King Kong (2005)

You can feel how much Peter Jackson loves King Kong in every frame of this film. It is the result of a director finally settling a lifelong debt to the original that captivated him as a child. I can fully understand the criticism that 188 minutes is excessive — and yet the love and spectacle packed into those minutes are difficult to dismiss. My rating is ★4.5. After The Lord of the Rings, this is the Jackson film that carries the most genuine feeling.

What it’s about — A Film Shoot Bound for Skull Island

Depression-era New York City, the 1930s. Ambitious filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black) scouts unknown actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and heads for the mysterious Skull Island. There they encounter the giant ape Kong, and an unusual bond forms between Ann and Kong. An official remake of the 1933 original, with Jackson also taking on production and screenplay duties.

Direction — Spectacle Split into Three Parts

Jackson divides the film into three clearly distinct parts: the reality of New York, the adventure on Skull Island, and then New York again. Each part has a different tone and scale, and the most overwhelming is naturally the Skull Island sequence. The battle with dinosaurs, the giant insect attack, Kong’s first appearance — the continuous spectacle reconfirms the capabilities of the Lord of the Rings production team. Kong, realised through Andy Serkis’s performance capture, is the most humanly emotional King Kong ever put on screen.

On the other hand, the extended first half before arriving on Skull Island must be acknowledged. Reaching the island takes roughly one hour, and some viewers will experience boredom during this stretch. Jackson’s intention is understandable, but the editing needed work.

Performance — A Digital Kong with Real Emotion

Naomi Watts makes Ann Darrow a person with real feelings rather than simply a screaming female lead. The reason the bond she forms with Kong feels convincing is down to Watts’s performance. Jack Black is, against expectations, well suited to the role of a director driven by greed and obsession. Andy Serkis’s Kong conveys more than any actor in prosthetics ever could. Anger, wonder, sadness — they are all on that digital face.

What the film says — The Wild Exploited by Civilisation

The core of the King Kong story has always been the same: civilisation exploits and destroys something beautiful and wild. Jackson designed the film so that sympathy for Kong develops naturally in the audience, and the Empire State Building finale is the moment that sympathy reaches its completion. The final line — “It wasn’t beauty that killed the beast” — summarises the true meaning of this story, carried across from the original. The bond Ann forms with Kong goes beyond simple fear and pity; the wordless communication that occurs between them is the film’s emotional core, the thing that makes it last in memory.

Ratings & reception

IMDb score is 7.2. Rotten Tomatoes freshness is 84%. The film won three technical Academy Awards — Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. The visual effects achievements were state-of-the-art for their time, and in particular the realisation of Kong’s facial expressions was recognised as a milestone in the development of performance capture technology.

What doesn’t work

188 minutes is definitely long. If the first hour had been more compressed, the film’s overall quality would have risen. Some Skull Island sequences also run longer than necessary. The affection Jackson brought to the project clouded his editorial judgement. Some CG sequences also show their limitations when compared to modern technology.

Verdict

King Kong is excessive, but that excess comes from love. Jackson’s lifelong ambition to make this film is felt across all 188 minutes. Skull Island’s spectacle, Kong as a character, and Naomi Watts’s performance lift this film beyond a simple remake. If you can tolerate a certain looseness, it is a thoroughly rewarding experience. ★4.5.

Recommended for

• Fans of the original King Kong or classic monster films
• Viewers who want Peter Jackson’s large-scale adventure filmmaking
• Those looking for an emotional connection beyond impressive special effects