In a sentenceWe would happily spend an evening with Kong, though his director need not have taken that quite so literally
In Depression-era New York, out-of-work performer Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) needs a job. Film-maker Carl Denham (Jack Black) offers her a part in a production that will take her overseas, while keeping his destination secret. Playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) finds himself aboard the departing ship, under the command of Captain Englehorn (Thomas Kretschmann). Ann wants paid work; Denham wants footage that will keep his film alive. As the voyage takes them towards Skull Island, the passengers have different ideas about what they have signed up for.
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Peter Jackson’s King Kong makes the bond between Ann Darrow and the ape matter enough to carry a long evening. Naomi Watts and Andy Serkis give it tenderness; the repeated action sequences make its 188 minutes harder work than necessary.
Peter Jackson’s King Kong is a moving, often thrilling adventure that could use a firmer cut. At 188 minutes, it asks us to share its director’s appetite for every creature, every danger and every extra complication. We can, for long stretches, because the film takes both the excitement and the people caught in it seriously. It also understands an essential requirement of a giant-monster film: there must be a reason to care when the creature stops making a mess.
That reason is Ann Darrow, played by Naomi Watts with an alertness that keeps the effects from doing all the acting. She gives each response time to register, making an exchange possible without needing words from both participants. We were moved by the attention they pay each other, especially the sense that she is watching him as closely as he watches her. The tenderness feels earned because neither performance makes their growing understanding seem easy or inevitable.
Andy Serkis’s performance gives Kong enough distinct reactions for us to begin anticipating his behaviour. He remains sufficiently unpredictable that his strength still worries us, even when our sympathies are with him. The effects work succeeds because we become absorbed in wondering what he will do next. Peter Jackson allows these encounters time to develop, and the pauses give the creature a personality that survives the surrounding commotion.
Grant Major’s production design gives New York enough bustle and detail to hold our attention before the expedition gets going. The temptation is to keep looking around the frame, even when the story could use a push towards the sea. Andrew Lesnie’s cinematography helps keep the people readable amid the size and activity of their surroundings. The occasional unconvincing effect is noticeable, but the images usually give us a clear sense of what the human body is up against.
Jack Black brings a useful pushiness to Carl Denham, whose enthusiasm can so easily excuse whatever he wants to do next. The part gives the human cast some welcome friction, though the same cannot be said for every travelling companion. Adrien Brody’s Jack Driscoll needs more to do if he is to command the attention the film gives him. Too many supporting characters are introduced with the expectation that time spent alongside them will make them interesting.
Jamie Selkirk’s editing is lively within the action, but too indulgent about how much action survives. A dangerous situation repeatedly acquires another complication after it has already made its point, and exhaustion begins to blunt excitement. James Newton Howard’s score is generous with the feeling, sometimes too generous when the central performances have already told us what matters. Some restraint here would have helped, particularly when the music presses an emotional response that the faces have already earned.
The pleasure is that the film believes we might care about Kong without needing to laugh at that possibility. There is little embarrassment about its fear or its tenderness, and that suits this sort of adventure. We would gladly lose some of the repeated jeopardy to spend longer with these two unlikely companions. Watch it when nobody needs an early night.
Most critics find Peter Jackson’s King Kong an entertaining, emotionally persuasive spectacle, with praise clustering around Kong himself. The effects work and Andy Serkis’s motion-capture performance give him an expressive presence, while Naomi Watts helps make the relationship between Kong and Ann convincing. The reviews also welcome the creature sequences and Jackson’s affectionate treatment of the original, though the central bond is what makes the scale worthwhile for many.
Excessive length is the most consistent reservation, shared even by several enthusiastic reviews. The spread runs from wholehearted enthusiasm to mixed responses, with no outright negative verdicts; the main disagreement is over whether the emotion survives the padding and prolonged spectacle. Slant Magazine finds the film emotionally ineffective despite admiring its inventive, frightening Skull Island sequences, a marked departure from the majority’s response to Kong and Ann.
Ebert gives the film an enthusiastic verdict, praising its scale and emotional force. He singles out the central relationship between Kong and Ann for making the spectacle matter.
Read the full review →The review is enthusiastic, calling the film epic escapism despite its flaws and excessive length. It especially praises Kong’s emotional vitality, brought to life through Andy Serkis’s motion-capture performance and Jackson’s effects work.
Read the full review →Jolin finds Jackson’s remake a triumph despite some padding and occasional unfinished effects. He especially praises Kong’s expressive, emotionally engaging performance, brought to life through Weta’s effects work.
Read the full review →Phipps finds Jackson’s remake a moving, wonder-filled success that honors the original without trying to surpass it. He especially praises Kong’s vivid characterization and the relationship with Watts that gives the film its emotional heart.
Read the full review →Jones praises Jackson’s loving yet inventive homage to the original film. He singles out its expertly recreated sequences and renewed sense of thrilling escapism.
Read the full review →Bradshaw finds the remake an entertaining, emotionally engaging spectacle, despite its excessive length. He particularly praises the achievement of bringing Kong vividly to life.
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Mighty Joe Young · not reviewed yetAnother misunderstood ape, with a gentler temperament and room for human affection.
Beauty and the Beast · not reviewed yetA strange, tender encounter with a creature whose appearance makes sympathy difficult.
Jurassic ParkFor creature spectacle with clearer geography and a firmer sense of proportion.
The Iron GiantA boy befriends a frightening stranger, and the tenderness never feels rationed.
The Host · not reviewed yetA family fights for its own while a river creature exposes official incompetence.
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