King Kong

KING KONG (2005)
UIP
RELEASED 15 December 2005
When you beat the odds and film a classic novel that everyone said was unfilmable, for which the trilogy of resulting movies end up earning a total of seventeen Oscars and launchs the fantasy genre as the hot ticket (see bandwagon-jumper ‘Narnia’), you have probably earned the right to indulge yourself a little. So why not go for broke? The film studio will give you as much money (reportedly $200 million) as you need to make it, and they’ll throw in a $20 million fee for yourself and your writers. Let’s face it, for those figures, this isn’t going to be a small family drama. For his next trick, ‘Lord of the Rings’ director Peter Jackson shall remake a classic that has stood unsurpassed since 1933. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the eighth wonder of the world – ‘King Kong’.
Deciding to keep the film set in 1933 (unlike the 1976 remake which saw Kong jumping from one World Trade Centre building to the other), Jackson starts off with a picture-postcard tour of New York, where workers eat their lunch sitting on steel girders over a hundred stories above ground level, with the Great Depression taking it’s toll on the streets, and vaudeville actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) is struggling to pay for her next meal. As if by divine intervention, filmmaker Carl Denham (‘School of Rock’s Jack Black) encounters her just as his next leading lady drops out (‘Fay’ (as in Wray) for an RKO picture, ie. the original ‘Kong’ movie, a little post-modern joke there). Insisting she is perfect for the role (well, she’s a size-four at least, and the costumes have all been made), Ann’s mind is made up when she discovers topical playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) is onboard and penning the screenplay. Setting sail aboard the Singapore-bound S.S. Venture, what nobody actually knows is that Denham and his put-upon assistant Preston (Colin Hanks) hold a map that promises a world that time forgot: Skull Island. If Denham can find and capture on film this mysterious place of legend, his reputation as a filmmaker will skyrocket. What he finds is more than he could have dreamed of – a twenty-five foot tall ape called ‘Kong’.
Rounding out the cast are German star Thomas Kretschmann, who plays the Venture Captain, idealistic Jimmy (Jamie Bell), Evan Parke as first mate Hayes, Kyle Chandler as ‘B’-movie-level leading man Bruce Baxter, and Andy Serkis as Lumpy the Cook (as well as the on-set performance reference and motion-capture performance for ‘Kong’ himself, much like he did for ‘Gollum’ in ‘The Lord of the Rings’).
At a shade over three hours long, ‘King Kong’ is possibly the ultimate blockbuster. It has action sequences that are more intense, exciting and sheer imaginative than anything seen in years (that includes you Mr Spielberg), it has a script that wittily wipes the floor with most other movies, let alone the usual braindead blockbusters, and a love story that is simply ‘titanic’. The quality of work involved on the animation and character of ‘Kong’ is quite incredible. You are never less than convinced that he is a living, breathing beast, whose emotions and actions towards Ann result in a platonic love affair. Like the original, ‘King Kong’ is a tear-jerker that will need a big box of tissues.
Constructed in three clear parts, the first hour involves simply getting to Skull Island, but this relatively slow part contains lots of fun character development, focusing on the desperate Carl Denham (played with glee by Jack Black) and the romantic notions of Ann (Naomi Watts being excellent throughout, having a classic movie star beauty that captures the affections of both Jack Driscoll and Kong). The first hour also contains plenty of aerial shots of New York, which are completely computer-generated and rendered just as it looked back in ‘33, with the iconic Empire State Building standing proudly in the centre. Thirties New York has never looked better, especially in a night-time scene as the Venture leaves port, and I doubt there is real-life footage that can compare to the technical wizardry acheived here.
The second part of the movie sees our intrepid crew reach Skull Island, which involves a dramatic fight not to get smashed on the island rocks, before discovering the island isn’t as deserted as they may have thought. What follows is a fearsome encounter with the primitive locals who like to do nothing better than murder a few strangers and make a ritual sacrifice – while rolling their eyes in a hypnotic trance. This is probably the scariest part of the film, so if your young kids make it through this bit, you should be okay for the rest. After this, it’s one long rollercoaster action ride. There’s a dinosaur stampede, then killer lizard dinosaurs, then Kong shaking humans off a mighty felled tree stump, then Kong fighting multiple dinosaurs, then just when it seems things can’t possibly get any worse, the creepiest creepy crawlies you’ve ever seen attack the crew of the SS Venture crew in what looks like the end of the line for them. These action sequences seem to continue virtually without respite for thirty minutes, and it’s awesome filmmaking. Just don’t ask how they get a twenty-five foot gorilla on the SS Venture!
When the crew finally escape from Skull Island, we race headlong into the movie’s resolution to see Kong unveiled to entertainment-seeking Manhattan audience, who are treated to a glossy Hollywood stage show where comical island inhabitants dance ‘numbers’ around the shackled Kong. The look of sadness on his face is heart-wrenching. It isn’t long before the audience are running for their lives and the military are focusing all their firepower on the unfortunate Kong. This is the real heart of the movie, and Kong’s plight is never less than tragic. I defy anyone not to have a lump in their throat as the final scenes plays out.
Action for the men and romance for the ladies, ‘King Kong’ really does have it all. I’ll be surprised if there’s a better blockbuster for years. The King is back!
FIVE OUT OF FIVE