Review of 'King Kong'

king_kong.jpg Unless you have been living on the far side of the moon you will have noticed the tremendous hype that surrounded the release of Jackson's latest blockbuster. Of course, Jackson is well known for his previous Lord of the Ring movies but with Kong he decided to turn his directorial talents to re-making a film he credits with inspiring him to be a director.

So, what is it like? Well, it is the familiar story of a down-on-his-luck director, Carl Denham (Jack Black). Escaping 1930s New York with the police on his heels along with a struggling actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), Denham attempts to find Skull Island based upon a mysterious map as a place to film his epic masterpiece that will bring him fame and fortune. Of course, things do not go as planned as Skull Island has far more suprises than Denham, or anyone else, can imagine.

Effects are, as would be expected, absolutely fantastic and the cast really do shine in their roles particularly Black as Denham. The film is a bit long at close to 3 and a half hours but the pace does move on very quickly though, admittedly, not until the story takes us to Skull Island. A great deal has been added by Jackson to the original 1933 movie but, thankfully, he has kept the key elements including the famous last line. A definite must-view for both fans of the original movie but also for anyone who appreciates the art of movie making – Not only great effects and acting but a fantastic story.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2007-06-12


Directed by: Peter Jackson

Studio: Universal

Year: 2005

Length: 203 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360717/


Other reviewed films by Peter Jackson: