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| King Kong (2005) |
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  (9/10)
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Runtime: 187 |
| Public Rating: 9.20 (128 votes) |
Director: Peter Jackson |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Drama |
Year: 2005 |
| Writer(s): Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Merian C. Cooper (story), Edward Wallace (story) |
| Distributor: Universal Studios |
| Reviewed by: Mel Valentin |
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Additional review(s) by:
Avril Carruthers [9/10] (view).
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After the critical and commercial success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, success capped by multiple wins, including Best Picture for The Return of the King, Peter Jackson's next effort would come understandably with extremely high, perhaps even, impossible expectations. In what some critics and detractors called an act of hubris (hubris backed by the financial backing of a major Hollywood studio), Jackson decided to remake King Kong, a fantasy/horror classic starring a 25-foot high giant gorilla, King Kong. Working with his longtime writing partners Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens (both co-wrote the screenplays for the Rings trilogy), not to mention the experienced special effects group at Weta Digital, Jackson embarked on the near-impossible, to do homage to a seminal piece of American filmmaking while simultaneously broadening the canvas provided by the admittedly limited original. At the center of Jackson's decision to remake King Kong was, of course, Kong himself, but Jackson wanted to take him out of the realm of nightmare and horror, making Kong the tragic hero of his own story (instead of the antagonist). Despite several minor flaws, Peter Jackson succeeds on all levels, combining the epic sweep and spectacle of the Rings cycle with character-centered drama.
First, some background. The original King Kong was the result of a unique collaboration between directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack (both were known for their nature documentaries) and visual effects pioneer Willis O'Brien. O'Brien used then state-of-the-art trick photography, miniatures and stop-motion animation to bring King Kong and his prehistoric world to vivid life. For King Kong, Willis O’Brien refined stop-motion animation techniques first utilized for The Lost World in 1925, an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s science-fiction/adventure novel. Like King Kong, The Lost World centers on an expedition to an isolated, uncharted area (a plateau in South America in Doyle’s novel, a South Pacific island in King Kong). Most likely, The Lost World provided Merian C. Cooper for the inspiration for King Kong.
Jackson's King Kong retains the 1930s setting of the original film, but chose to film King Kong in color and not in black-and-white, which admittedly would have been a risky commercial move. The names of the major characters are the same, Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), a penniless actress struggling in a Depression-era New York City, Carl Denham (Jack Black), an unsuccessful showman/filmmaker hoping to make a profitable film on an uncharted island, Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), the nominal hero (switched from the first mate aboard a merchant vessel to a playwright-turned-screenwriter), and Englehorn (Thomas Kretschmann), the captain of the S.S. Venture (and expert in "live" capture of wild animals for zoological exhibition), the merchant ship that takes Ann, Carl, and Jack to Skull Island and to their eventful, unanticipated meeting with primitive islanders and, of course, King Kong, a gigantic, 25-tall gorilla who's worshipped as a god by the terrified, fearful islanders (here a mix of Maoris and African warriors in their physical appearance and clothing).
Jackson rounds out the cast of characters by giving Denham a personal assistant and conscience, Preston (Colin Hanks) and adding a vain, self-interested actor, Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler), characters new to Jackson's adaptation. The ship's large, mostly faceless crew includes Lumpy (Andy Serkis, complementing his beneath the fur work as King Kong with an over-the-top performance), the squinty-eyed cook, a young sailor, Jimmy (Jamie Bell), eager to prove himself (he's reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness), Jimmy's thoughtful, experienced mentor and the S.S. Venture's first mate, Hayes (Evan Parker). Hayes is also the ship's only African-American crewmember, but 1930s-style racism is nowhere in evidence (perhaps unrealistic, but certainly preferable to the alternative).
Jackson’s King Kong is liberally peppered with references to the original film (some more obvious than others), from the design of Skull Island and the gigantic gate that separates the islanders from King Kong and the other prehistoric animals, the early thirties setting, the similarities in characters and characterizations, even in specific set pieces, with Kong battling a rescue party sent to save Ann as they attempt to cross a massive tree bridge, Kong fighting and defeating vicious carnivorous dinosaurs (three in Jackson’s version), Kong’s escape from captivity in Manhattan (he’s even shackled in identical chrome steel handcuffs and leg cuffs) and subsequent rampage, and, of course, King Kong’s final, futile battle against Curtis Helldiver biplanes on top of the Empire State Building, filmed spectacularly as dawn breaks on a new day.
