Film Review: King Kong (2005) A

Date watched: 1/1/06
Venue: ArcLight Hollywood
Grade: A

Warning, this review contains dreaded spoilers...

King Kong is next in chapter Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings…wait a minute, it’s not a Lord of the Rings movie, it’s a monkey movie. But it’s a monkey movie with all the cinematic trappings of Jackson’s last three films. The near excessive use of slow motion, the way it actually makes you give a damn about the characters, a cg creature you believe, an expansive running time, a somewhat ‘unusual’ love story (we’ve got Naomi rebounding from Heath Ledger with Kong, and remember Frodo did have Sam). And just like the LOTR trilogy, King Kong delivers the goods, in this case a solidly entertainingly action-adventurer that just happens to be a faithful remake of one of Hollywood golden classics.

Our story begins in New York, 1933, with unscrupulous movie producer
Carl Derham (Jack Black) conning and coercing his cast, crew, and hired ship to the mysterious, almost mythical, Skull Island. Black is great as the fast-talking double dealing Dernham, a big improvement over his normal buffoon roles. Naomi Watts is stunning (as she usually is) as the innocent ingénue Ann Darrow. Ann has a schoolgirls’ crush on writer Jack Driscol (Adrian Brody), well, she has a crush on his work, at least. Watts and Brody do a fine job portraying the initial awkwardness of their blooming relationship

The script, penned by Jackson and Mrs. Lord Of The Rings Ann Walsh, also gives quite of background to many of the secondary characters on the boat. It’s all a set-up, really. The whole point of these scenes is to make us actually care when lives are in peril. It’s strange, you watch a film like this, and you’re fully aware what Jackson is doing by carefully introducing his characters, the way he’s beginning to pull your strings, but with strong dialog and even stronger performances, you really don’t mind. Speaking of secondary characters, special notice must be made of Kyle Chandler, who gives a superbly over-the-top performance as Bruce Baxter, Derham’s stereotypically egotistical star thespian.

Upon arriving at Skull Island, our adventurous crew runs afoul of ghoulish-looking natives, dinosaurs, and finally, Kong. The natives are particularly scary, almost alien. They capture Ann as a sacrifice to the mighty Kong, who makes a brief appearance and kidnaps Ann, taking her deep into the island. Jack charges into the wild after his love, followed by some of the crew.

In their search they encounter many of the islands more dangerous inhabitants, man-eating insects, dinosaurs. Ah yes, The dinosaurs…well, I guess this proves how good the effects were twelve years ago in Jurassic Park, because the dinosaurs still pretty much look the same as they did then. That’s not to say they’re particularly bad looking, but there’s a shot here or there that doesn’t look up to par.

The entire middle act of the film is practically filled with action, running from dinosaurs, fighting off insects, worms, all sorts of unimaginable creepiness. It’s all done very well and really gets the adrenaline pumping, but it almost feels like overkill. We could’ve lived with one less dinosaur chase sequence. We didn’t need the man-eating grubs. These are great sequences in of their own but after awhile they’re not moving the story ahead enough. And when you’re dealing with a film of this length, you’ve got to wonder if the film really needed some of these scenes.

Meanwhile, amidst all this action. Ann actually builds a rapport with Kong, showing a feisty spirit and actually builds a connection with the beast. We begin to see a softer, human side to Kong. But of course, just as soon as you’re ready to invite Kong over for dinner with the kids, he’s captured by Dernham and the ship’s crew.

Onto New York City, where Carl has Kong on display, ready to premiere on Broadway. Ann and Jack are also in town, despondent over poor Kong. The show opens, and of course, all hell breaks lose as Kong goes on a rampage through the city streets looking for his beloved Ann.

Eventually, he finds her, and while the two are on the lam from the authorities they share a scene straight out of a Meg Ryan romantic comedy. Night time. Frozen lake. Ice dancing, well if by ice dancing you mean sliding around on Kong’s hairy butt while Naomi has the time of her life (I could actually hear that damned “I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” song from Dirty Dancing in this scene). Well, finally their fun ends as the Army catches up to the pair, forcing Kong to flee up the Empire State Building.

The film ends with the iconic scene of Kong atop Empire State swinging and swatting at attacking biplanes, until Kong is overcome by their bullets and falls, slowly, dramatically, with one last glace at his love, to his death.

Yes, it’s overblown, yes it’s just plain silly, but you really buy that Kong loves Ann. And that Ann actually loves Kong. It works. It shouldn’t. Your bullshit meter should be off the charts…but it works.

The film is an amazing achievement in these days of slim quality blockbuster pickings. A harrowing action picture with not one, but two convincing love stories, a bevy of impressive special effects, and a moving climax. Kudos to Peter Jackson for again taking a classic, humanizing it, and simply taking it to another level.