First of all, what an ambitious film this is. Jackson wasted no time trying to one-up his LOTR success and went straight for the kill. And he has succeeded one-hundred percent.
Jackson is in his territory here, filming a story he loves and it works out with uncanny beauty, amazing sights, classic characters and breathtaking energy.
First we have Jack Black as Carl Durham the selfish director. Who would have thought it? Can Black handle this kind of straight (mostly) drama? Perfectly. An he has the look with his 1930's hair flopping around as he hightails it to a ship with stolen film.
Then there is Naomi Watts. If ever there was an actress for this role: no one will disagree, it is Naomi Watts. Flawlessly beautiful, endlessly empathetic and quietly emotional; we see her go from horror to love as she slowly understands King Kong.
Almost every inch of this movie is flawless. It has heedless energy and wonderful characters that, combined with the beautifully constructed; somewhat surreal (due to the thick CGI, which is well done) scenery occupy the movie so strongly that we never complain about the three-hour running time.
The three-act film takes place on a ship and in the city, on Skull Island, and then back in the heart of the city. During this time Jack Driscol (Adrien Brody, perfectly) and Ann Darrow (Ms. Watts) will grow towards love; the young Jimmy (the wonderful, underused Jamie Bell, convincingly) will be mentored and and grow into a hero. and Durham (Jack Blacl) will turn from an good-intentioned filmmaker to a rather ruthlessly greedy man.
And then there is Kong. At home in magnificent action sequences fighting three T-rex's at a time he is also unbelievably good at getting us to care for him; and his playful interaction with Ann Darrow is one of the film's many pleasures.
The film proceeds to its final, explosive ending; but still fits in time for a quiet sunset and a sequence on ice which reveal the heart of the film. It is moving and powerful in a way that is sad and delights at the same time; and will remind any willing moviegoer of the power movies have for us when we are young children.
This is a wonderful film. See it.
Jackson is in his territory here, filming a story he loves and it works out with uncanny beauty, amazing sights, classic characters and breathtaking energy.
First we have Jack Black as Carl Durham the selfish director. Who would have thought it? Can Black handle this kind of straight (mostly) drama? Perfectly. An he has the look with his 1930's hair flopping around as he hightails it to a ship with stolen film.
Then there is Naomi Watts. If ever there was an actress for this role: no one will disagree, it is Naomi Watts. Flawlessly beautiful, endlessly empathetic and quietly emotional; we see her go from horror to love as she slowly understands King Kong.
Almost every inch of this movie is flawless. It has heedless energy and wonderful characters that, combined with the beautifully constructed; somewhat surreal (due to the thick CGI, which is well done) scenery occupy the movie so strongly that we never complain about the three-hour running time.
The three-act film takes place on a ship and in the city, on Skull Island, and then back in the heart of the city. During this time Jack Driscol (Adrien Brody, perfectly) and Ann Darrow (Ms. Watts) will grow towards love; the young Jimmy (the wonderful, underused Jamie Bell, convincingly) will be mentored and and grow into a hero. and Durham (Jack Blacl) will turn from an good-intentioned filmmaker to a rather ruthlessly greedy man.
And then there is Kong. At home in magnificent action sequences fighting three T-rex's at a time he is also unbelievably good at getting us to care for him; and his playful interaction with Ann Darrow is one of the film's many pleasures.
The film proceeds to its final, explosive ending; but still fits in time for a quiet sunset and a sequence on ice which reveal the heart of the film. It is moving and powerful in a way that is sad and delights at the same time; and will remind any willing moviegoer of the power movies have for us when we are young children.
This is a wonderful film. See it.