KING KONG — *** 1/2 — Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black; rated PG13 (violence, profanity, vulgarity, gore, drugs); Carmike 12, Ritz 15 Theaters; Century Theatres 16; Cinemark 24 at Jordan Landing; CinemaStar 5-Star, Gateway 8 Cinemas; Megaplex 12 at Gateway; Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons; Westates Holladay Centre Cinemas 6.
With his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, filmmaker Peter Jackson proved it is possible to create — with the help of effects wizards, of course — digitally based characters that are just as lifelike and "human" as any actor. But his remake of the fantasy classic "King Kong" is even more impressive.
In fact, the film's most noble and sympathetic cast member doesn't even exist . . . except inside a computer.
Jackson also proves that the "Rings" films were no fluke with this crowd-pleasing adventure, which is surprisingly faithful in many respects to the original 1933 film.
Comic actor Jack Black plays Depression-era moviemaker Carl Denham, who's leading an expedition to the mysterious Skull Island in hopes of finding something worthwhile to film. Denham is accompanied on the voyage by playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) and starving actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts).
When they finally find the island, they're confronted by angry natives and all sorts of gargantuan beasts. The most imposing of which is a nearly 30-foot-tall gorilla with a nasty disposition and a certain fondness for Ann.
Jackson does overuse some of the handheld camera work, and it's fortunate that he has Black, whose nimble comic presence brightens the slow first hour.
On the upside, however, that first hour is followed by a two-hour roller coaster ride that climaxes with a breathtaking finale atop the Empire State Building in New York City.
Watts is well-matched with Brody as love interests — and Brody is better than you might expect as a romantic leading man. Credit should also go to Andy Serkis, who served as the "motion-capture" model for Kong, and also has an amusing supporting role as the ship's cook.
"King Kong" is rated PG13 for some strong scenes of violence (including creature attacks, stabbings and shootings), scattered use of profanity (religiously based), some crude humor (excrement-based), animal gore and goo, and some drug content (use of chloroform). Running time: 187 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com