KING KONG
dir: Peter Jackson
"And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty, and beauty stayed his hand. And from that day forward, he was as one dead." - Carl Denham
Brief Synopsis
A struggling filmmaker attempts to make his masterpiece on a deserted island that is host to violent natives, dinosaurs, and a giant Ape named Kong.
Why It's Here
Often considered self-indulgent, Peter Jackson's three hour epic is exactly that, which surprisingly doesn't hurt the film at all, instead, Jackson's dedication to the story makes it a true passion project. Jackson's ambition to make a Kong adaptation is extremely loyal to it's origin. Jackson once again proves to be the master of current special effects, with the Kong character completely digitally rendered, yet exherting more emotion and character than most actors today. The ability to create a great character from CGI is a talent that almost no other directors have. This is a true labour of love.
Casting wise, Peter Jackson proves he is bold once again with the often questioned casting of comedian Jack Black as Carl Denham, a pivotal character. While Black doesn't exhert the same sense of translation from comedy to drama as others such as Robin Williams or Jim Carrey have proven to do, he gives a strong performance and exceeds expectations, his role is perhaps the most memorable in the film because of the surprising quality, that is not to take away from Naomi Watts whose role continues her streak of steady acting accomplishments where the actress had to film the majority of her scenes only imagining the great beast was interacting with her proving her to be one of Hollywood's finest talents.
Jackson's masterful ability to create life through computers makes his project happily self-indulgent, showing his love and care for the character and this film. Paced slowly with more running time than likely necessary, Kong appears at the perfect time, with only one T-Rex fight too many, the story moves steadily to it's grand finale in New York which does not disappoint, the modern day remake is visually amazing, showing Jackson as a master at work.
Casting wise, Peter Jackson proves he is bold once again with the often questioned casting of comedian Jack Black as Carl Denham, a pivotal character. While Black doesn't exhert the same sense of translation from comedy to drama as others such as Robin Williams or Jim Carrey have proven to do, he gives a strong performance and exceeds expectations, his role is perhaps the most memorable in the film because of the surprising quality, that is not to take away from Naomi Watts whose role continues her streak of steady acting accomplishments where the actress had to film the majority of her scenes only imagining the great beast was interacting with her proving her to be one of Hollywood's finest talents.
Jackson's masterful ability to create life through computers makes his project happily self-indulgent, showing his love and care for the character and this film. Paced slowly with more running time than likely necessary, Kong appears at the perfect time, with only one T-Rex fight too many, the story moves steadily to it's grand finale in New York which does not disappoint, the modern day remake is visually amazing, showing Jackson as a master at work.