King Kong Review
You knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time before I put up my review of King Kong. This movie is so much more in depth than its predecessor that it was based off of from 1936. This movie captures the same visual amazement that the first film did in its time. With the actions of the CGI monkey being exactly as I could see a real monkey moving, to the actions of the dinosaurs, this movie is just as beautiful as you would expect it to be. The first film was just under an hour and a half. This film is actually just over 3 hours long. So it is over twice as long as the original it is based off of. Now, you may ask, how is it possible to add THAT much storyline and dialogue to a movie like this? Well, it is done quite well. In the original, Jack Driscoll is a hired hand on the ship, but in the new film, he is a writer, so he has more to his character in the way of storyline and background. And Ann Darrow is a kind of circus performer in this film, where in the original is just a homeless woman. Now, you probably wonder why things are this way, but it fits very well. The first hour is somewhat slow because it has so much storyline to get through before it gets to the island, but once the island scene begins, it is excitement for the next 2 hours. Now, before I go into that, I have to say that there are a few casting mistakes in this film. Adrien Brody and Jack Black should not have been in this film. They do not fit the roles that they have been cast into Jack Black’s eyes do not allow him to be a serious actor. He has a certain amount of mischievousness that you constantly see in him. He is great in comedic roles, but this is not one of those roles. He does better later on in the film, but in the beginning, he is very badly cast. And Adrien Brody does not work as the man’s man that has to overcome the island in order to save Watts’ character. It just does not fit.
Okay, now, back to the good stuff. The visuals are stunning. I mean, the scene with Kong and the T-Rex is amazing. I mean, absolutely flawless. There are a few shots that are not quite as flattering in the compositing, but when it is all CGI, it is perfect. And the action is heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping excitement. When it begins, don’t expect it to stop until you leave the theater. And I have to harp on the high points of the movie. The first is the relationship between Watts and Kong. In the other films it is a one sided love from Kong to the Darrow character. But in this one, there is an affection in both directions. This doesn’t mean like a gross love that many people are kind of wondering about as being a little wierd between a person and their pet, but instead seems to me to be a love between two friends. They enjoy each others’ company and both are protective of their counterpart. This pulls on your heart strings significantly in more than one scene. Then you have the work of Andy Serkis who played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies now doing the acting as King Kong himself. He makes you believe that an ape would really move and act in the way that it does in this film. Then there is the true high point in Naomi Watts. She is amazing. I mean, it is truly a stellar performance. She absolutely is brilliant. If you don’t know who she is, then go rent Stay or the Ring movies, or even I Heart Huckabees just to see her performance. This Australian actress is amazing. Everything I have seen her in, her performance has been spot on. Now, that is not to say that I have liked all of the movies, but I have liked her performance in each. She is great and should be regarded highly on the A-list in Hollywood. She is a phenomenal actress. It seems that more and more actors and actresses are doing great jobs coming from Australia. Between people like Watts, Russell Crowe, Eric Bana, Heath Ledger, Hugo Weaving, and Nicole Kidman, it seems that Australia is set to take over the Hollywood scene. And Watts is poised to be at the head of the pack. If she makes another couple of acting choices correctly, then she can write her own ticket from here on out. She is establishing herself very well, and only needs a few more pushes to keep that going for good.
The movie is great, and is a lot of fun. It might be a little too dark for kids to see, but it is great for adults who are familiar, or maybe not, with the original. I would say to go see it and just let go for the time it takes. It is a great experience and just enjoy the spectacle that is King Kong. I give King Kong a 9 out of 10.