| SYNOPSIS:
Naomi
Watts, Adrian Brody and Jack Black stars in this spectacular
film filled with heart-pounding action, terrifying creatures
and groundbreaking special effects unlike anything you’ve
seen before! Get ready for breathtaking action in this thrilling
epic adventure about a legendary gorilla captured on a treacherous
island and brought to civilization, where he faces the ultimate
fight for survival.
MOVIE
REVIEW :
Peter
Jackson nailed Kong! (Please pardon bad pun) In his version
based on the 1933 classic, Jackson delivered as promised,
sticking close to the source material, yet adding his touches
of epic grandeur. Doubling the original's length, clocking
in at 3 hours, provided ample opportunity for character development
for the major leads (and even for Kong itself), and doesn't
scrimp on elaborate action sequences. Kudos
to the cast for their effort in what is mostly interaction
within imaginary backgrounds and a digital Kong. The main
leads of Naomi Watts as vaudeville actress Ann Darrow, Jack
Black as movie director Carl Denham and Adrien Brody as screenwriter
Jack Driscoll were almost perfect. Given loads of time to
flesh out their characters, you'd come to appreciate and understand
their motivations a lot more. Black, known more for his zany
comedies, makes a wonderful Carl Denham, adding slight humour
to his dramatic role. Watts, as usual, looked beautiful in
her role as the damsel, who, in an update, brings a certain
tough attitude to her fragile exterior. Brody completes the
trinity as the lovelorn Jack Driscoll who has to battle Kong
for the affections of Darrow.
Production
values were certainly top notch, and in the instant this movie
opens, you'll fall in love with the accurate depiction of
30s Manhanttan. For those who already know of the story outline,
we begin in New York where Denham seeks out a new aspiring
actress for his new movie set in Singapore (yes, we're mentioned,
just like the 1976 remake). However, he's really leading the
ship and crew to Skull Island to make his new movie, and there,
they meet up with the island's unfriendly and hostile inhabitants,
as well as its god, Kong.
The movie
takes about an hour to reach the island, and hence some might
find it slow moving. But keep your eyes peeled on the beautiful
cinematography, and listen closely to the dialogue - plenty
of references to the original Kong movie (I so loved the line
where they wanted to get Fay Wray involved in their production,
but sadly she had an ongoing movie project with RKO. Classic!)
And Skull
Island proved to be an action sequence playground, with the
much touted Kong versus the Rexes (3 of them actually, probably
my favourite would be the finale where Kong dealt the killing
blows) being the highlight. In a parallel sequence consisting
of Denham, Driscoll and various expendable crew, the dino-chase
sequence probably put the Jurassic Park sequels to shame,
although there are some portions where the digital rendering
looked cheap. But minor nitpicking aside, it still made for
some edge-of-your-seat moments.
The hour
on Skull Island provided much time for the Beast to fall for
the Beauty, keeping her as its trophy companion, who performed
vaudeville acts for its entertainment, while it served as
her protector from mutant like creatures. Andy Serkis provided
much of the facial movements and expressions for Kong, just
like he did for Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And
we do see the sensitive side of the much maligned ape - it
seemed that all it wants is a little tranquility, watching
beautiful sunsets / sunrises with its human playmate, who
seemed to be able to take the roller coaster tossings from
limb to limb and from vine to vine with nary a scratch to
her beautiful legs and indestructible lingerie. Perhaps a
departure from the other Kongs is that this digital one kept
its primal instincts in check, and doesn't attempt to disrobe
our heroine. Noble.
But as
Fate would have it, Kong gets captured in an intense sequence,
which shows off its brutality. The movie makes no apologies
for many bites, kicks, and slams between human and beast,
or amongst beasts. It's violent, but that's the way it probably
is. And in Manhatten, hailed as the Eighth Wonder of the World,
Kong wrecks havoc to look for Darrow, and brings her atop
the Empire State Building for the climatic showdown. In between,
I thought the ice rink moment was a pretty nifty touch, but
one which somehow jarred the pace until the intervention of
the army.
And that
iconic final scene, what a beauty! You'd know it's a lost
cause, but yet it's a tragic spectacle to witness. To the
sentimental ones, no, I know we'd have all fallen in love
with Jackson's Kong by then, but we're sticking to the original,
so don't expect anything else but the original ending. And
speaking of which, I sure would have loved to hear Howard
Shore's rendition of the soundtrack, but alas, his hasty departure
due to creative differences with Jackson paved the way for
James Newton Howard to pen the score. Not that it's bad, but
I thought it lacked a certain oomph at times.
In
short, this Kong has all the ingredients of a mighty fine
event movie. Given its length, it doesn't squander its opportunities
for a more in depth take at one of the best known cinematic
monsters created. Definite must-watch!
MOVIE
RATING:
Review
by Stefan Shih
(A Nutshell
Review - Probably Singapore's #1 Movie Review Blog)
|
