A UNIVERSAL PICTURES Release
Story - $10.75
Acting - $10.75
Directing - $10.75
Production Design - $10.75
Special Effects - $10.75
Score/Music - $10.75
*"REEL" VALUE - $10.75 = A brilliant retelling, this epic cinematic experience is undoubtedly one of the best, if not they best film of 2005, but KING KONG could also be the film that signals the death of future generations imagination.
SYNOPSIS: The year is 1933 and the Great Depression has left many New Yorkers without the means to earn a living, including vaudeville actress Ann Darrow (WATTS). Unwilling to compromise or allow herself to sink to a career in burlesque, she aimlessly is wandering the streets of Manhattan. When her hunger drives her to steal an apple from a fruit vendor’s stall, filmmaker Carl Denham (BLACK) rescues her.
Denham is no stranger to theft, having just lifted the only existing print of his unfinished film from the studio because they threatened to pull the plug. Frantically, he is trying to pull together all his resources and get his crew onboard the Singapore-bound tramp steamer, the S.S. Venture, by the end of the day in hopes of completing his action film. Although the crew believes they are headed for Singapore, Denham is actually sailing to the mysterious place of legend, Skull Island.
After Carl’s leading lady pulled out his search for a size-four leading lady, because the costumes have all been made, has fatefully led him to Ann. The struggling actress is reluctant, until she learns that the up-and-coming, socially relevant playwright Jack Driscoll (BRODY) is writing the screenplay.
With his newly discovered star and coerced screenwriter reluctantly onboard,
Denham’s “moving picture ship” heads out of New York Harbor toward a destiny that none aboard could possibly foresee and an encounter with the king of Skull Island – King Kong.
REVIEW: Filmmaker Peter Jackson and cinematic compatriots have taken a classic film, that inspired the director to be a filmmaker, and breathed new life into it for a new generation, and probably generations to come. What could easily have been a vanity project is treated with as much artist respect and integrity as any of the non-effect driven dramas bidding for a berth in the 2005 Academy Award race.
KING KONG is all about the artistry of the visual effects, as opposed to effects for effects sake that is so often the case in the “wanna be” Hollywood blockbusters. The viewer only has to look at the panoramic views of Manhattan showcased in the film to realize the painstaking detail these filmmakers went through in their attention to detail. It’s evident on every level, and in every department, from the wardrobe to the actual filmmaking. Counter to Manhattan Island is Skull Island. This fantastical place transcends time and space, and Jackson’s team at Weta far surpasses anything that Geroge Lucas and Industrial Light and Magic have accomplish in any of the last three “Star Wars” films combined. Other than the creatures, you feel as if Skull Island is some tropical paradise that you could call your travel agent for a vacation package to. It is so vivid and alive.
There are stylized sequences in the film that harkens back to the days when Cecil B. DeMille was making movies. Jackson creates an epic adventure that is supported by interesting characters, fully flushed out by minute background stories. One of the most interesting is the relationship between two members of the crew, Hayes and Jimmy, and how the screenplay brings the novel “Heart of Darkness” into the film. It’s brilliant how Jackson uses that to add even more tension and drama to his tale. Also, when the viewer begins to really look at the crew that Jackson gathers aboard the S.S. Venture you can’t help but notice the similarity to Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.” The Captain and Carl Denham both display traits of Captain Ahab, each in man is on a destructive quest for his own elusive prey.
Enhancing the overall period feel and look of the film is Jackson’s casting choices. Namoi Watts is stellar, with as much charm and strength as Gloria Swanson. Adrien Brody takes us on a character arch of mild mannered playwright who rises to the occasion to become a hero. His performance is a combination of Jimmy Stewart and Errol Flynn. Jackson works with the charismatic Jack Black to create a uniquely layered performance for Carl Denham. There are times when he is the consummate PT Barnum/Snake Oil Salesman, but still manages to squeak out a bit of humanity into the character. Still it is Denham’s darker side that comes fully to the surface and brings Kong to the big city. Actor Andy Serkis, who brought Gollum/Smeagol to live for Jackson in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, does double duty on KING KONG. He is the man behind the motion capture for the big ape, and he also plays the cook on the ship. I really enjoyed his contribution to the crew. He has a remarkable screen presence that delivers a character as memorable as the Captain, Jimmy, and Hayes.
Then there is King Kong, truly the eighth wonder of the world. The character is part performance and part visual miracle. If you look beyond Kong’s movements and the facial expressions, there is an unparalleled level of detail to this photo-realistic character that boggles the mind. There is detail to the hairs, the scares, Kong’s hands, and all of the other elements required to bring Kong to life that the combined effect has you believing this is some living entity. There are moments when he is laughing that capture the essence of apes that we’ve watched on numerous animal shows. Yet he is capable of something more. There is a duality to this beast as in the scene where Ann makes him laugh or in the tender moments in Central Park.
