My Movie Review on King Kong (2005)
Greetings, my loyal followers and readers.
This is your loyal-in-return film reporter here to make another review:
And today, I will be doing an analysis of Peter Jackson’s “King Kong (2005)”.
Here is the rundown of it:
Taking place in 1933 during the Great Depression, overly ambitious film director, Carl Denham, coerces his film team and hired ship crew to travel to the mysterious Skull Island, desperately hoping to find it in order to pay some debts.
Among Denham’s film team is Ann Darrow, an out-of-work and struggling Vaudeville actress whom Denham hires to be the leading lady of his film; and Jack Driscoll, the screenwriter of Denham’s film who unwittingly becomes part of the voyage before he can exit the ship.
And, among the crew of the ship is Captain Englehorn, first mate Benjamin “Ben” Hayes, and the latter’s student, Jimmy.
However, after the ship crashes into some rocks and Skull Island is discovered, Ann is kidnapped by the island’s native people. They take her to offer her as a sacrifice to their idol and the island’s resident giant ape, King Kong.
With Ann taken into the jungle by the enormous ape, a rescue party treks through the forest to save the girl, among them being Driscoll, Denham, and Jimmy.
Before I get fully into what I think of this film, I’d like to say that my review here is on the theatrical cut of the film. I will admit that there were some things that I wished could’ve been put into it. Such as, more time on the rescue team in that swamp and how they got past it. As well as, more time in the bug pit scene and what happened after all of the bugs were killed. The endings of those scenes felt too abrupt and there wasn’t much explanation after them. But, I will say that it’s perfectly alright, because everything still worked well.
Filmmaker Peter Jackson certainly did put great commitment into this project. His direction with this film was stupendous! I love how he managed to give such noticeable intrigue, even through the cinematography and camera shots. The screenplay written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens does, of course, highly put it under the horror and monster genre. But, the story is not without heart and emotion, both of which are so powerful. It also has some perfectly executed drama, unexpected comedic moments, rip-roaring adventure, and a beautiful romance between Darrow and Driscoll.
The characters, character development, acting, and casting were all pretty awesome elements that the film had.
I will admit that the casting of Jack Black as Carl Denham was definitely a strange one, particularly considering his comedic reputation. However, his portrayal of the character was total awesomeness, and he made it work to where he was absolutely perfect for the role. Black was truly able to show his ability to diversify himself as an actor in this film, and his talents, sprinkled with a hint of his comedic side, shined brightly here. Denham himself had some good development throughout, in which his ambitions and greed cause him to go into deeper darkness.
Jamie Bell and his character of Jimmy were likewise elements of the film that I highly commend among others. Bell was literally able to make something so special and noticeable out of his character, despite Jimmy himself seeming like someone who came in at the last minute. His development throughout the film was amazing, and it made me wish he had been able to stick around on the screen more.
Adrien Brody, in addition, was astounding as Jack Driscoll. He gave his character such excellent personality and a committed performance, making his character so noticeable and memorable among others. Jack’s development of character, as well as his bravery and unrequited love for Ann, were each part of what made Jack so special.
But, perhaps the best member of the cast and human character out of all of them…was Naomi Watts and her character of Ann Darrow. Watts put her heart and soul into portraying her character, and I loved how she and the filmmakers were able to help Darrow be far from that of a mere damsel in distress. Darrow is a strong and brave girl who can definitely stand up for herself if needed, and her development and personality in the film was so pure.
The growing bond between Ann & King Kong is what I consider to be one of the best parts of the film. It has an emotional connection that’s extremely powerful and heartfelt. It’s likely not something one would expect, that's for sure.
Additionally, I deeply admired how Andy Serkis, the filmmakers, and the people behind the special effects used with him, made King Kong himself far from a mindless beast. Each and every one of the people involved brought Kong to life by making him like an actual gorilla, not just by look and sound, but by feel, emotion, expression, and behavior. Much of the things I mentioned are so powerful, they can resonate onto the audience.
The special effects used with the rest of Skull Island’s creatures were pretty well-done too. They all seemed so realistic, and the scene with the bugs in the pit was something that gave some definite heebie-jeebies. In a good way, of course.
The music orchestrated by James Newton Howard, as my final positive noting here, was groundbreaking! It has a certain emotional presence to it. I can honestly say that people who listen closely to his music in this movie will immediately find how much commitment and effort Howard put into his scoring, because this is one of the best he’s done by far.
I’m not gonna lie, however, that similar to the two Mummy films I previously reviewed, there were a couple of things about it that I didn’t like.
The film did have some slight cussing, some of which crossed a certain line. Some of the worst was the particular use of the Lord’s name in vain. The good thing is that at least the language wasn’t too recurring.
The biggest negative, though, was Skull Island’s native people. I mean, I get it, they were supposed to be intimidating and completely different from the rest of the human characters. But, their characterizations and the performances by the extras were so terrifying and convincing that people will likely not want to be sitting through the scenes with them.
In conclusion, however, despite the setbacks I mentioned just now, the film is one of the very best by far, thanks to its ensemble casting and performances (outside of the natives), Howard’s music score, and the incredible commitment and effort Peter Jackson and his film crew put into the movie to make it terrific.
So, I rate “King Kong (2005)” four out of five stars.
