King
Kong Before we get started, let me say that the first thing you need to do to enjoy Jackson's majestic King Kong is to go to the bathroom. The movie runs just over three hours and that is without credits.
Then grab a big bucket of popcorn and an extra large Coke and prepare yourself for one of the best movie remakes I have ever seen.
Not only is King Kong fun to watch, but thanks to Jackson is becomes almost alive as we watch the giant ape move, fight and become protective of others.
Remaking the 1933 film with Fay Wray, Jackson's vision of Kong is as much a mix of the Jurassic Park films and a regular action adventure. What is amazing is that Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow does an amazing job with her more hirsute costar. And a lot of that has to do with Andy Serkis who got a lot of experience moving in character when he played Gollum in two of Jackson's "Ring" film.
Watts and Serkis create a team that has to be seen to be believed or understood. It is almost impossible to describe their relationship if you have not seen the film.
Make no mistake, King Kong is an oversized "B" movie, but it is about a thousand times better then the first remake back in the 1970's. I hear there are still people in rehab after seeing that one. But this is one "B" baby that should turn up on a lot of 'best picture' lists this year and if it does not get an award of some type, then the whole game is rigged.
Even though the film is over twice as long as the original, it still is pretty close to the original in form and content. Carl Denham (Black) cons Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler) into starring in his next film and recruits Ann Darrow as his female lead.
He tricks up and coming screen and play-write Jack Driscoll (Brody) into staying on the ship to continue writing the script for his film.
Since all of the cabins are full, Driscoll is relegated to the hold, which is lined with animal cages. As it turns out, the crew and captain make a good living capturing and delivering exotic animals to zoos. Lions, tigers, monkeys and Sumatran Rat Monkeys.
He convinces the Captain of the steamer they will be traveling on to follow the course he sets up, which eventually leads them to a formerly unknown and uncharted island filled with falling down huts, folks with really bad hair and teeth, and a wall that is almost a hundred feet tall.
After a series of mishaps with the ship and the villagers, Ann is captured by Kong; and I don't think that gives anything away, you should already know that from the original film or from the trailers.
What follows is just plain out action loaded with giant animals, weird creatures out of pre-historic times and more fights with dinosaurs then you can shake a tree at.
Kong
is a scraper I will say that. He tosses two hundred ton Tyrannosaurus Rex around
like a kid with a ball. But it is seeing Kong with Ann that really makes this movie as good as it is. He and Ann are like old friends or at worst a pet and its master. But who is the pet and who is the master in this relationship? Sometimes that line gets blurred.
Watching Kong and Ann playing on a bed of ice in New York's Central Park was touching as well as funny.
The rest of the movie was just as well made, if in a different direction. One scene includes a dinosaur stampede segment that is downright scary to watch. I kept scrunching into my seat when they got near the edge.
As with most action films, this one has lots of humor including a scene where Thompson Sub Machine guns are used to kill overly large mosquitoes.
Most of the time, it was practically impossible to tell what was done with CGI and what was done using models. Overall, I have to say the special effects were excellent, with only a couple of places where I could actually tell the blue screen was being used.
The cinematography and the location shots were nothing short of fabulous. A lot of the filming was done in New Zealand and if Jackson has not helped the tourist trade for that country I don't know what could.
Shoot, just to watch the sunset from one of those mountains would be worth the trip.
The production quality of the film is good on every level. Form the creation of Skull Island to the crowded street of New York in the 1930's Jackson built a world that most of us missed living through but was brought home to us watching the poor in bread lines while the rich lined up to see the "Eighth Wonder of the World". I wonder if there is any social or political commentary available there?
Watching Kong on a tear through the streets of New York is dramatic and very well done. Seeing him leap into the seats and watching row after row crumble as he climbs after Driscoll is first class computer work.
There was so much more that happened in this film, from giant centipedes that try to get real friendly with Ann, to giant locusts and giant leeches that can swallow a man's head with little trouble. It is downright tough to know when to stop in a review like this and to know when to not give too much away.
I guess I could talk about the first hour of the film, describing Denham's trip across town searching for the perfect woman for his film, Darrow's search for a job that lands her in front of a Burlesque house, or even just the cars and buildings of that era and how they have been so wonderfully recreated.
Hey, I just did. Son of a gun.
King Kong runs just over three hours. But you won't be bored. It is pretty intense in a few places for kids under 8 or 9, but anything after that should be cool. And there is a little rough language here and there, but we are talking about sailors. I saw the film at the Modesto Regal Cinema for the midnight show, and the popcorn was still made fresh.