King Kong (2005)

UK Release Date: 15 December 2005

Certification: 12A

Director: Peter Jackson

Cast: Jamie Bell, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Kyle Chandler, Colin Hanks, Thomas Kretschmann, Evan Parke, Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts

Rating: 75%

"It was beauty killed the beast"

Review:

Peter Jackson's direction is the reason King Kong works as well as it does. He's well known for his extraordinary CGI work in The Lord of the Rings and that is no different here. Despite some of the movies flaws King Kong is a technical marvel to behold. Whether it's giant insects, dinosaurs or of course Kong himself. Andy Serkis obviously motion captures Kong and he adds emotional depth the character. It's the most humanised Kong has ever felt and I loved it. 

The rest of the cast may not match Serkis' performance but there are a few standouts. Jack Black is an incredible villain (I believe he's the main antagonist of the movie). You love to hate his character, failing filmmaker Carl Denham. He's sadistic, cold-blooded and relentless and is the perfect adversary for Kong. Adrien Brody is great as Jack Driscoll. He felt at times a little generic but his performance was compelling for most of the movie. Out of the three main cast members Naomi Watts definitely feels the weakest to me. I don't buy either of her relationships, both with Kong and with Jack, and she seemed to whine quite a lot in Kong Kong which gets annoying very quickly. Although she deserves a bit of credit as for most of the movie she had to act in front of a green screen. Jamie Bell, Colin Hanks and Thomas Kretschmann also all turn out strong performances. 

Having composed The Dark Knight trilogy, Hunger Games trilogy and Nightcrawler it shouldn't be a surprise that James Newton Howard produces a fantastic score for King Kong. 'King Kong' is an excellent main theme with 'Beautiful' and all of 'Beauty Killed the Beast' only bolstering the soundtrack as they're spectacular pieces of music. 

Most of the action in King Kong stands the test of time. The fight with the T-Rex was absolutely groundbreaking for 2005 and it doesn't once feel stale. The scenes on the boat were also quite thrilling. 

There is absolutely no need for King Kong to be three hours long. If the movie was directed by anyone other than Jackson it would've been much shorter and as the movie progresses you really begin to feel it's length. On the other hand, this allowed Peter Jackson to really explore the mythology and intricate nature of Skull Island which is one of the movie's biggest qualities.  

King Kong is an epic, action-adventure unlike any other which is a love letter to the original (Peter Jackson's favourite movie) as well as bringing new aspects to the table.