Boredworkers.com

Yesterday was Boxing day. Instead of going out post Christmas shopping, I spent the day watching Peter Jackson’s 2005 reproduction of King Kong. The movie stayed true to the original (mostly) and was a fairly good remake. However… it was one LONG DRAG of a movie. Granted that it had its moments but I am not afraid to admit that I fell asleep in towards the end of the show. Maybe we should start at the beginning and work our way from there.

“King Kong doesn’t show up in the first 30 minutes. When he finally shows up and you feel it is time for him to die, he refuses to…”
- Friend commenting on the movie -

The show opens with some background on the key characters (sans King Kong). We follow Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts)’s plight in show business through the urban jungle of New York during the Great Depression of 1933. Then we get a glimpse of Carl Denham (Jack Black), a movie director and the main catalyst for the events that are about to unfold. The movie goes on to document the minor events that lead up to them discovering the legendary Skull Island, and in the process introduces all the characters (such as Ann’s new love Jack Driscoll [Adrien Brody], Captain Englehorn of the Venture [Thomas Kretschmann], Ann’s cowardly co-star Bruce Baxter [Kyle Chandler], Denham’s poor assitant Preston [Colin Hanks], Venture’s first mate Hayes [Evan Parke], and Venture’s youngest crew member Jimmy [Jamie Bell]) that would play a part in the wild adventure (parts small and great).

The prelude to King Kong’s first appearance is one long story that spans a good 40 minutes. We see how Denham hoodwinks the people around him to have his way. He is portrayed to be an to be an obsessed movie director that cares only for his feature film, fame and glory. He sacrifices numerous lives in his attempt to capture the surreal environment that is Skull Island. And he rationalises it all away by saying that he would dedicate his life’s work to those who had given their lives. We see how the cast meets up with the natives of Skull Island, how Ann is eventually kidnapped by the natives and offered as a sacrifice to King Kong. And only after all that do we get a glimpse of the giant ape’s ugly pug faced mug.

But from that point out, the show is packed with action as Ann’s new found love interest Jack Driscoll leads a rescue mission to save the (beautiful) actress. We follow their trail through the jungles of Skull Island, populated by exotic-prehistoric-non-extinct insects, creatures and dinosaurs. At the same time, we get to see the developing friendship between beauty and the beast. Again and again, our gargantum hero, King Kong saves Ann’s life, earning her respect and loyalty. Probably the best part of the movie is the great battle sequence between King Kong and three (3) T-Rexes (?). Fast forward another 45 minutes and we see Jack Driscoll finally rescuing Ann, after surviving a rather disgusting romp at the bottom of an insect infested gorge. The rest of the movie goes on to show King Kong’s capture, his debut in New York, his terrorisng the city, a cute sequence of King Kong and Ann playing in the snow, and of course, the climbing of the Empire State building.

It was between King Kong’s capture and his reappearance in New York that I finally succumbed to the sandman. I think I must have dozed for a good 10 minutes. I woke up just in time to see King Kong ripping through the streets looking for Ann. I don’t think I missed much. The scene on top of the Empire State building will touch some heartstrings. You start to pity the brute as he saves Ann’s life yet again. If you think about it, it wasn’t his fault that he was there in there first place. Humans brought him to civilisation when he was perfectly happy roaming the wild. Humans provoked him to violence. At the end of it all, you must wonder… why couldn’t we leave the poor ape alone in the first place? Is it human nature to antagonise everything?

Well, after watching the movie, I’ll say again that it stays true to the original. The sweeping scenery of Skull Island and the rendition of 1930’s New York are believable. In some ways, you can connect with the main characters, but there are some gaps in the movie that you can’t make heads or tails of. It is a good watch, except for the long boring moments in between. I should warn you though that the soundtrack INDUCES SLEEP! Buy it if you need some good music to sleep to.

Worth a watch, just for the novelty of it all. That and the fact that everyone else has/is/will watch it. If you don’t you might just feel left out when your friends start talking about (or dissing) the movie.

King Kong, Eighth Wonder Of The World The Movie (2005)