By Ned Jordan
Its the classic ape meets girl story, revisited for the third time. While
you could make a very valid point that this was a movie that really didnt need
to be remade yet again, the fact that this remake was done by Peter Jackson
makes things different. Jackson has proven his ability to bring an epic story to
life with the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and in him King Kong has a true fan
who wanted to make an homage to an all-time classic rather than cash in on a
well-known title. Jackson has handled the challenge of remaking this classic
with expert skill, mixing larger than life story-telling with cutting edge
special effects, and even adding a surprising level of emotional depth not
typically found in adventure movies.
King Kong is set in 1933 and opens in New York City where a desperate
filmmaker, Carl Denham (Jack Black), is trying to skip town after learning that
his investors want to pull the funding from his latest picture. Hes come into
possession of a map to the mysterious Skull Island and is convinced that if he
can finish his film on location there hell have a hit on his hands. On his way
to the ship hes hired to take his crew to Skull Island he learns that he is
without a leading lady. Desperate to fill the role he plucks the
down-on-her-luck actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) off the street, feeds her a
hot meal, and sweet talks her into the part. After reaching Skull Island, Denham
finds more than he bargained for as the island is home to large beasts and
dinosaurs, including the giant gorilla known to the natives as Kong
In King Kong Peter Jackson has done a masterful job of both recreating the
world of 1933 New York and of creating the fantastical world of Skull Island.
His skill at creating mythical worlds filled with amazing creatures that was
finely-honed by his work on The Lord of the Rings is put to full use in King
Kong with excellent results. In fact, the great wall built by the natives for
protection against the ferocious Kong would quite easily fill the role of the
wall protecting the road to Mordor. It also takes some skill to pull off a three
hour plus movie in which the star attraction, namely Kong, doesnt show up until
a third of the way into the film. Jackson succeeds here because it gives us a
chance to get to know the characters in the film so that when the giant ape
appears he shares the film with his human costars instead of dominating
everything like, well, an 800 lb gorilla. I dont think that it would have been
possible for Jackson to capture the unique relationship between Darrow and Kong
had he not taken the time to let us get to know her. The film is not without its
share of plot holes (Where did all the natives go after the sacrifice scene? How
exactly did they get Kong onto the ship and back to New York, let alone manage
to keep him fed for a journey that must have taken weeks? ), but youll be too
wrapped up in the magic to let it bother you too much.
While Jackson is certainly due a lot of praise for his work on the film, he
is certainly helped by the excellent acting delivered by the movies stars.
While Black may take things a bit too over the top, thats probably just how
an obsessed film maker behaves anyway. Adrian Brody does a wonderful job as
Denhams screenwriter, whose growing love for Ann drives him to acts of heroism
he probably didnt know were in him. However, it is Watts performance that
truly steals the show. Its hard to imagine the role of Darrow being played with
any more skill.
The Special Edition DVD edition of King Kong will make an excellent addition
to your movie collection. As with the The Lord of the Rings DVDs, great care has
been taken to ensure that the movie transfer and soundtrack are of the highest
quality. Watching the scene when Kong first appears to collect Ann after she has
been captured and sacrificed to him by the natives with the lights low and the
sound system turned up creates one of those moments that epitomize the joy of
the home theater experience. The Special Edition includes a second disk packed
with features that youll actually want to watch. In addition to the standard
making of feature that gives you an in-depth look at the post production
process on the film, there are two features that explore the films two major
locations, 1930s New York and Skull Island.
Final Rating:
A lot of people were skeptical when they first heard that King Kong would be
Jacksons follow-up project to The Lord of the Rings, myself included, but hes
created a movie experience that youll want to revisit time and again.
Like the movie? Check out our coverage of the King Kong game for
PC,
PS2,
Xbox,
GameCube,
Xbox 360,
DS,
PSP,
GBA.
