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King Kong: King-sized entertainment
Peter Jackson brings the Eighth Wonder to silver screen
BY A CORRESPONDENT
21st December 2005
Thought monsters became extinct with Godzilla, Anaconda and Jurassic Park? Think again. King Kong, Peter Jackson's latest thrill chase takes you to the long-dead civilization of Skull Island, where might rules. Hold on to your seats, as the ground starts shaking again.
The 2005 remake of the original 1933 King Kong, the movie, set in 1930s, tracks a film crew on its way to the Skull Island, where they encounter deadly beasts of all description, lorded over by the King Kong. The crew battles several denizens of the wild, loses some of its men, and makes it back to New York with the captive Kong.
Carl Denham is the ambitious and hard-up film producer who gets his financiers to underwrite the journey to an unknown island. Denham picks up the starving Ann Darrow from the streets, and recruits her for his venture. The rickety ship sets sail for the unknown Skull Island, which no human has seen before.
After a long voyage made possible with the help of antique maps, the ship nears landmass in the darkness, where it runs into sharp rock formations. The captain bravely steers the vessel and finally anchors near the island. The film crew set sail for the shore in a rowboat.
At the tropical island, Denham's crew comes across gigantic rock-wall formations and ancient rock sculpture, indicating presence of a lost civilization. As they move in, the crew is attacked by native tribals inhabiting who kidnap Ann, while the rest of the crew scatter away. She is bravely rescued and brought back to the ship, only to be retaken by the savages, who offer her up to the mighty King Kong for human sacrifice amid a frenzy of tribal dance and music.
Earth shudders as the Kong appears out of the jungle. The gigantic ape, standing 25 feet tall, grabs the terrified Ann and vanishes into the jungle. After a dizzying dash through the jungle, King Kong brings Ann to his den, where she tries, unsuccessfully, to escape. The King Kong keeps a watchful eye on his 'acquisition' even as Ann attempts another escape.
This time, Ann escapes, only to find herself face to face with enormous centipedes and other assorted creatures. She lands before a ferocious dinosaur. As the monster readies for his snack, King Kong emerges from the jungle as the Knight in shining armour to his babe's rescue. In a deadly animal battle, the dinosaur is felled, and the Kong beats his own chest announcing victory.
Meanwhile, the film crew is on another part of the island, trying to track down Ann. In their adventure trip across the Skull Island, the crew encounters monster bugs, ants, gigantic octopus-worms and creatures beyond description. A stampede of dinosaurs follows, when the crew flees across crumbling hill-sides for safety.
Attempts to retrieve Ann prove futile as the ferocious King Kong turns on her human friends. The crew members run for their lives, but Jack is not dispirited. Single-handedly, he treks the jungle to the King Kong's den.
By now, the King Kong has made friends with Ann and she is sleeping in his big palm when Jack Driscoll, the story-writer shows up. He manages to flee with the actress, but the furious King Kong chases them to the shore. Here, Denham, who has lost his film roles and camera find a new business opportunity in trapping King Kong.
At a beachside battle, the King Kong is attacked with Chloroform. The giant ape is caught, tranquilized and brought to New York, where he is chained and put up for display.
Soon, the animal breaks free and destroys the town, desperately looking for the girl who has been the cause of his misery. Driscoll guides the beast to the girl, and the beast calms down, even entertaining her in a frozen lake. But hunters are on way, and the ape is soon showered by a hail of bullets. The beast-man chase ends atop the Empire State Building, from where the giant King Kong, wounded by gunfire tumbles to death.
The three-hour long King Kong relies heavily on special effects, to the extent that you could say the entire movie is a never-ending FX roller-coaster. FX always draws contrasting opinions from movie-goers - some yawn and some stay glued to the seat. I belong to the second category. Right from the recreation of 1930s New York, to the high-seas voyage, to the Skull Island and all its demonic denizens, Peter Jackson has used superb special effects in King Kong to create maximum effect. The bewildering variety of the island fauna and its luscious flora are effectively brought to life with clever CGI.
Despite the mega-size action sequences and the blood-curdling King Kong roars, the movie stays in your mind as more of romantic film. King Kong's affections for Ann and her own sympathy for the giant ape are portrayed well, and stand out. Naomi Watts shines as the graceful Ann, who 'stays true' with the King Kong till the end. As the ambitious movie director who brings King Kong to the city, Jack Black's performance too makes the grade. Adrien Brody, who plays as Jack Driscoll too has made a controlled, if slightly colorless performance.
Some of the action sequences, like the dinosaur stampede and the attack of bugs defy reason. The crew escapes unscathed despite being caught in a dinosaur stampede. The attacking bugs are shot dead without a scratch to the protagonists. Well, movies are like that, we guess. We accepted True Lies, didn't we?
All in all, King Kong is king-sized entertainment. With his exciting narration of the animal story, Peter Jackson makes your money worth it. If you missed Jurassic Park, Godzilla and Jumanji, you still have time - get a ticket for the King Kong. Before he vanishes into the jungle.
BY A CORRESPONDENT
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