Release Date: December 14, 2005 Studio: Universal Pictures Director: Peter Jackson
Screenwriter: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis,
Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Kyle Chandler, Evan Parke, Lobo Chan Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for frightening adventure violence and some
disturbing images) Official Website:
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Plot Summary: Triple Academy Award® winner
Peter Jackson ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) directs the dramatic adventure
"King Kong," bringing his sweeping cinematic vision to the iconic story of the
gigantic ape captured in the wild and brought to civilization where he meets his
tragic fate. Jackson assumes directing, producing and co-screenwriting duties
and surrounds himself with a list of superlative filmmaking and acting talents.
Jackson re-teams with longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens,
co-writing the screenplay with three-time Oscar®-winning partner Walsh and their
"The Lord of the Rings" co-writer, Academy Award® winner Boyens. Jan Blenkin,
Carolynne Cunningham, Fran Walsh and Jackson produce the film under their
WingNut Films banner.
Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts ("21 Grams") portrays Ann Darrow, an actress
from the world of vaudeville who finds herself out of a job in Depression-era
New York. Her luck changes when she meets Carl Denham, played by Jack Black
("School of Rock"). Denham is an entrepreneur, raconteur, adventurer and
filmmaker who is struggling to make a name for himself in the entertainment
industry. Bold, ebullient and charismatic, Denham has a natural sense of
showmanship and an appetite for greatness, which ultimately leads to
catastrophe. Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody ("The Pianist") steps into the
role of Jack Driscoll, a New York playwright, who becomes an unlikely hero in a
romantic adventure story which will test his physical courage and his heart.
Andy Serkis (who performed the role of the CGI character Gollum in "The Lord of
the Rings" trilogy) provided both on-set performance reference and motion
capture performance for the title character of King Kong. Serkis also appears
onscreen playing Lumpy the cook, in service aboard the tramp steamer Venture,
bound for Skull Island, under the command of Captain Englehorn, played by Thomas
Kretschmann (U-571). Colin Hanks (Orange County) portrays a production assistant
to filmmaker Carl Denham and Kyle Chandler (television's "Early Edition"),
taking on the role of Bruce Baxter, a 1930's movie star cast opposite Ann Darrow
in the film Denham is shooting.
Visual effects are again accomplished by New Zealand-based companies Weta
Digital, under the direction of Oscar® winner Joe Letteri and Weta Workshop,
under the direction of Oscar® winner Richard Taylor. Visual effects and
miniatures will supplement practical locations in creating the primordial
jungles of Skull Island and the bustling metropolis of '30s-period Manhattan.
A
remake of the 1933 movie of the same title, this is brought into the 21st
century as truly a blockbuster in grand escapist fashion but with a
brainy and emotive thematic thread exploding down the middle.
After the release of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,
a movie without a blockbuster brain, King Kong debuts with grunts and
gruffs that makes Narnia look like a cartoonish walk in the park. Kong
has creatures (read: spiders and what the heck are they!) and more so, dinosaurs
and loads of CGI effects. Kong moves. It has got legs to sustain its
three hours. Some thought the first hour was too slow but it is imperative to
build the storytelling.
Kong has three parts. Part one sees Ann Darrow
(Naomi Watts), an entertainer struggling to find work in New York circa 1930s
depression, on board a boat to Skull Island with a film producer (Jack Black,
appropriately casted) and writer (Adrien Brody) to make a film about the
legendary island (Director Peter Jackson references the original Kong in this
section, lovingly and humorously).
On the journey to Skull Island (where Kong
lives) allusions are made to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness novel (the
inspiration for Apocalypse Now) which is thematically and evocatively
interwoven into the story. Part two shifts gear with plenty of action and noise.
Part three in the movie makes an even stronger statement about the era, and
dignity of life, when the film shifts back to New York.
Kong
is layered: the storytelling is well crafted, film technique is
skilfully executed, there is action in the middle and end to compliment the
first hour, and the themes cohere to the last minute. Peter Jackson and his
co-writers Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh are clear in what they are
communicating. There is a quality of The Lord of the Rings in its
simplicity of good defeating evil. Here it is beauty and the beast. No
allegorical meaning in Kong, which made Wardrobe a movie of
speculation and interpretation, works in Kong’s favour.
It’s a simple formula but
effective. The movie business is scrutinised, Ann Darrow is an innocent
among thieves. Its romanticism ideals are sometimes cloying and
sentimental. Otherwise they have the ability to resonate emotionally.
Watts captures expression in the face of the beast brilliantly and
convincingly, a skilful and understated performance which stands out.
And the Kong effects deserve an Oscar alone.
Kong
is sheer quality blockbuster filmmaking and storytelling.
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Release Date: December 14, 2005
- Who said they don't make 'em like they used to?