King Kong

December 10, 2005

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 180 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Did we need another King Kong? I mean, this is a remake of a remake afterall. We’ve seen the story, and this version doesn’t add much there. And why monkey around with what is already an alltime classic? However, Peter Jackson really went apes with the special effects and the results are jaw dropping during action sequences.

This version of King Kong is really a remake of the 1933 version of the story. The 1976 version of the story changed the character names and featured an oil exploration expedition. The 2005 edition is faithful to the original, it is even set in the depression era. If you somehow think Kong is merely the monkey that throws barrels at Mario, you’re missing a classic story. In this case a down on his luck filmmaker heads for a mysterious island to make a movie with exotic animals. He gets more than he bargained for when it turns out the island is inhabited by many oversized hungry animals, not the least of which is a 25 foot gorilla named Kong who likes hot blondes.

The burning question on everyone’s mind is how are the effects? If you enjoyed Jackson’s work on Lord of the Rings, you’re going to love this. Kong and all of the creatures look absolutely spectacular and the fight sequences have to be seen to be believed. This is the type of movie that will make you go buy a new TV when it hits DVD if you’re not yet using a large wide screen set. The performances by the humans in the cast were solid, and again the story is a classic beauty and the beast tale.

There is a flaw in this film. It’s the runtime. This sucker is 3 hours. After making three Lord of the Ring movies, I guess Peter Jackson has forgotten how to tell a story in a short length of time. In this case, it really is almost like Titanic in that the first hour of the movie REALLY drags. But business definitely picks up once they reach the island and Kong makes his appearance. Make sure you see this in a theater with comfortable seats, and remember to go take a squirt before it starts.

We had a pretty strong debate on whether this film is 4 stars or 5 stars. Once again we wish we could cop out and give a half star. The debate is whether the overly slow setup is worth deducting a star over. We ultimately used breasts as a tie breaker. Had we seen Naomi Watt’s tah tahs, we would’ve had no choice but to give it a 5. As is, we give it 4, but it’s a very strong 4. The effects are worthy of the big screen, but your posterior will hate that extra hour in an uncomfortable seat in a packed theater.

Posted by Billy Bob | Filed Under 4 Stars, Action, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis, Jack Black, Naomi Watts, PG-13, Theatrical, Thomas Kretschmann, Thriller