Movie Review:

King Kong

by Lynn B.

Big monkey meets pretty girl and the rest is movie history….

In King Kong, Jack Black plays 1930’s filmmaker/showman Carl Denham who will stop at absolutely nothing to get his film made. Forget ethics, safety or truth. His plan is to make the ultimate adventure film on location on a mysterious island that is only rumored to exist. Denham steals some cameras from a studio and forces good guy playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) to tag along on the mystery cruise aboard a tramp steamer to write the screenplay. Also onboard is pretty but starving (literally) actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) who Denham has promised not only a leading lady part but a good meal. Attraction ignites between Jack and Ann.

The film’s hilariously narcissistic leading man (Kyle Chandler), Denham’s assistant (Colin Hanks), the exotic animal smuggling captain (Thomas Kretschmann) and the crew, including Lord of the Rings’ Gollum Andy Serkis, are all onboard when the ship runs aground in the fog off Skull Island. Denham continues shooting his film ashore but Ann is grabbed by local natives and sacrificed to the giant “God” of the island Kong, a 25-foot silverback gorilla who takes a shine to her and protects her from the island’s dinosaurs and other killer beasties. Most of the crew members aren’t so lucky and many are killed but nothing stops Denham from rolling film!

Finally, Jack rescues Ann and poor Kong follows her to the beach only to be captured, brought back to New York and put on display by the evil Denham until the poor ape goes berserk, escapes, finds Ann and carries her to the top of the Empire State Building after causing havoc all over town. You know the rest.. the poor jungle King is brought down by bi-planes but it was really his love for a beauty that killed the beast.

This film is amazing in many ways. I’ve never seen so many eye-popping special effects; a brontosaurus stampede with desperate humans running in and out between the legs of the giants; icky giant worms, wasps, centipedes, bats, a perfect 1930’s New York etc. but nothing, and I mean nothing can top King Kong himself. The CGI animated creature incorporates motion capture moves and expressions enacted by the great Andy Serkis and from Kong’s scarred, misshapen face and body to his intelligent sad eyes and rather delicate hands, he’s REAL! When Kong was first captured and forced to leave his island.. I cried. When Kong was in shackles on stage against his will…I cried and man, did I cry when he finally gives up his life to fall from that building. If you have a heart, you’ll cry too. The big, tattooed biker dude next to me did.

Does the film have flaws?; sure. It’s too long, some of the dialogue is corny and, sadly, we know what happens before even entering the theater but director Peter Jackson has managed to keep our eyes glued to the screen none-the-less. The action is fun but the film is really a love story; about sacrifice, courage and devotion. Kong loves, he’s proud, he’s sad, he plays and pouts and you can’t take your eyes off him.

Naomi Watts is fantastic as the desperate actress whose compassion for her huge, furry captor shows in her face and eyes, without her having to utter a word. Jack Black.. although close at times to giving us that mad, raised eyebrow look he’s famous for, is really the guy you love to hate as rabid showman Denham. Adrien Brody, although not my cup of tea as a leading man, is sensitive and even heroic at times but Kong is the star of this movie and you’ll want to leave the theater and donate all you can to Dian Fossey’s Rwanda gorilla foundation; do anything to preserve Kong’s real life counterparts who are far more sensitive and caring that humans can ever be. Not only am I donating to save the gorillas; I came home and hugged my cat. We need to have compassion for all creatures great and small and King Kong teaches that lesson with magnificent success.

This movie is rated PG-13

Official Movie Web Site - http://www.kingkongmovie.com/home.html

Pictures courtesy of and copyright Universal Pictures, 2005