Thursday, February 16, 2006
The king has arrived. After a hiatus of 29 years, John Guillermin’s timeless classic has finally been reborned. And what a dramatic change it has gone through!
Acclaimed director Peter Jackson adds another blockbuster to his already impressive list of masterpieces. King Kong follows closely in the footsteps of his other hits like the Lord of The Rings Trilogy by being very special effects intensive and even sharing the same effects studio in the form of WETA. But that is not to say that this movie is any weaker than its predecessor.
Like the 1976 and 1933 movie of the same title, the storyline has not changed at all. The latest edition packs however, a lot more scenes such as a dinosaur fight as well as an ice skating scene that clearly could not be shot in the past due to the lack of appropriate technology. These scenes now appear in all of its 3d glory to entice new audiences and continue to lure the younger generation to the romance that is King Kong.
By assembling a star-studded cast with big names such as Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody and Andy Serkis, it is clear for all to see that Jackson intends to sell this movie not only on graphics alone. And the ensemble has paid off in the form of numerous Academy Awards, Saturn Awards and even Oscar nominations. But that is not to say that this film is just based on acting and effects alone. Much credit goes to Jackson for his meticulous and daring directing.
In this 2005 edition, Naomi Watts stars as the ethereal and timeless Ann Darrow hailing from the Great Depression hit New York. The woman who King Kong eventually falls in love with. After the unfortunate shutdown of her performance theater and subsequent lost of her job, Darrow is forced to source for alternative means for food and finds herself at the doorsteps of a shady cabaret. Enter scheming film-maker Carl Denham (Jack Black) who offers to not only rescue her from obscurity, but shoot her to superstardom by acting in his new direction. Along the way, Denham also manages to trick famous story writer Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) into taking the perilous journey with him on the count of paying his wages ‘shortly’.
The trio then boards the ill-fated S.S. Venture and manages to leave before the authorities manage to detain Denham for his misdeeds. Other interesting characters on board the ship include a ‘star’ lead actor who is too full of himself Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler) and the charismatic Captain Englehorn played by Thomas Kretschmann. Denham leads the crew into a wild goose chase to locate the fabled Skull Island. And despite all methods of rejection and refusal from the crewmen, they unfortunately find themselves stranded on it. The rest as they say is history.
Jackson brings to life the mysteriousness of Skull Island by meticulously planning and designing every creature and insect that inhibits it; details never seen before in any of the other King Kong productions. And the finale at the top of the World Trade Centre is a sure tear-jerker. In a nutshell, a magnificent climax befitting a magnificent movie.
But of course, what else would you expect from the master of epics, Peter Jackson?
sammy says. at 1:51 PM
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