King Kong

Directed by Peter Jackson
Universal Studios
2005

Starring - Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody

Okay, so at a glance it is the story of a 25 foot high ape. The great thing about this movie is that there is something in it for both men and women, hence the reason for this review. If you are looking for a compromise between a “chick flick” and an adventure film for a quiet night in with your partner, definitely consider “King Kong”.

Firstly, the settings and design are absolutely staggering. Beautifully made, Peter Jackson carries the magic he created with The Lord Of The Rings trilogy into this film. Depression-era Manhattan will never, ever be recreated like it is in this movie. You literally feel like you are there, and some of the aerial images are just so detailed you wonder how on earth such a feat is achieved.

The story centres around struggling actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) being whisked away to Skull Island by also-struggling Director Carl Denham (Jack Black). The idea is to create a spontaneous wildlife drama in a previously undiscovered setting, but things go wrong thanks to some absolutely horrible savages and the islands assortment of scary monsters.

Darrow is offered to Kong by the savages as a sacrifice, and wouldn’t you know it but the great ape falls for the stunning blonde. He spends the next period of the film trying to prevent her from becoming Dinosaur lunch, whilst Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) valiantly tries to rescue her.

There are great action scenes during this part of the film, although at times it does become a little too much and tends to labour the point. Brilliantly made though, and Driscoll’s rescue efforts are brave and endearing.

Eventually Kong is captured and brought to New York where he debuts on Broadway as “The Eighth Wonder Of The World”. It soon turns bad however when Kong reacts angrily to being offered a poor imitation of Darrow during the show, and thus rampages through the city leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

We all know how it ends, with the famous scene on top of the Empire State Building being brilliantly re-created. For me, this was the best part of the film. The emotion involved was quite powerful, and a huge improvement on the original. It is a tear-jerker if you allow it to be.

The dual-romantic stories of Darrow-Driscoll and Darrow-Kong work extremely well, and the classic tale of Beauty and The Beast has never been better told. Although you know it won’t happen, you may even find yourself cheering for Darrow to lay a big kiss and walk off hand-in-paw with Kong. That doomed sense of love possibilities creates a moving tone in the background of the action.
There are a couple of down points however. The movie runs for over 3 hours, which is just uncomfortably long. They could have edited several unnecessary scenes out and turned it into a neat 2 and a bit hour movie.

Jack Black is miscast, and his character just didn’t work for me. He borders on creepy at times, and has comic appeal even when he doesn’t mean to.

Finally, the recreation aspect of the 1930’s original is taken too far at times, with some of the scenes, dialogue and acting verging on the sheer corny. What audiences loved back in the early days of film doesn’t necessarily translate into the mid-2000’s. This point ties in with the first down side of the length…there are parts where you feel like hitting fast forward.

Despite that, it is still a great movie to watch and become involved with. It is a classic story, beautifully made, well acted and brilliantly directed. Great ingredients to ensure an entertaining feature.

OVERALL RATING: A