F9: The Fast Saga

 

I still find it hard to believe that we are now on our tenth Fast and the Furious movie, including the Hobbs & Shaw spin-off sequel we got back in 2019. It would be easy for me to look down my nose at these movies, but I really do genuinely and unabashedly love them. They have evolved so much over the years, from the comparatively humble beginnings of the original The Fast and the Furious back in 2001 to the ridiculous, physics defying stunts the film series is now known for and honestly, the series is better for it. 

As the film opens, we discover that Dom (played by Vin Diesel) and Letty (played by Michelle Rodriguez) are living the quiet life on a secluded farm with Dom's young son, Brian. Soon enough though, they are drawn back to action by teammates Roman (played by Tyrese Gibson), Taj (played by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) and Ramsey (played by Nathalie Emmanuel) who show up with an encoded message from Mr. Nobody (played by Kurt Russell) sent specifically to Dom's team. Turns out Mr. Nobody's plane had crashed after he arrested series villain Cypher (Charlize Theron) and carrying one half of a highly classified device called Aries, a device that will allow its user access to any computer system they want - including weapons systems. Of particular interest to Dom is that one of the people behind the attempt to steal it was Dom's heretofore unmentioned brother Jakob (played by John Cena). This device needs a second half as well as a specific code in order to work. So the race is on for Dom's team to retrieve the first half from the wreckage of Mr. Nobody's plane and figure out where the second half is before Jakob and his employer, Otto (played by Thue Ersted Rasmussen), who is also holding cyber terrorist Cypher prisoner after rescuing her from the clutches of Mr. Nobody.  

The film marks director Justin Lin's return to the series, working from a script he wrote with Daniel Casey. They manage to come up with a suitably entertaining globe trotting adventure that fans of these series have come to expect at this point. The troubled relationship between Dom and his brother Jakob forms the film's emotional backbone, while the race to obtain the Ares device feels a bit like a rehash of Furious 7 and the race to get the similarly powerful God's Eye device. Yet, the funny thing is I really didn't mind because everything surrounding the plot is just straight up fun. The filmmakers come up with a new slew of outrageous stunts, including our intrepid heroes trying to drive across a suspension bridge as it falls apart under them followed by Dom and Letty equally improbably using a remaining cable from the same bridge to swing themselves, in their car, from one cliff to the other. It's these sorts of over the top stunts that get me back into the theater for each crazy installment. This one has even more crazy stunts in store that I don't even dare spoil because the surprise is part of the fun. Of course, this all depends on if you are able to go along with the crazy plot twists this series has foisted on it's audience over the various films resulting in an admittingly messy continuity. Villains become heroes and characters thought to have died have a tendency to be resurrected as needed (this has happened on more than one occasion, with Han (played by Sung Kang) the latest member of the Lazarus club.). Still, that's part of the fun with this series as it grows increasingly self aware of itself, with Roman even remarking at one point how they seem to get out of these various massive cataclysms with nary a scratch on any of them and wondering if they are indeed indestructible.     

As this series has grown, it has amassed a large group of characters which the filmmakers do a reasonably good job of juggling. Vin Diesel is still front and center as Dom, who is struggling with whether or not to settle down and get out of the game of globe trotting Special Ops and focus on his family. Of course, he gets pulled back into action but Diesel does a good job portraying Dom's hesitancy. He also handles the emotional conflict Dom encounters with his brother Jakob and their fractured relationship as brothers. Michelle Rodriguez is as ever solid as Letty, Dom's wife and partner in action. Tyrese Gibson continues to steal every scene he is in as the quick witted motor mouth Roman Pierce and much like the previous installments, provides plenty of levity throughout the film, including the aforementioned moment of reflection. Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Nathalie Emmanuel play off each other one another as the team's resident hackers Taj and Ramsey and the two share decent chemistry, even as they often feel like the other two stooges with Roman. Jordana Brewster makes a welcome return to the series as Mia after sitting out The Fate of the Furious, and is actually part of the team again and right in the middle of the action with the rest of them after being effectively sidelined for much of Fast and Furious 6 and Furious 7. John Cena makes his debut in the series as Jakob and does well with the very conflicted role and juggles his character's rage and animosity towards Dom quite well. Thue Ersted Rasmussen does his best in the role of Otto, but never quite comes across as the formidable villain he's supposed to be. On the other hand, Charlize Theron makes the most of her screen time, relishing playing the clearly unhinged, just wants to watch the world burn Cypher and feels like a far more intimidating baddie.

