King Kong review

King Kong

By Oggy Bleacher

The last time special effects left my jaw on the floor was when Agent Smith battled Neo in the climactic battle of The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Watching the fabric of a digital world expand and contract was truly a visual revolution. Neo lands a slow-motion punch to Agent Smith’s face that torques his features down to the smallest detail. Unlike mega-quick music video edits (Mission Impossible/Batman Begins), there is no room for error. The effects must be perfect, and they were. The scene set the bar for FX/CGI production. Two years later, Peter Jackson’s King Kong has raised the bar with what can arguably be described as the greatest thirty-minute action scene ever captured on film. Never have I heard an ovation IN THE MIDDLE OF A FILM. I was too stunned to clap, but, my god, the action in this movie is unparalleled, absolutely engrossing. Reminiscent of Lord of The Rings technique, but not derivative, the effects are heroic. People sitting in the front row of the theater might have to be carried out, but it is worth it. No matter how much you hate public theaters with cell phones and shoe commercials and expensive popcorn, find a way to see King Kong in a theater. It is unbelievable.

FX aside, Jackson’s adaptation of Merian C. Cooper’s 1933 original makes sure the audience will “get” the message here. This is not a Jaws (1975) story about Man vs. Beast. Nor is it like another Spielberg flick, Jurassic Park (1993), which examines the Man vs. Nature debate more closely. King Kong is the simplest love story ever told: Longing to belong.

Naomi Watts (I Heart Huckabees) leads the wide-eyed cast that includes Jack Black (School of Rock) and Adrien Brody (The Pianist). Andy Serkis mapped the physical motions of Kong as he did with Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Serkis also appears in the flesh as Lumpy, the salty one-eyed sea cook. As with the LOTR trilogy, the ensemble functions well to support Kong’s tale. The love story, not the credits, is the focus here. That said, the story is somewhat delayed for the first 45 minutes, as the technical details of getting the tramp steamer VENTURE underway are taken care of. Important exposition takes place in the first act, namely setting up Watts’s multi-dimensional Ann Darrow and Black’s predatory Carl Denham, but the additional sub-plot involving the first mate and a deckhand was unnecessary. Furthermore, the inclusion of references to Joseph Conrad’s book Heart of Darkness seemed artificial, as though Jackson’s desire to impress an intellectual personal critic got the best of him. Still, no one will leave this movie dissatisfied with what takes place once Kong appears. Getting to Kong might take longer than some prefer, but after Kong in introduced all is redeemed. In other words: You might ask for less, but you cannot ask for more.

Any movie that can leave an audience rooting for a rampaging 25 ft. tall Gorilla has done its job. If a fundamentalist Muslim caused this much destruction to NYC, we would scream for revenge. But King Kong is somehow more human than our worst political enemies, and we just want him to find happiness and peace. The finale is heartbreakingly inevitable, but the message is simple and clear: That which we love most may lead to our demise.

Grade A

King Kong

Opening 12/15

Cast: Jack Black, Naomi Watts, Adrian Brody, Andy Serkis

Director: Peter Jackson

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 187 minutes

Release Company: Universal Studios

http://www.kingkongmovie.com/