review: King Kong (2005)

King Kong
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody

Rating: 7/10

Plenty of ink and bits have been dedicated to this monster already, so there's not much point in doing a 6-month-late detailed analysis (and if I had that kind of time, I wouldn't be six months late in the first place). Instead, I'll give a quick run-through and then get on my Hollywood soapbox for a bit.

The story and acting were somewhat hokey (particularly Jack Black's cringe-worthily corny final line), but I think that was a deliberate attempt to hearken back to qualities of the original film (or films of that era in general). It's debatable whether or not that was a good idea in the first place, and I can certainly understand some people objecting to the film on that basis, but I didn't feel it was so over-the-top as to be obnoxious or distracting.

Despite the 3-hour length, the movie moved along at a good pace. Sure, they could have trimmed some of the extensive action, or I suppose even trimmed some of the "slow" parts for you action junkies, but I thought what was there was well-balanced and appropriate. I mean, you can't really go into an adventure movie without expecting a good deal of action, or an "epic" without expecting some extravagance, and you definitely get both here.

Of course, this is a $200 million special-effects juggernaut, and it looked it. I have one major gripe, which I will detail in my soapbox rant, but overall, the movie was beautiful. From 1930's New York City, to pre-historic tropical jungle, to Kong and all the supporting creatures, the effects were amazing. And amazingly believable. Most of the time it was impossible to tell the difference between computer-animation, soundstages, shots on location, or any green-screen composition thereof. If you like special-effects and fantastical visuals, this is definitely a movie for you.

Overall, a good-looking three hours of escapist entertainment.

It's gotten late, so I think I'll save the soapbox for a separate post. That might make more sense anyhow, since it's really a general movie rant (albeit inspired by this one). Stay tuned.