Overall, one's mileage with F9 is going to vary (no pun intended) depending on whether or not you're willing to go along with the over the top shenanigans this series has become known for because this movie certainly only goes more over the top and outrageous as it goes along. These movies have struck a curious balance between melodrama and the absurd that despite all logic actually still works. So, one's enjoyment of these movies will depend very much on how much you are willing to go along with it. Personally, much like the other entries in the series, I found F9 to be a lot of fun. I certainly had a blast watching it in theaters. Which is a good thing, since we almost certainly have a planned two-part finale coming our way before we know it. I, for one, can't wait.       

Those Who Wish Me Dead

 

Taylor Sheridan has become a unique voice recent filmmaking with such strong turns with the likes of Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River, and the fantastic Paramount Network series Yellowstone. So, when I heard he was teaming up with Angelina Jolie for the wilderness set thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead, I was very intrigued. While the film isn't as strong as some of Taylor's other efforts, it still stands as a intense thriller elevated by the writing and a very capable cast. 

Hannah Faber (played by Angelina Jolie) is a Smokejumper who is still struggling to recover from the trauma of being unable to save three campers and a fellow smokejumper during an intense forest fire. Now, she is posted in a fire watch tower in Park County, Montana. Meanwhile, forensic accountant Owen Casserly (played by Jake Weber) learns of the sudden death of his boss and boss' family in an apparent gas explosion at home. Correctly suspecting foul play, he packs up his son Connor (played by Finn Little) and hits the road looking to take refuge with his brother-in-law Ethan (played by Jon Bernthal), a Sheriff Deputy and Hannah's ex. Hot on Owen and Connor's trail are a pair of assassins, Jack Blackwell (played by Aiden Gillen) and Patrick Blackwell (played by Nicholas Hoult), who are able to quickly figure out where the two are headed and are there waiting when Owen and Connor are driving on a mountain road headed for Ethan's house. The resulting ambush causes Owen to crash the car. Knowing there is no escape, Owen instructs Conner to run before the assassins see him. Staying out of sight, Conner escapes and follows a creek which winds up leading him directly to Hannah, who is out on patrol of the area. It's not long before the two assassins discover Connor was in the car too and move to pursue the kid on the order of their boss, Arthur Phillip (played by Tyler Perry). In an effort to try and keep the police and other emergency services occupied, Jack uses several road flares to start a forest fire. After re-grouping with Connor at her Fire Watch Tower, she decides to take him on a hike back to town to meet with Ethan and the authorities only to discover not only are they cut off by a now massive forest fire but that the assassins are near as well leading to a tense stand off between Hannah, Connor and two trained killers in the midst of a raging forest fire. 

The film was directed by Taylor Sheridan from a script by Sheridan, Charles Leavitt and Michael Koryta and is based on Michael Koryta's novel of the same name. The filmmakers manage to elevate the rather familiar material by focusing on the characters that occupy their story and giving them more dimension. This approach also adds tension to the story as the film makes us care about these characters and by extension want to see them make it out alive as they face threats both human and otherwise (the raging forest fire). The filmmakers do also keep the action of the film grounded, which adds to the tension as we have our main characters having to rely on their wits to survive against two lethal killers. Our intrepid heroes do prove adept at that as well, including an unexpectedly inventive use of bear mace that really impressed me. All of this helps patch over the film's well-worn plot that aside from a couple twists feels pretty well-worn, especially for anyone who has seen films like Cliffhanger or The River Wild. The film also relies on some rather unconvincing CGI for the fire effects that I could not help but find a bit distracting. 

