Peter Jackson is a masterful director and his name now truly deserves to be mentioned with the greats. He proved it with the amazing “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and he proves it yet again with a remake of “King Kong,” the movie he says inspired him to become a director.

The story is very familiar. A filmmaker takes a movie crew to an island, far, far away. The leading lady is kidnapped by natives and is left for a sacrifice to a gigantic ape, King Kong. The crew goes to rescue her and eventually captures the ape and brings him to civilization. Without ruining the end for anyone who might not know it, let’s just say that King Kong doesn’t care much for the city.

“King Kong” is a marvelous picture, deserving of at least Academy Award nominations in many of the major categories and Jackson should be a shoo-in for Best Director once again. He takes the audience on a fantastic voyage to an exotic locale and gives the viewer everything that makes movies great — comedy, romance, adventure, thrills, chills, etc. His vision is incredible and he captures the audience’s attention and imagination from the opening moments, as he travels around Depression-era New York and introduces us to the main characters, and he doesn’t let go unti the final, heart-wrenching moments.

While Jack Black’s Carl Denham drives the film toward Skull Island and Kong himself, it is Denham’s leading lady, Ann Darrow, played expertly and tenderly by Naomi Watts, and her captor/protector Kong that are the center of the film. Watts is a gifted and beautiful actress and her blend of comedy and sorrow, coupled with her ability to outscream any scream queen, should garner her an Oscar nod.

Unfortunately, Kong himself can’t be nominated but Andy Serkis, the actor who portrayed him through motion capture technology, gave Kong a massive character that pulls the audience in and makes one root for him as he battles all of his foes. As the time on Skull Island comes to a close, the audience has seen Kong’s scars and has had a taste of the hard life that he has had on the island. They have seen his mettle and know that he is more of a hero than a monster. The rest of the cast, which includes Adrien Brody, Jamie Bell and Colin Hanks, does a great job, but can’t help but be overshadowed by Kong and Darrow and their story.

There is only one flaw to the film - its length. At just about three hours, “King Kong” is 10-15 minutes too long. If Jackson had trimmed a few scenes by 30 seconds to a minute, he would have been able to clock in at under three hours. Still, if the only complaint about a masterpiece like “King Kong” is that there is too much masterpiece, it is not much of a complaint.

Jackson’s “King Kong” is destined to be a classic and is the best example of how a remake should be done and why. The original, which features effects that look really hokey today and has an even cornier script, is fun for film aficionados but it gets neglected by many others. Jackson has kept all of the wonder of the original that attracted him as a boy but has used his genius and the technology at his disposal to entice a more demanding, modern audience.

****1/2

login to post comments