Introduction
Remakes of originals usually fall short of the original though they make quite an interesting viewing if only to compare with the original. So I decided to put Peter Jackson through the litmus test to find out how does the new King Kong with the original.
The Plot
New York is reeling under the Great Depression of 1930s and everyone on the street is struggling. In the midst of this an filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black) in under pressure from the studios regarding the funds for his movie. Carl thinks he can salvage everything if he can manage to reach a mystery island where he has heard rumours about gigantic creatures.
Unfortunately, Carl’s leading lady calls it quit and he has to search out a replacement in time for his ship leaving the same evening. He luckily lands up on Ann Darrow ( Naomi Watts) who is suffering from the pangs of the Great Depression. So a motley crew is assembled and the ship departs reportedly for Singapore, but Jack has other plans.
Jack manages to get the ship steered to the mystery island which he calls the Skull Island. The landing is not very auspicious as the locals attack the crew, but somehow they manage to escape. But somehow the locals manage to steal Ann and sacrifice her to their fear, King Kong. The crew then go back to the island in search of Ann.
In the meanwhile, King Kong takes a liking for Ann and starts protecting her in the mean island full of dinosaurs and other strange creatures. Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) who is supposed to pen the screenplay for Carl’s movie ends up falling in love with Ann. He resolves to rescue her from King Kong. He manages to do so, but Kong comes chasing behind him.
Only to be trapped by Carl and thus Kong winds up on the shores of New York. What happens next? Check out this movie for the details.
Critic’s Viewpoint
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy had come out brilliantly both in terms of directions as well as the visuals. So the expectations were rock high with this remake of the earlier classic King Kong.
Peter Jackson has kept more or less to the original plot with very little variations or additions to speak of. One of the best things of the movie is the way it recreates the look and feel of the 1930s which gives a nostalgic feeling. The special effects in the movie are at times excellent, at times groovy and at times overdone.
Some scenes like the dinosaur stampede and the fight of King Kong with the dinosaurs have been done very well. Then again scenes of insects and scorpions and other groovy creatures make the stomach churn a bit. In fact, the sequence is so long that after some time you feel that it is a bit overdone.
Despite, the excellent special effects and the exciting visuals, I think Peter falls short of creating the magic of the original. Of course, the original was way ahead of time in terms of the special effects and also had a original storyline which is not the case with the remake. Due to this Peter would have done better to add a few more elements to the storyline which has not been done.
The performances are quite decent. Noami Watts looks great as Ann Darrow in the movie, but her performance at the climax just seems to miss the beat. Jack Black looks good as Carl and gives a convincing display as a movie maker on the edge of desperation. Adrien Brody also has given a decent performance, though I did not feel any performance to be a standout performance.
Amongst the scenes a couple of scenes stood out for me. One was the King Kong vs. Dinosaur(s) and the other was King Kong and Ann sitting on top of the hillock overlooking the ocean.
The climax was a bit of an anti-climax and the war of King Kong on top of the Empire State Building turns out to be an understated affair at best.
Summary
After the hieghts of The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson falls short of the expectations with this venture. King Kong as a movie does not add anything more to the original and thus leaves the viewers more or less with a hollow feeling.
I would give this remake a 3 star rating primarily for the good special effects.
PS: Taken from my review published earlier at https://epinions.com/content_216209198724