One year after the final film in the marvelous Lord Of The Rings series,
and less than a year after winning an Oscar for his achievements on that trilogy,
director Peter Jackson’s next project would be no less ambitious: a remake of
King Kong. Beginning with a montage of various scenes showing life in
Depression-Era New York City, ironically set to Al Jolson's "I’m Sittin’ On Top Of
The World", Jackson’s film focuses on the struggles of Ann Darrow (the perfectly
cast Naomi Watts), who loses her acting gig when the theater she was working in
closes down. She tries to get an audition for one of playwright Jack Driscoll’s
shows, only to be told by the producer that the show has already been cast.
Taking pity on her, the producer gives Ann the address of a burlesque show, yet
once Ann goes to the theater, she’s reluctant to even go inside and leaves instead.
She still catches the eye of Carl Denham (a restrained Jack Black), a
filmmaker and all-around showman who is literally on the run from the movie
studio after having stolen his film back from them. The studio, losing what little
faith they had in Carl, have decided to cut their losses and shut down his
picture, selling the wildlife footage he’d already shot to other studios. Yet
Carl is determined to finish the film no matter what. Still needing to shoot a
romantic subplot for his jungle epic, Carl enlists Ann to go on the cruise of a
lifetime aboard the SS Venture, where she winds up meeting Jack Driscoll
(Adrien Brody), who’s slumming
as a screenwriter for Denham. Yet Denham’s idea of an exotic location is none
other than the mysterious Skull Island, a place whose dreaded reputation turns
out to be well-earned.
Unlike the horrible 1976 remake of King Kong, which lacked any ingenuity
whatsoever, Peter Jackson’s remake is an imaginative film that puts the modern-day
special effects technology to great use, especially on Skull Island. Not only
does Jackson and company match the original in terms of creativeness, such as
the masterful battle on Skull Island between Kong and three T-Rexes (or V-Rexes, as they
are known here), which culminates in the jaw cracking finale that pays effective homage to Willis
O’Brien, but there are also some truly inspired moments here, such as having Ann
Darrow perform an impromptu show in order to endear herself to Kong (and Kong’s
laughter in this scene is infectious). The first thing that Jackson got right
was setting his remake in the 1930s, which restores the innocence of the original
story. The magic and menace of a place like Skull Island would be swept away in
the harsh light of our modern times; it would probably be just another droning
subject on one of the countless, bloodless science documentary shows that
overpopulate cable TV.
Another thing that Jackson got right was the casting. Naomi Watts naturally
captures the same naïve waif sensibility that Fay Wray had, while at the same
time still proving to be durable enough to fend for herself amidst the
monstrous horrors of Skull Island. Jack Black was also a good choice as Carl
Denham, as he ably displays Denham’s shallow sideshow mentality even in the face of
great danger. And Adrien Brody is great as a slightly off-kilter, and far more
interesting, leading man. The third thing that Jackson got right was the
special effects, which are marvelous. Although Skull Island, with its varied
monsters, is a real showcase for the effects, equally impressive is the
recreation of 1930s New York City through digital means. And King Kong himself
is a both a technical triumph, as well as an artistic one, thanks to Andy
Serkis’ performance.
Yet the one major drawback of the film for me was the decision to create a
"love affair" between Ann and Kong. This causes the film to fall flat on its
face near at the end, particularly in a scene when Kong and Ann go waltzing
around on a frozen pond in Central Park. In the original version, King Kong fell
in love with Ann Darrow, but she did not return that love--which made the story
even more tragic. When Ann did her little song and dance act for Kong earlier in
Jackson’s remake, I got the feeling it was out of sheer desperation; as the
captive of a humongous ape who killed his previous "mates", Ann was simply
trying very hard to stay alive. But to have her fall in love with Kong, to the
point where she’s standing in front of him on top of the Empire State Building
and waving the planes away, is something that just rang false for me. This story
dynamic didn’t work in the 1976 version, and it still doesn’t work here.
I reviewed the 2-disc special edition of King Kong, and the second disc is well
worth the price, for it contains all of the original Post Production Dairies
that were first posted online, and they are fascinating to watch. Also very well
done are the two documentaries, Skull Island: A Natural History, and Kong’s New
York, 1933. The first disc has a trailer for "Wish You Were Here" which has no
relation to Kong other than it takes place in New York City. And the "making of"
for the Kong tie-in Volkswagen commercial is little more than a product
placement on this DVD. There’s no commentary, which leads me to believe that
there may be a "special edition" DVD of this film is coming down the pipeline.
While it’s not in the same league as the original 1933 masterpiece, Peter
Jackson’s remake of King Kong is still a superb movie in its own right, and can
be deservedly enjoyed on its own merits.
--SF
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