The film has assembled an impressive cast led by Angelina Jolie. Jolie does a great job as Hannah showing her character's struggles overcoming past trauma as well as her more adventurous side that includes some daredevil antics early in the film. Finn Little does well as Connor, portraying his character's inherent vulnerability as well as his resourcefulness. Aiden Gillan and Nicholas Hoult add some more dimension and personality to their characters than is usual for these types of films. They are still nasty villains, but they also feel a bit more fleshed out and real characters too. Medina Senghore, who plays Ethan's wife Allison, easily steals her scenes in a supporting role and is someone who turns out to be far more resourceful and formidable than she may appear to be.  

Overall, Those Who Wish Me Dead is a reasonably satisfying action thriller. The plot is very straightforward and well worn, but the cast certainly elevates things. Since a good thriller lives or dies by it's characters the fact that this one works as well as it does owes a lot to it's cast and giving us characters we can either root for or long to see defeated. So, by that merit the film worked for me. I knew where it was going, but the film still managed to keep me on the edge of my seat throughout nonetheless. It's a fairly routine thriller, but is made with skill and still works well enough for some reasonable Saturday evening entertainment.                       

Twister

There is something about Twister that I can't help but love. It is just so unabashedly entertaining about it and I usually watch it every summer. I can't help it. It may just be that I grew up in the Midwest where what to do in the case of a tornado is drilled into our heads at a young age. It could also be that my uncle Bruce is a Meteorologist, so I come by my interest in extreme weather naturally. Now, 25 years later, I still love this movie as much as I did back in the summer of 1996. Also, it's worth noting this film gave us the single greatest MPAA rating ever: Rated PG-13 for intense depiction of very bad weather.

Bill Harding (played by Bill Paxton) travels out into the field with his new fiancee, Melissa Reeves (played by Jami Gertz) to get divorce papers signed by his soon to be ex-wife Jo (played by Helen Hunt). Upon arriving and reuniting with his former Storm Chaser team, he discovers they had finally created a device he designed named DOROTHY that is created to aid in the study of tornados by releasing dozens of sensors into the tornado and transmit the data back to the team. With a onslaught of storms with the potential for numerous tornadoes, Bill can't resist the urge to re-join the team and try and bring his design to fruition, with Melissa along for the ride. Things get more complicated when another team shows up lead by Bill and Jo's former colleague, Jonas (played by Cary Elwes), who they discover has stolen Bill's design and created his own instrument pack. Now the race is on to see who can launch their pack first   

The film was directed by Jan DeBont from a script written by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin (with uncredited re-writes from the likes of Joss Whedon, Steven Zaillian and Jeff Nathanson). They crafted a fun adventure tale that runs tight getting started right away and keeping the action moving at a brisk pace with the love triangle between Bill, Jo and Melissa adding some weight to the story as well. Even 25 years later, the effects from Industrial Light and Magic still hold up for the most part (with a couple notable exceptions that never looked good). The film also makes good use of practical effects to simulate the extreme weather conditions including some inventive but harsh lighting techniques to make the skies behind the characters look darker than they really were. Then to top it off, we get a fantastic score for the film from Mark Mancina that remains one of my favorites. I purchased the expanded score album and I can confirm listening to it while driving across the prairies of North Dakota makes the drive feel a lot more exciting.  

The film assembled quite an impressive cast, led by Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt. Paxton and Hunt play off each other quite well as bickering exes that in the midst of the chaos of the film find their love for one another being rekindled. Helen Hunt has a bit more heavy lifting to do from a dramatic standpoint as her character Jo suffers from severe trauma of witnessing her father being killed during a tornado as a young girl and she pulls off those moments quite well. Up until this point, Bill Paxton had primarily been a well-respected character actor so this was a rare leading role for him but he just nails it perfectly. Jami Gertz does well in her role as Melissa and is often the comic relief offering up some of the more memorable ones of the film. The film is populated by a number of great character actors to add a little color to the film as well, including an early notable appearance by Philip Seymour Hoffman as the adrenaline junkie team member Dusty and Lois Smith as Jo's tough and wise Aunt Meg. Cary Elwes makes for a suitably smarmy villain as the rival team leader Jonas, whose personality and ego makes it clear why his former team members hate him so much. 

Twister is a film that I have loved ever since I saw it the theater back on Opening Night in May 1996. It's one of those films I've never gotten tired of watching. It is just straight up enjoyable popcorn entertainment. It also kicked off a whole new disaster movie trend over the latter half of the 90's, curiously with a number of them being duplicates (looking at you Dante's Peak/Volcano and Deep Impact/Armageddon). Still, for me Twister ranks as one of the best but then again I may be biased.     

Godzilla vs. Kong

 

Just going by the title alone, audiences should know what kind of movie they are going into when they go into Godzilla vs. Kong. Most likely, they are going to be going into this for one thing and one thing only: to see these two beloved Titans face off. I'm happy to say that this is a film that delivers on it's promise with style and fervor. It never once takes itself seriously and we are all the better for it. 

Godzilla makes his first appearance in the five years since he defeated Kong Gihdorah as he attacks the Apex Industries in Pensacola. While most people think it is an unprovoked attack by Godzilla, Madison Russell (played by Millie Bobby Brown) knows from her previous experiences with him that something there must have provoked and drawn Godzilla there. She teams up with her friend Josh (played by Julian Dennison) to seek out Bernie Hayes (played by Brian Tyree Henry), an Apex employee who also runs a Titans conspiracy podcast Madison listens to religiously. Meanwhile, Apex CEO Walter Simmons (played by Demian Bichir) recruits Dr. Nathan Lind (played by Alexander Skarsgard) to man a mission to Hollow Earth, a completely separate ecosystem at the center of the Earth where it's believed that the Titans come from. Nathan decides the best chance to succeed is the other known living Titan on Earth, Kong, is their best chance at success. He heads out to Skull Island and convinces the researcher overseeing Kong, Dr. Ilene Andrews (played by Rebecca Hall), to allow him to take Kong from Skull Island to guide him to Hollow Earth. She begrudgingly agrees on the provision that she and her adopted daughter Jia (played by Kaylee Hottle), the last of the Iwi natives that lived on the island and who has befriended Kong, accompany him. Of course, removing Kong from Skull Island immediately alerts Godzilla to the presence of another Titan on Earth setting the stage for an inevitable confrontation between the two. 

The film was directed by Adam Wingard from a script by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein. Together, they manage to craft a remarkably satisfying clash between two favorite and beloved Titans while gleefully leaning in to the absurdity that the premise inherently suggests. The film also builds on the films that came previously, namely Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island. The filmmakers manage to come up with a reasonably satisfying way of setting up the film's numerous confrontations between Godzilla and Kong. The first one while they are still transporting Kong from Skull Island (while once again staying with tradition and not showing exactly *how* they got a tranquilized Kong from the Island on board the ship). The mid-sea confrontation is one of the standouts of the film just in terms of not only spectacle but because Godzilla has the clear advantage as a good swimmer. Still, Kong holds his own as the two Titans come to blows while balanced on a Aircraft Carrier like it was a surf board. This film is also the one to finally go fully into the Hollow Earth theory as we actually get to see some of our characters venture into the so-named Hollow Earth, brought to life with some dazzling and fun special effects as well as getting to delve into at least a little backstory of Kong's ancestors. This all leads to the final showdown between Godzilla and Kong in the neon drenched streets of Hong Kong as the two deliver an epic smackdown on one another that does result in a definitive winner, unlike some other "versus" films in the past.       

