. In the end this movie offers you nothing but frustration and gore.