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Viewing the trailer about more than a month ago, I went to the theatres last night with the feeling of "Alright, it's Peter (Jackson) and he's gonna be a good boy with Kong" and after coming out of the movie I was left shocked and just so liberated. Shocked because for the first time in my movie watching experience I had totally no control of my emotions and was literally at the helm of whatever the director would throw at me. It felt like it didn't matter whether he dangled a rotten carrot in front of me or a gold one, whatever it was, I was going to follow it and make sure I eat it. If you think the Rings Trilogy was Peter's baby, you wouldn't know how to classify this splendid remake of the '33 King Kong classic.
Jackson pays true homage to the '33 classic by sticking to the original story but leaving enough breathing space for his own interpretation of the movie. The story begins during the great American Depression, in New York with Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), who has come to a threshold of her life where she truly believes that whatever she's come to love gets taken away from her, especially when the theatre she worked for closed her play. Estranged and starved, she comes across Carl Denham (Jack Black) who's a director with more misses than hits in his profile. He had just come out of a narrow escape from his upcoming project being shelved by his producers and was in search of an actress for his movie. He finds it difficult to sign her on till he mentions the playwright being done by Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody), a person she'd never met, but always wanted to work with. Denham manages to get this scrambled crew on a ship to Skull Island, a location never officially found before, rumored to be resident to creatures unimaginable. On this ship we are acquainted with a stern captain (Thomas Kretschmann), Jimmy (Jaime Bell from Little Elliot fame) and first-mate Hayes (Evan Parke) who play their parts to the fullest.
"Why are there high walls", and you're faced with a mysterious looking island which has enough ingredients to give you the creeps, yet love it as well. This is where Ann is kidnapped and we get to see the mighty Kong for the first time after a lil over 60 minutes in the movie. From here on, Jackson makes sure there's not a minute you're going to be able to look to your side or below or even have the desire to pick up the popcorn hanging on your shirt and pants. The visuals are so breathtaking it's hard not to smile at the magnificence, which can be seen in the form of a heart-wrenching battle (with the T-Rex, the marathon run during the Brontosaurus stampede and the creepy mind boggling sequence with the not so small yet creepy crawly insects. I can already imagine a ticket line full of bug lovers. Tumultuous - is the state of your emotions and your heart races and stops at the director's whims, literally. If you're one of the types who would loathe a clapping audience, you'll be left cringing in your seat.
The movie concentrates on the relationship between Ann and Kong in a slightly different way than the original version did. Kong is faced with a beauty that not only intrigued him by performing acts that'd make him laugh, but who also tried to escape him. This is where you realize you're already in love with Kong's character, but what comes in the latter part of the movie will surprise your emotions.
Ann gets attached to him as he does to her and it is at this point when Driscoll comes in their world of friendly companionship, to rescue her. Ann watches helplessly as Kong is captured by Denham, and the captain's efforts because of the formers greed to show the world what he called the Eight Wonder Of The World. It's a scene you fall in love with.
A captured Kong is put in front of an audience, drugged and shortly breaks lose only to look for the person who he'd come to respect and cared for. They finally meet, romanticized by Jackson, who then shows a lighter side of Kong with the ice-sliding scene with Ann. Yet again you're torn between Kong and knowing what fate the movie has in store for him, not wishing for the movie's end to come.
Kong is forced up the Empire State Building and astonishingly battles WW fighter planes atop the highest peak in New York, again superb visuals assist and you're at the edge of your seat. You're caught tear-eyed when the director showcases Ann torn in her heart as she sees her protector under fire, suffering for a love that cannot be and eventually dies for it. It's intense and a part of you dies as the scene unfolds.
Serkis (of Gollum fame) does a great job in making the King ape's movements come alive and the cg is remarkable for helping Kong look totally life-like to the core. I wish Jackson would show how they brought Kong to New York. You can clearly see Jackson's onslaught of passion towards his childhood dream project, and trust me, the movie length (little over 3 hours) is not even going to bother you. Naomi Watts is truly breathtaking even when she did not have to say any lines. What'll keep you sleepless is the fact that you just watched a perfect movie, which had everything – humor, action, adventure, romance, horror and thrilling to the core to make your knees shiver. 10 fingers up!
P.s. Some action scenes are not for kids. I hate clapping audiences myself, and uhhmm yeah, I cried more than once too.
© 2005 Universal Studios
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| Kong. |
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| Kong battle. |
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| WW2 planes. |
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| On the empire state building. |
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| Special Effects: | 10 |
| Sound: | 10 |
| Cinema - tography: | 10 |
| Characters: | 10 |
| Plot: | 10 |
| Overall: | 10 |
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