King Kong (2005)

Carl Denham: Fay's a size four.
Preston: Yes, she is, but she's doing a picture with RKO.
Carl Denham: Cooper, huh? I might've known.

I also have to include this quote…

Lumpy the Cook: [seeing a footprint that Kong has left] There's only one creature capable of leaving a footprint that size. The Abominable Snowman.

This is the latest version of King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson, is by far the most detailed both in story and graphically but unlike the 1976 version of the film directed by John Guillermin, this one has many similarities to the original 1933 film directed by Merian C. Cooper.  Peter Jackson seemed intent on doing more of a remake of the original film as opposed to a re-imagining of the story like the 1976 version.  Scattered throughout the film are references to the original like the quote above where Carl Denham (Jack Black) was trying to find an actress for his film and he rattles off a few names and one of those names is “Fay” who is doing a picture with Cooper and RKO.  Well Fay Wray was the actress in the 1933 King Kong which was directed by Merian C. Cooper and the movie studio was RKO. Its also not a fluke that this movie is based in 1933 so its technically happening at the same time the original film was being made!  That’s just one reference to the original, the list goes on even to the point where in the credits the movie is dedicated to "The original explorers of Skull Island...” and then goes on to list the major actors in the 1933 film.  We could go on with these references but all in all, it just points to the fact that Peter Jackson was not just a fan of the original movie but he intended to be faithful to it.  I should also mention that Jackson tried to get “Fay Wray” to have a cameo in this film but sadly she didn’t and ended up dying before the film was released.

Carl Denham (Jack Black) is a movie director with a dream to go to an island shown on a map he acquired to make the ultimate discovery movie in a place that no person has yet seen.  The movie studio thinks he is bonkers but he escapes from their grasp and finds stage actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and reluctant friend and screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) then sails off in the sunset to make his picture.  Ann and Jack start forming a close friendship and before too long a strong bond is formed between them.  The ship eventually gets to the island and they set foot on it only to find a primitive town full of natives that really like the look of Ann Darrow and think she would make a perfect gift to Kong who resides on the other side of the gigantic wall.  The natives take off with her and a team from the ship tries to get her back whilst discovering the most amazing place they have seen and finally the most amazing creature any of them have seen.  Carl, like a good little director, takes his camera to capture some footage of the rescue attempt but then comes up with a grand idea that will make them famous.

The special effects in the movie are superb.  Peter Jackson and the WETA team (a special effects company) in New Zealand gained a lot of experience from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and all that experience and more was put in to making King Kong the most realistic and complete adventure ever seen on the screen, and they succeeded.  There are a few interesting things about Kong here.  The main Kong movies are 1933, 1976 and 2005 and with each new version of the film Kong gets older.  In the 1933 version Kong looks young, 1976 he appears more middle aged, but here he looks older and as if he has seen a lot of action and rightly so when you consider what happens during the movie.  Kong looks fantastic and blends into his surroundings perfectly and has the full range of facial expressions curtesy of Andy Serkis (yep the same guy who played Gollem from Lord of the Rings) who also played a deck hand on the ship.  Andy had well over 100 markers placed on his face which would later be used to pick up facial expressions which would be used to assist giving Kong some more living expressions as he interacts with surrounding threats and with Ann herself.

All the actors in the movie do a good job with the main actors doing a great job without over doing it and one could imagine Peter directing with a passion as if he personally wanted to do the best out of respect for the original movie.  If there was one criticism I had, it would be that it can sometimes feel like its dragging on a bit but I did watch the extended edition which comes in at 201 minutes as opposed to the theatrical release of 187 minutes.  That being said it didn’t take long for the film to get me back into it and I think the extended version brings a better, more complete viewing.

The disc reviewed is the Australian Bluray which contains both the theatrical (187 min) and extended (201 min) cuts of the movie in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio with a very punchy DTS HS Master Audio 5.1 surround soundtrack.  The image quality is perfect as is the sound.  In terms of extras they are a bit more limited as opposed to the DVD 2-disc special edition that was available when the movie was initially released to the public, but we have the following:

• Feature Commentary with the Director/Writer Peter Jackson and Co-Writer/Producer Phiilpa Boyens
• Both versions of the movie
• A picture in picture feature which allows you to watch cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage whilst viewing the movie
• Art Galleries can be viewed also whilst watching the film

Overall I loved the movie though as mentioned above it did feel like it dragged a bit whilst they were on the island but that was with the extended version.  It’s certainly the most realistic and complete version of Kong you will see but also the longest.  The effects are near perfect and very believable; the acting is also good which along with the story (mostly borrowed from the original) provides a very solid movie that is worthy of the original.  With all that in mind it comes in slightly under the original and very highly recommended.

Movie

Image

Disc