The Greatest Trick

When Back to the Future was screened on Christmas Day several years ago, my father commented on the hypocrisy of BBC censors who edited out expressions such as “holy sh*t” and left in misuses of Christ’s name. He remarked, rather amusingly, “Whose birthday is it after all? I don’t have a problem with holy sh*t!” Likewise, it is a great shame Peter Jackson’s King Kong contains several instances of the Lord’s name taken in vain. I have no problem with such language where dramatically necessary (a good example is found in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), but here it is utterly gratuitous.

That bad news out of the way, hold on to your hats for a blast of unprecedented hyperbole. Apart from the afore-mentioned profanity, Peter Jackson’s King Kong is better than the original. That’s not something I say lightly. As a huge fan of all things Kong (heck, I even have a soft spot for the not-as-bad-as-everyone-says 1976 version), the 1933 original was something of a sacred cow to me. When I heard Peter Jackson was remaking it, I would have been sceptical had it been in the hands of any other director. But because Jackson had already done the impossible and made a screen version of The Lord of the Rings every bit as satisfying as the books, I decided his take could be worth a look. What I did not expect was that it would not only live up to the original film but surpass it in almost every respect. Jackson’s Kong is a strong contender for the best remake ever, all the more impressive for the fact the original is such a bona-fide classic.

For those of you who don’t know the story, filmmaker Carl Denham finds an unlikely leading lady Ann Darrow, an out of work theatre actress, and persuades her to set sail with him to an uncharted island to shoot his latest picture. Unfortunately, said island contains a tribe of natives who regularly sacrifice girls to their god, who turns out to be a giant 25 foot gorilla, King Kong. No prizes for guessing who is next on Kong’s menu. However, once Ann is in Kong’s clutches, the hairy beast doesn’t eat her, but instead falls in love.

Merian C Cooper’s original film was a simple, no-nonsense rip-roaring adventure which once Kong appeared, never let up for a second of its trim 100 minute running time. It was a monumental film which took many decades to surpass and even today holds up brilliantly. By contrast, Jackson’s is a sprawling, self-indulgent, overlong and completely over-the-top 187 minute marathon, yet, it is also absolutely fantastic. Complaining that his Kong is overblown in like moaning there’s too much water in the Atlantic, that the Eiffel Tower is too tall or that there are too many stars in space. Sure, some of it could have been cut, but why would one want to?

The new version opens in a leisurely fashion, having the courage to take its time and establish Depression era New York, the characters, and the voyage to Skull Island. Wisely opting to set the film in 1933 (the year the original was set) Jackson also allows himself a couple amusing film buff in-jokes. Denham tells his assistant Fay Wray is unavailable as she’s shooting a new picture with Cooper, and later he films Ann spouting dialogue on the boat identical to that of a scene in the ‘33 Kong. It’s all very nudge-nudge wink-wink to fans of the original.

Yet, when the action kicks in, everything including the kitchen sink is thrown in for the sake of an entertaining show. For a start, there’s a great fog sequence where the ship has to avoid rocks that bear an uncanny resemblance to Kong. Then, the natives turn out to be more like zombie-orcs and are very scary indeed as they sacrifice Ann to Kong. By the way, Kong’s first appearance is as memorable as in the original.

The second hour is jam-packed with boys-own adventure thrills and chills as our heroes pursue Kong and Ann, encountering a brontosaurus stampede, velociraptors, giant bugs, and huge vampire bats. Best of all, Kong faces off against not one but three T-rexes in a stunning battle to protect Ann (look out for an amazing “it’s behind you” shot).

Eventually of course, Ann is rescued and Kong is captured, but not before she forms a unique bond with the beast. The final act of the film takes place back in New York where Denham unveils Kong to the world and, inevitably, he escapes. Cue the famous tragic finale with biplanes atop the Empire State building, which is every bit as exciting as the original, and far more moving.

Jackson’s Kong is a melancholy beast, scarred, bruised and aware he is the last of his kind, as the eerie giant gorrila skeletons in his lair indicate. Yet the way Ann makes him laugh by performing one of her stage routines immediately makes him more endearing than the Kong of the original. As their relationship develops, a genuine sense of pathos is built into the excellent screenplay. One moment is hands-down my favourite scene of the year – a brilliant, delightful, and heart-rending moment in a frozen Central Park which is far too good to spoil. Besides no amount of description could do it justice, you have to experience it yourself. By the way, I urge you to see it on the biggest screen you can find.

The film is not without flaws. There are a number of redundant character set-ups that never resolve themselves, particularly involving Jamie Bell’s character. The zombie natives all seem to vanish without a trace after act one. Plus exactly how Ann survives her gruelling ordeal on Skull Island with no broken bones or dirt on her dress is frankly beyond me. However, such nitpicking pales into insignificance in the face of such wonderful spectacle. Although the effects (rightly) dominate the story, there is some good acting to write home about. Jack Black was a surprisingly wise choice for the opportunistic Denham, Adrian Brody is fine as love interest and playwright Jack Driscoll, and Naomi Watts is absolutely outstanding as Ann - every bit as good as Fay Wray, if not better. Her performance is so tender and heartbreaking if it was up to me I’d give her an Oscar (not that she stands a chance of winning - acting in fantasy films no matter how well is a thankless task).

It seems completely redundant to say the special effects are staggering yet Andy Serkis motion capture as Kong is so outstanding it evokes wonder beyond anything seen on the big screen since – well, The Lord of the Rings. One or two shots in the brontosaurus stampede don’t quite convince, but these are small potatoes compared with the amazing Kong footage. One thing I did slightly miss from the original was the way Kong merrily chomped on natives and New Yorkers, using them as dental floss and tramping them into the ground. Those scenes never fail to fill me with childish glee, but in this version such casual savagery has understandably been omitted to allow the story to have more emotional weight. Oh well, one can’t have everything.

It’s also amusing to see Howard Shore in a cameo as an orchestra conductor, considering he was subsequently replaced by James Newton Howard as composer on the film (he and Jackson had creative differences on which direction the music should take). As it stands, the music score cleverly evokes Max Steiner’s original whilst being a fine piece of work in its own right, which is all the more remarkable considering James Newton Howard was recruited at the last minute.

This has been an unusually long review, but then it is an unusually long, and unusually good film. It’s just a shame they couldn’t have removed the profanity. If there must be gratuitous swearing, I can only echo my father’s sentiments; I haven’t got a problem with holy sh*t.

Simon Dillon, December 2005.