The film has also assembled an impressive cast for the film, with both Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler returning from the previous Godzilla movie. Of the two, Millie Bobby Brown is decidedly given more to do as she sets out to prove that Godzilla did not attack Apex randomly but was specifically provoked. She does well in adventure girl mode as she gets deeper and deeper into her investigation into what is going on at Apex alongside Julian Dennison and Brian Tyree Henry, all three of them working very well together and are a lot of fun to see play off one another. Kyle Chandler doesn't really get a lot to do this time around except to react what's going on and be a worried parent, yelling at other people. But honestly, that's what Kyle Chandler is good at and he makes the most of it here. Rebecca Hall does a fine job as Dr. Ilene Andrews and her relationship with her adopted daughter Jia, played wonderfully by Kaylee Hottle, adds a lot of heart to the film, as well as Jia's relationship with Kong. I really enjoyed Alexander Skarsgaard as Nathan Lind, especially the fact that his character isn't the typical heroic type, but a bit nerdier and is very intimidated by Kong (understandably so). 

Godzilla vs Kong is just the sort of big budget, needs to be seen on the big screen popcorn entertainment we need right now. This is a fun slice of big, goofy entertainment that knows it's big goofy entertainment and never pretends to be anything else. I can't help but appreciate and even love a movie like that.  

Kong: Skull Island

 

In 2017, Warner Bros. gave us a brand new King Kong movie, Kong: Skull Island as a follow-up to their 2014 remake of Godzilla as part of a Monsterverse shared universe series of films. Building a brand new story from the ground up, this rendition of King Kong is a fresh and exciting new movie that I actually quite liked, much to my surprise. Also, I may just be psyched that I don't have to recap basically the same story for a fourth time. 

Bill Randa (played by John Goodman) is leading an expedition of an uncharted island in the South Pacific, believing it to be home to prehistoric creatures. He recruits Tracker and former British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad (played by Tom Hiddleston) and anti-war photographer Mason Weaver (played by Brie Larson). They are also assigned a military escort led by Lt. Colonel Packard (played by Samuel L. Jackson) to accompany them, along with a team of surveyors led by Victor Nieves (played by John Ortiz) and seismologist Houston Brooks (played by Corey Hawkins). As part of they Survey of the island, they drop seismic charges from helicopters and the ensuing explosions anger the one and only Kong, who quickly makes his grand entrance, setting off a huge battle and ending with Kong swatting the group of helicopters out of the air and sending them spiraling in all directions of the island. Conrad, Weaver, Nieves, Brooks and one of Packard's men, Reg Slivco (played by Thomas Mann), are in one group. Packard and his surviving men are in another. Both groups have wound up separated from one another on separate parts of the island. Conrad's group encounter a group of natives and among them Hank Marlow (played by John C Reilly), a World War II pilot that was shot down and crash landed on the island back in 1944 and has been stuck there ever since. Marlow agrees to help lead them to the rendezvous point where they were supposed to meet the ship that brought them there to vacate the island. Meanwhile Packard and his men make their way to the location of one of the downed Helicopters to retrieve the heavy artillery onboard so Packard can kill Kong in retribution for what he did to his men.   

The film was directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts from a screenplay by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connelly. Together they manage to create an entirely new film that at once clearly takes influences from all the previous King Kong movies while also creating it's own separate narrative. Honestly, this approach is a breath of fresh air. The film also sits comfortably within the larger universe that Warner Bros. is creating that includes Godzilla and the assorted other Toho studios Monsters. Still, the film remains for the most part focused squarely on Kong and the adventures of our Human characters trying to survive an extremely hostile island full of nightmarish monsters. This film marks the second time Kong was brought to life courtesy of motion capture technology and they certainly give it a workout with this film, creating a very dynamic and expressive Kong that I couldn't help but cheer for. I did enjoy the film's period setting of 1973 with a group of soldiers ready to head home from Vietnam getting pulled into this side adventure first. Of course, this set up allows for the film to be infused with plenty of firepower and there is plenty of explosions and action throughout the runtime as the characters fight their way across the island. That said, I appreciated the quieter moments to the film as well, such as the way the filmmakers chose to depict the villagers that Marlowe was staying with. We don't learn much about them but they feel a bit more unique than the stock savage native stereotypes we had to varying degrees in the previous films. The only real complaint I have is in the opening scene of the movie, we see a young Marlow crash land on the island and soon after so does the Japanese pilot, Gunpei Ikari (played by Miyavi), he was in a dogfight with. They initially come to blows until Kong makes his grand entrance and then the movie cuts to 30 years later. It just slightly frustrates me because the idea of a movie about two enemies having to team up to survive on a hostile island filled with monsters is a movie I'd very much like to watch too. The movie does fill in what happened to the two of them in the intervening years, so a prequel would probably be pretty useless. 

