King Kong (2005)

Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody

Synopsis:
A desperate filmmaker picks up an out-of-work vaudeville performer to co-star in a film set on an uncharted island.

Impressions:
What a way for Peter Jackson to follow up the runaway success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He certainly had built up enough goodwill for all but the most hardened cynics to want to give this a shot. Unlike the '76 version, this film opted to take things back to the time of the original film and I like how the time period is recreated. We get a lot of references to the original, which shows there was a lot of love for it, albeit with a number of good-natured jabs taken. There are some concessions made to modernity, such as making Ann more than just a screaming damsel in distress, and I do appreciate the lengths taken to flesh out the cast, even if it does contribute the film's bloat. Yes, I said "bloat". The film doesn't need to be over three hours and Jackson does tend to get a bit overindulgent, but the epic scale that he delivers makes it worthwhile. There's also a strong horror vibe in number of scenes, which plays up Jackson's background (and should be a treat for his longtime fans).

While we have a few points in common with the original, the characters as a whole are significantly changed and the supporting cast is beefed up quite a bit. Ann is far more self-possessed and active character whose background in vaudeville gives the greater physicality of her role in this film more plausibility. Jack is now a scriptwriter/playwright, a more sensitive soul than his original counterpart yet still capable of considerable grit and personal courage. Kong himself is given his most empathetic portrayal and a lot of that owes to Andy Serkis performance, building on what he had done in LOTR and would later bring to the Planet of the Apes movies. There are also some nice subplots with secondary characters like the mentor/pupil relationship with Mr. Hayes and Jimmy.

Jackson continues his collaboration with Weta Workshop for the special effects to deliver a visual feast, especially when comes to bringing Kong to life, but also with all the other denizens of Skull Island. We also have James Newton Howard providing the score, which is nearly as big of a contributor to the epic feel of the movie as the visuals.

It's big, long and overblown and the best take on King Kong so far that's not likely to be beaten. If you don't mind some excess, this is an excellent viewing experience that's well worth a place in your collection.

Rating:
Own It