King Kong
Starring: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Andy Serkis
Written by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson (screenplay); Merian C. Cooper, Edgar Wallace (story)
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Grade: Definite A+

King Kong – the story of a giant ape* from a primitive land and the girl from New York with whom he falls in love.

This film has been remade more times than Jason has been reborn in Friday the 13th sequels. What makes this version any better than the rest?

Let’s see…

• Decades of digital animation advances
• A director who attempted to remake this film at least two times already (once after seeing the original 1933 version when he was 9 using miniature plastic apes and dinosaurs; again at age 35, after making The Frighteners. The plug was pulled on that version since the release would have followed remakes of Godzilla and Mighty Joe Young) **
• This director happens to have created one of the most memorable trilogies ever to grace the silver screen, with the latter installment of said trilogy receiving 11 Oscars, a feat matched only by Titanic
• The cast and crew contain many people who have worked well together before, including Jack Black and Colin Hanks (Orange County), Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (has written some part of most of Jackson’s films, and she is his life-partner, having two children with him); and Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis (Serkis played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings series that Jackson directed).

Yes, the 2005 version of Kong has all those advantages. But whatever the reasons may be, the result is clear. This Kong is awesome.

Sure, some of the action defies physics. But it is meant to be fantastic, meaning of fantasy, not just great. You have to ignore reality and just enjoy the spectacle. Isn’t that the point of such a movie anyway – to escape reality for a bit and just be entertained?

If so, it delivers 110%. Take one unchartered island. Mix in some fierce natives and human sacrifices. Toss in some giant lizards, bugs and dinosaurs, and of course, one great big gorilla. Now you’ve got yourself the perfect recipe for some freaking sweet action.

But the action isn’t the only thing that is great. The characters are great, too. Jackson creates a depth with each one, leaving none without a redeeming value, all endearing.

Well, there are a few extras who remain undeveloped. But someone has to be squished and consumed by the giant creatures without having to create a big, dramatic moment, just being able to marvel at their demise.

Jack Black is great, even toned-down. He plays overly ambitious movie director, Carl Denham. He has a great line where he is trying to convince Watts’ character, Ann Darrow, to join his cast. He says, “Trust me. I’m a movie producer.” This surely was a little jab at the industry by Jackson.

Brody acts as playwright Jack Driscoll. I like the fact that Brody plays a writer turned hero. The writer is often at the bottom of the ladder in the chain of command in the movie industry. So it is very cool to see a writer kick some butt.

There are also great turns by Colin Hanks, Kyle Chandler, Thomas Kretschmann, Evan Parke, Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis (not as Kong). Hanks plays Black’s neurotic assistant. Chandler is the prima donna movie star who turns out to be mildly heroic after all. Kretschmann plays the Captain of the ill-fated ship. Parke is a surrogate dad to Bell’s semi-juvenile delinquent character (all grown up since his role as Billy Elliot in the movie of the same name). Serkis provides some comic relief as Lumpy the cook.

The chemistry between Watts and Brody is magical. The development of their relationship is definitely one the highlights of the film. Jack will stop at nothing to save Ann. He risks his life time and time again for her.

But Ann is not helpless. She fights off Kong and wins his affections by entertaining him with her Vaudeville act and by showing him more awe than fear.

The chemistry between Watts and Kong is the best.

Kong is being brought to life with the aid of actor Andy Serkis, who brought to life Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.

Great story-telling has reserved a section of itself for the misunderstood tragedy. There are many classic characters who are wrongly persecuted with less than favorable results: The Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo, Frankenstein. Kong stands with them.

The stories that are told over and over, that are reworked and reinvented, are often those with a message. King Kong is one of these stories.

It warns us to be careful of our motivations. Carl Denham seeks fame and fortune at any cost, without regard for anyone but himself. His greed results in many deaths.

It also cautions us not to judge a book by its cover. So the next time you see a giant gorilla terrorizing the city, don’t kill him. Just sedate him and put him back in the wild from which he was kidnapped. And send him a friend. After all, he’s not angry, just lonely and lovelorn.

It wants us to believe that with love, all things are possible – even surviving attacks by giant bugs, lizards and apes.

I must say, I enjoyed all 187 minutes of this movie. Please, don’t groan about the run time. For the nearly ten dollars it costs per ticket, I say that’s the least we should get. This King Kong is so worth every penny.

*Ape is defined by Webster’s as a tailless monkey. Gorilla is defined as the largest of the apes.

**Source: Premiere Magazine