King Kong (2005)

May 15, 2024 3:50 PM

[TRAILER] Peter Jackson's expansive remake of the 1933 classic follows director Carl Denham (Jack Black) and his crew on a journey from New York City to the ominous Skull Island to film a new movie. Accompanying him are playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) and actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), who is whisked away by the monstrous ape, Kong, after they reach the island. The crew encounters dinosaurs and other creatures as they race to rescue Ann, while the actress forms a bond with her simian captor.

Also starring Thomas Kretschmann, Andy Serkis, Colin Hanks, Jamie Bell, Evan Parke, Lobo Chan.

Drected by Peter Jackson. Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson. Based on King Kong by Merian C. Cooper, Edgar Wallace. Produced by Jan Blenkin Carolynne Cunningham, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson for WingNut Films/Universal Pictures. Cinematography by Andrew Lesnie. Edited by Jamie Selkirk. Music by
James Newton Howard.

84% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on Peacock. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (15 comments total)

I rewatched this and remembered why I didn't love it.

It's beautifully made but there is a 40-60 minute section that can be described as "A bunch of different giant monsters attack the crew." It gets old.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:59 PM on May 15 [6 favorites]

It's beautifully made but there is a 40-60 minute section that can be described as "A bunch of different giant monsters attack the crew."

The 1930s original has that same thing to a degree, actually. Or at least the original cut did.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:23 AM on May 16

For some reason, whenever King Kong comes up, the only thing I can think of is an ancient original cast SNL sketch where the Oscars have created new award categories that were obviously designed to let them award the DiLaurentiis King Kong, like "Best Picture Featuring a Giant Ape" and "Best Picture Featuring the Transportation of a Giant Ape Across a Large Body of Water."
posted by Naberius at 5:00 AM on May 16

The 1930s original has that same thing to a degree, actually. Or at least the original cut did.

Not nearly as prolonged or graphic, though. Relative snippets, really. And it’s that difference that makes the original a will-never-get-old classic, and this Jackson version forgettable. Or, at least, skippable.

This is not a very good movie.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:44 AM on May 16 [1 favorite]

This movie was an ode to the original, but Jackson was given a bit too much free reign when it came to run time. The result is that Jackson's Kong is just fine. Not amazing or great, but fine, and it definitely was hurt that it was one of the first major projects he did after LOTR.
posted by Atreides at 8:28 AM on May 16

I saw this 3 or 4 times in theaters and every time a bunch of people nope'd out at the bug scene. Just left and never came back. I can't think of another blockbuster where that happened. It makes me very curious how the test screenings didn't catch that, or maybe they did and no one cared.

It is a long movie and at the time I appreciated that but now it feels too long.
posted by M Edward at 10:23 AM on May 16 [1 favorite]

I got a free copy of this movie , on HD-DVD. I love the parts that take place on this ship, on the way there, with the typing punctuated by the sound track. I skip the insect attack.
posted by funkaspuck at 12:09 PM on May 16 [1 favorite]

Well, I liked the insect attack. And at least on a big screen, the last act is pretty terrifying for anyone remotely scared of heights. The film is WAYYY too long, though, as was probably inevitable for a Jackson movie coming off of LOTR.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 2:13 PM on May 16 [1 favorite]

I saw this in a small faded Warner brothers screen with bad tiering. During the film, a bunch of teenagers made noise and generally ran about the cinema.

About midway through this, a heavily pregnant woman got up and started screaming at the teenagers, and threatening physical harm to them. Her partner sort of meekly stood there, seemingly wishing to accidentally avoid having her wrath turned on him.

Eventually he called in a staff member, and after some back and forth, the teenagers and the couple left.

During this time period, nothing of any note appeared to have happened in the film itself
posted by Cannon Fodder at 4:06 PM on May 16 [7 favorites]

naomi watts juggling in front of a green screen being terrified and chatting up an imaginary giant angry ape.

an underrated moment of Acting showing watts' remarkable skills.
posted by j_curiouser at 4:09 PM on May 16 [3 favorites]

I saw this when it came out and don’t remember much about it. There was a bit in the teaser trailer though that I liked. The movie crew was on the shore of Skull Island and Naomi Watts’ character was being filmed screaming over and over (not sure why) and then from the deep beyond, interior of the island, came a deafening answering roar. It was such a great bit I was disappointed that it wasn’t included in the actual movie.

When it comes to the original KK, I get it confused with Mighty Joe Young which aired more regularly on tv.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:56 AM on May 17 [1 favorite]

I remember liking this when it came out and wondering why most people didn't seem to. It lacked the racism and cruelty of the original. But then, I'm always easier on a movie that I see in a theater.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:34 AM on May 17 [3 favorites]

I'm always easier on a movie that I see in a theater.

I relate to this SO MUCH.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:37 AM on May 17 [3 favorites]

It felt like a crash of two decent movies. I went to the cinema for the giant monkey film, but after having been made to watch the 'crew of wayward characters confined on ship, interacting' film that long, I didn't appreciate the switch to the anticipated movie when it finally happened. So the people they worked so hard to make me care about are only background characters, if not just red shirts, from here on. That was a bit of a let down.

And it was still pretty racist on its own terms.
posted by Ashenmote at 5:04 PM on May 17 [3 favorites]

I saw this in the cinema at the, now gone, Dublin Road movie house in Belfast. At one point there was a dinosaur/Kong fight that went on SO LONG that, (and I swear this is true), I went across the street to the pub, had a drink, and then went back to the theatre: AND THE FIGHT WAS STILL GOING ON.
posted by jettloe at 1:43 PM on May 18 [5 favorites]