Like Peter Jackson’s previous films, such as “Bad Taste” through to “Brain Dead,” KING KONG is overly excessive and leaves little to the imagination. For example, for years there has been talk about a missing scene in a giant spiders lair. So does Jackson drop the characters into a spider lair? Nope, he drops them into an insect pit teaming with hordes of giant creepy-crawlies. Does Kong fight a dinosaur? Nope! Not one, but three Tyrannosaurs in a long battle that even takes place in a gaggle of vines that almost turns the sequence into a high wire act. The action sequences on Skull Island are so excessive and over the top that it feels like something from a video game, where each new game needs to push the envelop that much farther in order to satisfy the players. I’m a bit nervous. When the filmmaking process reaches this level can it, will it, inspire a new generation of filmmakers? One of the important things of the films we grew up with was that it inspired us to play games or write tales, our imagination filling in the blanks that the filmmakers could not offer us. There are so many reasons why audiences don’t go to the movies as often these days, and one is the proliferation of gaming platforms and the sheer number of game titles available. It’s not wonder that a game was developed based on the film. While Kong is amazing to behold there is defiantly a lack of depth to some of the other inhabitants of Skull Island. Hey, Spielberg cornered the dinosaur market in the “Jurassic Park” movies, and Jackson’s dinosaurs are in no way as outstanding as Kong or Spielberg’s cinematic creatures.
There are a few things that troubled me about the film. Jackson invests this massive amount of time, energy, and effort in creating the elements of the S.S. Venture. Once Kong is out cold on the beach the film fades to black and he takes us to New York City. We are at the opening night of King Kong on Broadway in the blink of an eye, in much the same manner that the classic film did. Something has gone on during the journey home to place these characters in different positions for the final act, and we never have any kind of resolution with that or in relation to the crew of the ship. I also had a problem with the leading man character of Bruce Baxter. He has a life changing experience where he becomes the man who he’s played in the movies – a hero. However, when Denham calls him on stage at the Kong unveiling he is traipsing around onstage like a buffoon and runs like a clown as Kong begins to break his chains. Lastly, if we have all these other altruistic characters caught up in this tale, why is it Denham, who seem insincere even when he speaks the final lines, that gets to have the films crescendo of “It was beauty that slain the beast.”
Just like Denham’s map to Skull Island, Peter Jackson’s KING KONG is an epic adventure into the uncharted waters of the imagination where the magic of the movies can now breath life into or most wild imaginings. No one does it with as much passion or artistic skill as Peter Jackson. Like the journey to Skull Island, should the filmmakers been more careful in what they searched for because you may not be prepared for it once you find it? Would we have been the better had Jackson left us with the Kong of 1933, and allowed the beasts of our imagination to continue to roam freely? I don’t buy into the idea that today’s youth will not watch a black and white film. Sometimes it is our job to instill in them a sense of wonder and respect for these films that are part of our cinematic heritage. Or, by bringing his KING KONG to the world will Jackson have put another nail into the coffin of young people’s imagination Once the bar has been raised, can other filmmakers, who don’t have the resources at their disposal to compete in the marketplace in the wake of Kong, create as freely or survive? A filmmaker has a limited number of films that they will make over the course of their career. Peter Jackson is unquestionably the most talented cinematic storyteller of our time, and possibly of the millennium. I hope that in later years, as he looks back over his career, he doesn’t regret making KING KONG because it prevented him from telling some other tale that could have benefited from his unique talents.
CREW: Director - Peter Jackson; Screenplay - Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson; Based On A Story By Merian C. Cooper & Edgar Wallace; Producers - Jan Blenkin, Carolynne Cunningham, Fran Walsh, & Peter Jackson; Director Of Photography - Andrew Lesnie; Music - James Newton Howard; Production Designer - Grant Major; Costume Designer - Terry Ryan; Special Makeup, Creatures And Miniatures - Richard Taylor; Senior Visual Effects Supervisor - Joe Letteri; Special Makeup, Creatures, Weapons And Miniatures - Weta Workshop Ltd., New Zealand; Digital Visual Effects Designed And Created - Weta Digital Ltd., Wellington, New Zealand; and a crew of hundreds!
CAST: Ann Darrow… NAOMI WATTS; Carl Denham… JACK BLACK; Jack Driscoll… ADRIEN BRODY; Captain Englehorn… THOMAS KRETSCHMANN; Preston… COLIN HANKS; Kong… ANDY SERKIS; Lumpy… ANDY SERKIS; Hayes… EVAN PARKE; Jimmy… JAMIE BELL; Choy… LOBO CHAN; Herb… JOHN SUMNER; Mike… CRAIG HALL; Bruce… KYLE CHANDLER; Manny… WILLIANS JOHNSON; Harry… MARK HADLOW; Maude… GERALDINE BROPHY; Taps… DAVID DENIS; Weston… DAVID PITTU; Zelman… PIP MUSHIN.
* Based on the regular $10.75 ticket prices of a Manhattan theater.
Reviewer: Joseph B. Mauceri
Score:
Related web link: kingkongmovie.com
Language: eng