Now THAT'S How a Giant Gorilla is Supposed to Look

King Kong (2005)

Jackson didn't just beef up the graphics in this one--the characters, the plot line, even the run time was jumbo sized in this epic remake of GARGANTUAN proportions.

What Rocked

This movie, in my opinion, succeeded in doing what every remake is supposed to do. First, it fulfilled our need for the bigger, badder special effects. The first Kong was just shouting, "Please make me better some day!" And Jackson did. The effects were incredible. Kong was perfect. I honestly cannot imagine someone doing it better someday. I think the quest for a better Kong is now complete.
Second, it playfully added pieces of the original to show its respects. Father of the Bride did this well; Psycho did not. The references to the original were subtle, but lovely. My favorite was the scene in the beginning where Denham (Black) and Preston (Hanks) were discussing possible actresses for the movie. The dialogue went something like this:

Preston: "She'd have to fit a size 4."
Denham: "Fay's a size 4." <~~~ original Ann Darrow
Preston: "Yes, but she's doing a movie
with RKO." <~~~~~original production company
Denham: "Cooper. I should have known" <~~~~~ original director
Love it. Its like they were filming the same movie at the same time!
Next positive remake trait, it took what the original did and amplified it. Darrow, Denham, and Driscoll were all given more layers and more of a story. We were even given more characters that we could become attached too, especially little Jimmy. I was rootin' for that kid the whole way; thank God they didn't kill him off. Kong was even beefed up. In the first film he fought off one t-rex. In this film he didn't fight off one...not two...but THREE toothy devils. That is one badass monkey.
That brings me to my favorite part of this film: the relationship between Kong and Anne. When I read the review of the first one that mentioned people crying, I envied their responses. Jackson's film got me there. He made Kong more than just a monster. He humanized him through the playful and emotional scenes with Anne. Naomi Watts did an excellent job, by the way. Lovely and loveable. I cared for both of them deeply, which made the movie's climactic end much more powerful for me.

What Blew

Most of my complaints are really nit-picky. While I do give major props for Jack Black's performance--I was surprised to see him have so much control-- I could not decide how I felt about his character. Was he a good guy or a bad guy? It seems that his actions were pretty bad, but his attitude made him not so dark. The ambiguity frustrated me. The natives were terrifying. As soon as they came into the movie, the entire mood dipped sharply down. It was a very abrupt shift--I would say too abrupt--from "yay we're on a boat!" to crashing waves, head bashing, and voodoo chants. I thought I had flipped over to some horror flick that I would never watch intentionally (I'm a big chicken).
They put the damn spiders back in. Not only that, they added giant worms, giant cockroaches, giant millipedes....ugh ::shiver::. I'm not gonna lie....I fast-forwarded it a bit. I just couldn't handle it, and I think the whole thing could have been skipped.
Fast-forwarding may have helped this movie more than once. It is over 3 hours long....that is too long. Very few movies are still good 2.5 hours into it, and I always prefer it when they keep it short. They achieved a LOT in this movie; I mean the plot was always a vast one. But I think they could have cut many of the scenes just a little so that the movie would not have been so damn long. For goodness sake the first one was only like 100 minutes and this one took that long just to get to Skull Island.

What Others Thought

• Oscar finally gave Kong his crown-- three actually. All for the technical stuff, though.
• RottenTomatoes dialed down its monkey-loving, giving only an 83% to Jackson's film: "Peter Jackson’s dream project is as good as event movies get; King Kong is visually spectacular and emotionally resonant." It sounds like they agree with me, just not as enthusiastically. (BTW I peeked at the '76 version's score and it only got a 48%--so I guess I didn't miss much.)
• I think Stephanie Zacharek encapsulated my feelings well: "But good things do come in big packages. The trick for any filmmaker is to find the small movie within the big one, which is exactly what Peter Jackson does in King Kong." Jackson certainly found the delicacies--especially in the relationships--in the big picture and brought them to the foreground masterfully.
  
• I liked Paul Clinton's sentiments: "In a word, Jackson's "King Kong," is spectacular, awesome, phenomenal and breathtaking. OK, so I can't boil it down to one word." Very cute.
  
• Time Magazine's remarks sting--but they do have a point: "And our response to the ape's doom, once touched by authentic tragedy, is now marked by relief that this wretchedly excessive movie is finally over." Yeah, the length really hurt the film.
  

In sum, the movie was a visual and emotional masterpiece--but could have been condensed for better impact.

What Else You Should Know

Excellent news for all those who miss the up-close-and-personal interaction with the hairy man himself. Growing up in Florida, I always LOVED the King Kong ride at Universal Studios. I had the script memorized; it was my dream to one day work that ride myself. Alas, the ride was closed to make room for newer, more exciting rides (aka The Mummy which BTW I just found out is also a remake; man they really are everywhere...) But Peter Jackson just announced at comic-con that the big guy IS going to be returning to the California Universal Studios:

"In the new attraction, Jackson said the tram will drive onto a motion-simulator base inside a darkened soundstage surrounded by eight Cinerama screens that envelop riders with a wraparound view of Skull Island, according to Ain’t It Cool News."

So if you want to meet Kong yourself, time to go West.
For those of us stuck home because of budget restraints--damn economy keeping me from giant apes-- Jackson ALSO recently announced a prequel to the movie. Woot woot! Kong Lives!