Susan Granger’s review of “King Kong” (Universal Pictures)
Peter Jackson follows his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy with this terrific remake of the gorilla thriller, placing real characters, with real dilemmas, in the context of a truly fantastical world.
Respecting the iconography of the original concept, Jackson sets the story in the Depression-era 1930s as movie-maker Carl Denham (Jack Black) launches an expedition to Skull Island. He signs a egotistical leading man, Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler), and a winsome heroine, Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts). He even kidnaps a sensitive writer Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), but he doesn’t have much of a story until he discovers his simian star, Kong (Andy Serkis), hidden deep in the jungle. A credible, poignant relationship soon develops between Ann and Kong, who protects her in a savage, prehistoric world that’s filled with ferocious dinosaurs, predatory insects and spiders. After Kong is transported to New York, their gentle, playful scene on an icy Central Park pond tugs at your heartstrings and Kong’s doom atop the Empire State Building is tragic.
More than three hours long, the narrative languishes indulgently for the first 70 minutes, a long build-up until the great ape appears. After that, it’s awesome – and exciting! With its stop-motion special effects, the mighty 1933 “Kong” set the standard for years to come and the 1976 remake was ill-conceived and pallid. But Peter Jackson and his team are master craftsmen, particularly Andy Serkis (the Gollum in the “Rings” trilogy), who gave Kong his eyes and facial expressions and emotion. Grant Major’s production design, Andrew Lesnie’s photography and the CGI are arresting in their detail and perspective. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “King Kong” is a scary, sensational 10, simply the most spectacular creature feature ever made!
