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Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: 1/20/2009
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Jack Black, Naomi Watts, Adrian Brody, Thomas Kretschman, Colin Hanks, Jamie Bell Year: 2005
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The Movie:
When it was announced that Peter Jackson was going to remake King Kong, the general consensus seemed to be 'why?' After all, the original film is an undisputed classic work of monster movie mayhem and while aspects of the 1933 Fay Wray vehicle might seem aged by now, so much the better, it can be enjoyed as the revolutionary cinematic antique that it is. It still played wonderfully in 2005, proving to be a completely entertaining and at times rather beautiful take on Beauty & The Beast, an update seemed completely unnecessary. But hot off of his Lord Of The Rings trilogy, the one time king of the New Zealand gore film seemed poised to hit this one out of the park - a remake of King Kong might not be necessary, but if anyone could do it, that anyone would be Peter 'Hobbits Make Me Hard 'Jackson.
Like the original, Jackson's film is set in the 1930's where a Hollywood director named Carl Denham (Jack Black) needs to find the perfect location to finish off his latest adventure film. He finds that location in the form of Skull Island, but without a proper leading lady, his picture is sure to fail. Denham soon convinces poor Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) to star in his picture and off he and his cast and crew go to the remote island where mystery and cinematic excitement await each and every one of them.
Their arrival seems quaint enough until they learn of the existence of a giant ape named Kong who holds the inhabitants of the island in a grip of perpetual fear. Carl leads Ann, her boyfriend Jack (Adrian Brody), and the rest through the jungles to find Kong in hopes of capturing him and making a fortune, but Carl's motives are his own, and no one has any idea what they're really in for when dealing with the beastly ferocious and impossibly huge simian known as Kong.
At roughly three hours in length, Jackson's King Kong is, simply, too damn long. The movie is beautifully shot and surprisingly well acted but it just there's only so much jungle intrigue a man can take before craving a giant monkey battle and the set up takes a bit too long to get there. Once we arrive in giant monkey territory the film picks up nicely, however, and some of the effects set pieces that Jackson and his team have created for this picture really do rival any other digital effects done for a major Hollywood production made before or after. Kong himself has a lot more emotion than you'd expect a completely computer generated character to have (and this includes Golum!) and it's hard not to feel for the big stinky guy as the film plays out.
Performance wise, Naomi Watts' interaction with the glorified cartoon is convincing enough and she manages to pull in enough of Fay Wray's early Hollywood glamor girl to really nail the part. Jack Black, who can get old real fast, does a decent job as the slimy directory while Brody makes for a noble and decent hero type.
So we've got a massive Hollywood film with a great cast, beautiful cinematography and some amazing special effects, right? Right. That's exactly what Jackson's King Kong is. That said, as much of a technical and cinematic triumph as this film is (and it really is quite remarkable) it just cannot capture the magic of the original film. For whatever reason (and it may just be that this reviewer is turning into a jaded old douche bag) the 1933 film is the one that will get more replay value. It's a leaner film, it's got a quicker pace, it set the bar high and while it may not be as realistic in some ways, it's absolutely got the better giant ape monster. The CGI Kong that Jackson's team has created moves and breathes and seems very real but the 1933 Kong is so fantastic and surreal and otherworldly that it easily trumps the digital behemoth it spawned.
Regardless, Jackson's film is a good one. The original will remain the classic it's been regarded as for decades now while the remake will continue to oooo and ahhhh younger audiences and hopefully inspire them to check out the film that inspired it. Both pictures have their place, and this more recent take is a good one and a worthy remake of an undisputed genre classic. It doesn't have the same soul as the earlier film but it's never the less an entertaining action/adventure epic that effectively channels the spirit of Hollywood's past and creates a fun, if overly long, tribute to the glory days of adventure movies.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Universal's 2.35.1 1080p VC-1 encoded anamorphic widescreen transfer looks simply gorgeous. The detail levels are outstanding and the level of clarity here is truly impressive. Colors look gorgeous while black levels stay nice and strong throughout. Not all of the CGI scenes look as strong as the real life action but even these moments still manage to look rock solid. There aren't any problems with mpeg compression artifacts worth noting nor are there any problems with edge enhancement to complain about.
The English language 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is just as good as the video presentation. This is a very active, aggressive mix with plenty of surround activity and a very welcome amount of nice detail layered throughout the film. The rears are used very effectively during the action scenes but even during the quieter moments in the film they manage to provide some nice ambient noise. Dialogue is crystal clear while bass response manages to kick all kinds of ass without ever feeling overdone. When the monsters rumble, so will your subwoofer - and it sounds great.
Aside from having both the PG-13 theatrical cut of the film and the extended version of the film, this Blu-ray disc contains a commentary track (for the extended version only) with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens. For a three hour film, this commentary is surprisingly interesting. Jackson has more to say than his counterpart but they both do a great job of detailing the genesis and pre-production phase of the film in particular. Jackson shares all manner of stories about the making of the picture and his enthusiasm for the material is a bit infectious.
Also available on the extended version only is a great picture-in-picture track that contains a wealth of cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes footage, production artwork and more. This scene specific track does a great job of elaborating on various aspects of the production as it pertains to what is happening on the screen at any given point in time. An interactive art gallery feature also plays along with the extended version of the film when enabled, allowing you to delve deep into the pre-production sketches that were done for the film.
So while what's here is quite good, when you compare it to the three-disc special edition that came out in SD a few years ago, there's a whole lot more that could have and should have been included on this release…
The Final Word:
Even if it's not super packed with extras, Universal's Blu-ray debut of Peter Jackson's re-imagining of King Kong is rock solid. The picture quality is gorgeous and the audio just as strong. The movie itself has its problems but it's an entertaining monster mash none the less. Those who own the HD-DVD might have trouble justifying the double dip but the picture quality alone places this Blu-ray release far above its SD counterpart.