Jackson even includes a nod to Merian C. Cooper, one of the filmmakers behind the original King Kong, by referencing him as one of Denham’s rivals. Early in the film, as Denham discusses potential leading ladies, his assistant, Preston (Colin Hanks) suggests Fay (Fay Wray was the star of the original film). Denham dismisses her, not because of her acting ability, but because she’s currently working on a film for RKO Studios (RKO produced the original [i]King Kong[/i]). On board the Venture, Jackson has his hero stand-in, Bruce Baxter, parrot lines from the original film as Denham films him romancing Ann. One action scene involving the Driscoll and Denham characters versus a literal army of insects is also an homage to a famous lost sequence from the original, the "spider-pit" sequence that was cut from the original after a negative response from a preview audience (yes, they even had them back in 1933). Jackson even went as far as including a recreation of that scene, complete with stop-motion lookalike monsters, for the recent DVD of the original film.
Although Naomi Watts deserve considerable credit (and praise) for giving a naturalistic performance (where exaggeration tilting into caricature would have been more than likely, especially when acting against a greenscreen) and Adrien Brody gives a credible performance as the nominal hero (ultimately playing a minor, inconsequential role in the rousing, heartbreaking finale), it’s Kong, as a living, breathing, sympathetic character whose emotional journey (and ours) is never cheapened by the kind of overt sentimentality that undermined the Rings trilogy. Kong is transformed from a fearsome, terrifying force of nature into a sympathetic character, a victim of greed and hubris, torn from his native habitat only to be displayed and humiliated as a trophy. Kong’s relationship with Ann develops into companionship (if there’s an erotic charge to their relationship, Jackson keeps it safely tucked away, where few will find it). Kong’s emotional journey centers the film and gives it whatever genuine emotion and pathos it ultimately delivers (and it delivers its fare share). Jackson's Kong appears old and scarred from brutal battles with the island’s native fauna. Sadly, Kong also appears to be the last of his kind (his makeshift home is littered with the bones of his relatives). Kong's uniqueness adds to his loneliness and isolation. He may be the last of his kind, making his death (when it inevitably comes) a singularly tragic event, the extinction of a species.
In designing and animating the 25-foot tall silverback gorilla, Peter Jackson and his effects sought to come as close to actual gorillas as possible. Jackson’s King Kong is an all-digital animation creation, but Jackson's effects crew relied on motion capture technology to realistically mimic a gorilla's movement. Jackson called on his Lord of the Rings collaborator, Andy Serkis (who served as the live-action stand-in for Gollum), to “play” Kong. Animators used Serkis' body and facial movements as a template for King Kong. Motion capture allows for a range of expressivity otherwise unavailable to animators, ultimately making for a more convincing, more sympathetic Kong (much work was also done to study actual gorillas in the wild). Jackson’s Kong has the low-hanging paunch typical of gorillas (gorillas are herbivores, not omnivores). Although Jackson can be accused of anthropomorphizing Kong, he sticks close to the range of emotions gorillas actually possess (even if he allows Kong the ability to appreciate the beauty inherent in a sunset or later, a sunrise).
Jackson’s King Kong, however, isn’t without flaws. Jack Black is a fine comedic actor, but his line deliveries here (additionally hampered by cornball dialogue) are the weakest in the film. Granted, he’s meant to be a larger-than-life character, but his broad, platitudinous pronouncements tend to fall flat, even when they’re meant as comic relief from the grim events that threaten the Venture’s unlucky crew. Jackson also lingers in Depression-era New York too long in the first hour, but when you can recreate bygone worlds (thanks to a $200 million dollar budget), it’s hard to begrudge Jackson the occasional self-indulgence. Then too there’s the underwritten romantic subplot between Jack and Ann. Given the attention paid to their onboard romance (she’s infatuated with him due to his writing skills, he’s infatuated with her due to her natural beauty, but their relationship fails to develop credibly into romantic love). Once separated, Jack is left to pursue Ann and Kong (while fighting off the island’s oversized insects and prehistoric predators), while Ann has to worry primarily about her survival (with Jack a distant second), first fearing, then growing to appreciate, her kidnapper-turned-protector. Jackson comes close, but doesn't cross into overt sentimentality in developing their relationship (for that, most viewers will be thankful). Last, despite an impressive, believable digital Kong, some of the special effects, particularly a stampede scene on Skull Island and some greenscreen work, fall short of verisimilitude.
Still, these are minor, easily forgivable flaws in what is otherwise Jackson’s best film to date (and yes, that includes his overrated Rings trilogy and even the critically admired Heavenly Creatures). Jackson has created an epic spectacle combined with character-driven pathos, and, in Kong, a genuinely tragic figure. With all respect to Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, the filmmakers behind the original King Kong, Jackson’s film will likely become the authoritative version of the Kong story. For fans of the original, especially those of us who grew up watching King Kong on network television in the 1970s and the 1980s (as Jackson surely did, probably multiple times), calling Jackson’s film definitive only moments after a screening may sound blasphemous, but so be it. King Kong comes as close to a “masterpiece” as anything Jackson has done thus far. King Kong has already taken its rightful place as one of the best films of the year.
© Mel Valentin, 14th December, 2005
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