KING KONG
We once paid a premium for a video
promising action with nuns, Nazis
and kids. It turned out to be The
Sound of Music.
Likewise,
'large monkey plays with blonde'
has a certain appeal, but is equally
misleading. King Kong
is a love story that lasts three hours.
It’s also one of the truly great
Hollywood movies, combining a great
plot, strong cast and slick visuals
that's likely to see Spielberg
replaced by Peter Jackson
as the world's best-known filmmaker.
America, 1933.
The boom's over, and actress Ann Darrow
(Naomi Watts) has
to steal food to survive. Spotted
- and rescued - by Carl Denham (Jack
Black), he asks her to help
finish his new project: an action
movie to be filmed in the Far East.
She's reluctant until he mentions
that worthy writer Jack Driscoll (Adrien
Brody) will be penning the
script.
Darrow signs
up, joining the S.S. Venture en route
for Singapore. But Denham has a diversion
in mind, trying to locate the mysterious
Skull Island. He succeeds, and encounters
a tribe who worship the island's master
- a giant ape named Kong, for whom
the visitors see a great future, shackled
in chains and taken back to America
to be exhibited as the eight wonder
of the world.
Their plan
doesn't quite work…
Jackson can
never keep it brief, but in doubling
the length of the 1930s original he
lets the story strides slowly (it
takes an hour for the ship to reach
its destination) before sprinting
into action.
Dinosaurs and
giant spiders do battle and New York
is dismantled, but what really impresses
is the spirit of this $200 million
epic. Watts shifts into the A-list
with her performance, matched by Black
as the double-dealing crook. Yet it's
the work of Andy Serkis
- who 'played' Kong with the help
of CGI-modelling - which has the biggest
impact, giving the ape a human side
which sells the story.
King Kong is
an achievement few can fail to admire.
You'll go bananas.
Click here for the official
site >>>
|
