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King Kong [2005]
'Titanic' for Boys
2005
Review: December 15, 2005
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrian Brody
I had some booze with me in the theater and found I didn’t want or need it.
THE SETUP:
Lavish remake of the 1933 classic.
DISCUSSION:
Everything you’ve heard about it is true. The right elements of the story have been clarified and magnified, the effects are astounding, and it wears it’s 3-hour epic sweep very well. So I’m going to try to stick to things I haven’t seen discussed in every single paper or magazine.
What this movie gave me is that “Wow” feeling I haven’t had since seeing the first Jurassic Park. That combination of astonishing effects and amazing sequences. And speaking of Jurassic Park, I was struck that the one sequence in which some people are saying the effects are not up to snuff, the brontosaurus stampede, has effects that are as good [no, better] than the effects we were wowed by in Jurassic Park. You can definitely see that digital effects are really coming into their own in terms of realism. It also seems that smarter directors are learning how to use them; integrating them as much as possible into the existing footage and not in effect stopping the movie to gape at them. This film makes a point of avoiding that big first reveal of Kong, letting him appear in an understated way, and the effect is to spread that “wow” feeling at looking at him all throughout the movie, rather than blowing it all on the first shot.
Where this movie is completely different is that this Kong is completely expressive [yes, we can argue that the 1933 Kong was expressive, but even so there’s no comparison to the range of facial expression here]. This allows the film to really present him as a fully-formed character, which simply wasn’t possible before—witness the demented stare of the 1976 Kong. What this does is allow the interaction between the animal and Ann Darrow to be a real relationship, which is what entirely justifies this remake as something that did not and could not exist before this.
One thing I really liked about this Kong is that he remains an animal throughout. He is ungainly like one, he is rough with Ann in a way that suggests he really doesn’t understand how fragile she is [and this roughness comes to convey his affection and trust for her], and they keep him doing animal behaviors throughout. That is, he doesn’t suddenly turn into E.T. with recognizably human gestures and anthropomorphized facial expressions of understanding. This keeps the relationship between he and Ann as having an air of the amazing and rare, and also provides a wonderful arc to the relationship in which we can fully follow Kong’s evolving feelings toward her. She is at first just a toy, then an amusement, but things change when you start to see that he is having protective feelings for her, and just likes her around. Once back in New York, her presence calms him, and we sense a fully-formed affection. Toward the end there is ONE moment of understanding between them, which may strike some as corny, but I thought completely worked as it conveyed that he has learned from her, adding pathos by suggesting what could have been.
We also see Ann’s feelings for him evolve, nicely done without dialogue. At first she is obviously terrified, but we can see the moved surprise on her face when she realizes that he is protecting her. I felt an amazement and affection on her part from this moment on, which only grows throughout the film; she realizes that she is privileged to have this incredible and unprecedented relationship. This later is tinged with sadness as it becomes apparent that Kong will have to die. I felt that the 3-hour running time is fully justified by the depth and complexity of this relationship. Okay, we could have lost some of the ship scenes, but you’re still fully immersed in a world, and one needs time to absorb that world before one sees it turned upside down.
What else? Every single visual is pretty darn amazing. New York looks great at the beginning, and is flat-out stunning at the end, a storybook version of the bright lights and gorgeous architectures, all accented with snowbanks. The island is genuinely exotic, fully populated [watch out for those puppy-sized mosquitoes], and a true world unto itself. One moment that totally creeped me out was when Ann, crawling away from Kong, is almost snatched by a trap-door spider. The island has the air of danger everywhere one turns—not just when it’s time for a special-effects sequence.
Ultimately, I think of this movie as Titanic for boys. That is, the same way Titanic appealed to the romantic sensibilities of many girls, this movie will have that pull for boys; it is about the inability to express one’s feelings, the desire to show ardor through protection, and that physical ROUGHNESS can be a sign of affection and trust.
So yeah. Get your ass goin’.
SHOULD YOU WATCH IT?
Yes. This is a major landmark movie, and you want to see it on the big screen.
RELATED MOVIES:
KING KONG [1933] is the original and would make fascinating viewing either before or after this one.
KING KONG [1976] is pure cheese, but still kind of cool and can offer comparing / contrasting fun with this one.
