MOVIE REVIEW: A Huge KONG to the head!

For a movie director with a huge $200 million dollar budget to work with and a wealth of computer technology by your side, it would be likely for them to over do it. This week, Academy Award winning director Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the world famous King Kong film was released. And it is not hard to say that Mr. Jackson over did this one. The world is very familiar with the work of Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame) and the classic 1933 film King Kong. Surely putting them together would be a rousing success, but I am going to have to disagree.

In this new adaptation, vastly different from the original, we follow the movie studio of Carl Denham (Jack Black) to the unknown world of Skull Island. The filming of the movie becomes the fight for survival as the crew battles dinosaurs, man eating spiders, and above all, a twenty five foot tall ape, Kong. When the ape captures the aspiring actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) it becomes a long rescue mission. Being the only woman on the voyage, all of the men desperately want her saved, especially playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody).

Jackson, however, may have lost the essence that the old 1933 version brought to the audiences. The graphics in Kong are nothing short of amazing, but there is an element of the film that makes it seem unrealistic. Kong, brought to life by Andy Serkis, is a very real looking and personable monkey that touches your heart and tickles it as well. These graphics look great and are spectacular. Never have I seen a CGI Character evoke so much emotion. But scenes like the dinosaur stampede are not necessary and add to the great length of the film, about 3 hours long.

Naomi Watts does a great job relating to the monkey and her love for the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ progresses throughout the episode. Her talent combined with the CGI monster makes for a great on screen romance. The Pianist’s Adrien Brody portrays the artsy playwright Jack Driscoll. His character does not have a lot of depth, but somehow Brody makes the character likeable and seems to portray Driscoll in the right way. Jack Black’s Denham character is the pudgy 1930s filmmaker who always has his camera. Perhaps Jack Black was not the best choice for this movie, as he never shows any sort of emotion and is very monotonous.

Andy Serkis, mentioned above, was cast to make the emotion and acting of Kong possible. While in production for Kong, Serkis had 132 digital sensors attached to his face to pick up nearly every movement, in an effort to make the 25 foot tall ape even more personable. The art directors then used these movements to make the ape using CGI. Production Designer Grant Major and Set Artist Dan Hennah do an excellent job in developing the infamous Skull Island and makeup artist Corinne Bossu recreates the ancient tribe through impressive makeup and accessories.

Many wonder if the remake of the 1933 version was necessary, using the old statement “If it ain’t broke, don’t remake it” in their defense. I don’t see the film so much as a remake of the original but rather a new adaptation of it. Jackson did add tributes to the original film like using a similar score, adding the apple scene and the practice scream scene. Prior to her death in 2004, Fay Wray, the actress of Ann Darrow in 1933, was scheduled to appear in the film to say the famous last line: “Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.”

OVERALL RATING: 2.5/4