King Kong
A Film Review By Clyde Ayles
Going Ape
The story of King Kong started in 1933 with Willis O'Brien and an 18 inch model that could be moved in different positions to be filmed in stop motion animation. In 1976, he was a man in an ape suit who menaced Jessica Lange. In 2005 we have a computer generated image. This new version of Kong, directed by PETER JACKSON , the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, is long, sometimes too long, at times beautiful to look at, and sometimes off key. JACK BLACK is very wrong for Carl Denham, the movie producer who starts the ball rolling. He lacks the voice of command that Robert Armstrong had in the original. NAOMI WATTS fares better in the Fay Wray role of Ann Darrow, the object of Kong's affection. ADRIEN BRODY is on the mark as Jack Driscoll, Bruce Cabot in the original, who falls in love with Ann as they take a voyage into the unknown on a boat with a film crew looking for an small island called Skull Island.. As they go onto the island they are confronted by natives that look like they are left over From "Dawn Of The Dead" Poor Ann is taken hostage to be sacrificed to Kong. As the big ape makes away with the girl, we meet other residents of the island. Giant bats, giant spiders, and dinosaurs. At times the film feels padded to get the long running time. The sets are something to behold. The opening when we are in New York City in the 1930's. The jungle that is the King's home. The C.G.I. of our beast is very well done, but there is one scene where a group of dinosaurs are chasing a group of men. I thought this looked more like the old rear screen projection , As in the early film, Kong is brought to New York to be put on display, goes wild and winds upon the Empire State building. In the 1976 version, he straddled the Twin Towers. You will have fun here, I just thought that 3 hours plus was just too long, as did most of the audience at the screening I attended. A little trivia. In "Gone With The Wind" when Atlanta is burning, they used the gate that lead to King Kong in the original Also, if you watch the original and you see the bi-planes eireing at Kong, you will see a close up of two pilots. This is Willis O'Brien and his partner. SEE YA AT THE MOVIES CLYDE
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© 2005 Clyde Ayles