O Peter Jackson...
Having never seen the original "King Kong" (1933) I can only speak to this film (and not the way it relates to its predecessor). The basic plot is that it is the Great Depression and it is hard to find work in theater (or film)...but that does not stop director Carl Denham (Black) who is working on his latest film. Carl comes into possession of a map to an uncharted island, and hires a ship to take him and his crew to this island. His replacement leading lady is Ann Darrow (Watts), a vaudeville actress who has fallen on hard times, and his leading man is Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler) a well-known heroic figure in films. Forced to leave town in a hurry Carl is forced to shanghai his written Jack Driscoll (Brody), a popular playwright. With the colorful crew they journey to find this island while Jack and Ann fall in love. After a minor crash the characters leave the ship and explore the islands. Ann is separated from the group and the locals try to sacrifice her to Kong (a large gorilla). The remainder of the movie is the men trying to find her (and her trying to escape) while battling the peculiarities of the island. I won't go into details, but a good number of people die...and there are some gross scenes.
Overall this was an impressive film...Peter Jackson's obsession turned reality (the man loves King Kong). I see him paralleled in the character of Carl: both men directing 'epics' with an obsession for Kong. While I can appreciate the work that went into this film (Kong is amazing, along with the various other creatures) the picture itself is uber-sentimental. And honestly, the film runs over 3 hours...it could definetly be shorter. Approximately the first hour is setting up the characters, which works, but ultimately the pacing of the film is slow and drawn out. Especially the time after they return to New York...it is unnecessarily long which completely removes the viewer from the film.
I appreciated the dimensions to Kong...normally you think of King Kong as the big ape who attacks planes from the Empire State building, and he does that, BUT Jackson gave him a personality which comes alive throughout the film (usually when he is with Ann) and it makes you understand why Ann grows attached to him. Also, like his previous triology (LOTR) Jackson employed Andy Serkis to act as Kong. Serkis was the voice and stand-in for Gollum, and though he has a real part in the film, he was the stand-in for Kong so the cast would have something to react to/with. You WILL get sucked into this film...maybe not all of it, and you may still mock it (I did at times), but you can appreciate the love of the director for this story.
HINT: Listen to Carl & Jack on the ship when they work on the script, it parallels the action which will come later. Also when First Mate Hayes (Parke) and Jimmy (Bell) discuss the novel "Heart of Darkness" there are some clues about different characters and reveals some of the upcoming plot. Surprisingly Jack Black could play a serious role, and though he becomes a tad crazy towards the end you believe it...good job!
Rent it once: King Kong in general is supposed to be a classic...and it's Peter Jackson, so it wouldn't hurt to look at it once
--: it's not the best film I've ever seen...but it's not the worst. This film has received a variety of reviews so you may already have an opinion about it, but I think it's worth the 3 hours (and if not...watch the ending b/c it's pretty intense, plus it's the part EVERYONE knows)
Having never seen the original "King Kong" (1933) I can only speak to this film (and not the way it relates to its predecessor). The basic plot is that it is the Great Depression and it is hard to find work in theater (or film)...but that does not stop director Carl Denham (Black) who is working on his latest film. Carl comes into possession of a map to an uncharted island, and hires a ship to take him and his crew to this island. His replacement leading lady is Ann Darrow (Watts), a vaudeville actress who has fallen on hard times, and his leading man is Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler) a well-known heroic figure in films. Forced to leave town in a hurry Carl is forced to shanghai his written Jack Driscoll (Brody), a popular playwright. With the colorful crew they journey to find this island while Jack and Ann fall in love. After a minor crash the characters leave the ship and explore the islands. Ann is separated from the group and the locals try to sacrifice her to Kong (a large gorilla). The remainder of the movie is the men trying to find her (and her trying to escape) while battling the peculiarities of the island. I won't go into details, but a good number of people die...and there are some gross scenes.
Overall this was an impressive film...Peter Jackson's obsession turned reality (the man loves King Kong). I see him paralleled in the character of Carl: both men directing 'epics' with an obsession for Kong. While I can appreciate the work that went into this film (Kong is amazing, along with the various other creatures) the picture itself is uber-sentimental. And honestly, the film runs over 3 hours...it could definetly be shorter. Approximately the first hour is setting up the characters, which works, but ultimately the pacing of the film is slow and drawn out. Especially the time after they return to New York...it is unnecessarily long which completely removes the viewer from the film.
I appreciated the dimensions to Kong...normally you think of King Kong as the big ape who attacks planes from the Empire State building, and he does that, BUT Jackson gave him a personality which comes alive throughout the film (usually when he is with Ann) and it makes you understand why Ann grows attached to him. Also, like his previous triology (LOTR) Jackson employed Andy Serkis to act as Kong. Serkis was the voice and stand-in for Gollum, and though he has a real part in the film, he was the stand-in for Kong so the cast would have something to react to/with. You WILL get sucked into this film...maybe not all of it, and you may still mock it (I did at times), but you can appreciate the love of the director for this story.
HINT: Listen to Carl & Jack on the ship when they work on the script, it parallels the action which will come later. Also when First Mate Hayes (Parke) and Jimmy (Bell) discuss the novel "Heart of Darkness" there are some clues about different characters and reveals some of the upcoming plot. Surprisingly Jack Black could play a serious role, and though he becomes a tad crazy towards the end you believe it...good job!
Rent it once: King Kong in general is supposed to be a classic...and it's Peter Jackson, so it wouldn't hurt to look at it once
--: it's not the best film I've ever seen...but it's not the worst. This film has received a variety of reviews so you may already have an opinion about it, but I think it's worth the 3 hours (and if not...watch the ending b/c it's pretty intense, plus it's the part EVERYONE knows)
Rating: PG-13 for frightening adventure violence and some disturbing images.
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow
Jack Black as Carl Denham
Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll
Thomas Kretschmann as Capt Englehorn
Colin Hanks as Preston
Andy Serkis as Kong/Lumpy
Evan Parke as Hayes
Jamie Bell as Jimmy
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