The film is definitely stacked in the cast department, led by Tom Hiddleston as James Conrad, who basically functions as the voice of reason throughout the movie towards the other characters, the even hand in very crazy and unpredictable times and Hiddleston does good in the role, even if it is a bit underwritten. Brie Larson similarly does well with her role as Mason Weaver, who is the group photographer documenting everything they come across while also advocating for the side of sanity when things get increasingly dire and crazy. Samuel L. Jackson on the other hand gets plenty to play as Lt. Colonel Packard, who becomes increasingly unhinged and obsessed with taking out Kong as his men keep getting picked off by the islands monsters. Thomas Mann is quite endearing as the scrappy by handy Reg Slivko, who among other things lugs around a portable record player, giving the filmmakers ample opportunities for such rocking needle drops as Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Run Through the Jungle" or Black Sabbath's "Paranoid." But the actor who absolutely steals the show for me from the moment he shows up is John C. Reilly as Marlow. Even though he largely functions as the comic relief as Marlow is out of touch with current times and is more than a little loopy, Reilly still adds a touch of sadness to the character who has probably felt quite isolated for all those years on the island. It's a magnificent and entertaining performance.    

Overall, Kong: Skull Island is excellent popcorn entertainment of the highest order. It's just a huge blast of fun and never once pretends to be otherwise. Some people have complained that the human characters were written a little thin, but honestly if you bought a ticket to a Kong movie for the human characters, I don't know what to tell you. This is a movie that knows exactly what it is and succeeds at those goals with flying colors. This is easily my favorite of the Warner Bros. Monsterverse movies...so far anyway. 

King Kong (2005)

 

Coming off the daunting Lord of the Rings trilogy, director Peter Jackson finally got a crack at another dream project, a lavish remake of King Kong. The resulting film would be a film that was a reverent re-imagining of the 1933 classic, while expanding on the story in almost every way. The resulting film is a fantastic rendition of the original film, if more than a little long. 

Ann Darrow (played by Naomi Watts) is a down on her luck actress desperate for work after the theatre she was working in is shut down. Her fortunes change with a chance encounter with filmmaker Carl Denham (played by Jack Black), who just happened to be looking for a new star for his latest film when the current actress up and quit at the last minute. He convinces her to join them on a voyage he's chartered and star in the new film. Also along for the ride is the movie's screenwritier, Jack Driscoll (played by Adrien Brody) and the film's male lead, the self absorbed Bruce Baxter (played by Kyle Chandler). Also along for the ride is Denham's personal assistant, Preston (played by Colin Hanks), his cameraman, Herb (played by John Sumner), and soundman, Mike (played by Craig Hall). The crew of the ship includes Captain Englehorn (played by Thomas Kretschmann), First Mate Ben Hayes (played by Evan Parke), the ship's cook Lumpy (played by Andy Serkis) and the eager Jimmy (played by Jamie Bell). Once the ship has sailed, Denham announces their destination to be Skull Island. Lumpy warns Denham away from going there, telling him of stories he's heard of that island. Upon their arrival, they discover the island is desolate and surrounded by fog. Searching the island, they come across a village populated by savage, vicious natives and narrowly escape with their lives. They return to the ship but are followed by the natives who take Ann to offer to Kong. This time around, the offering of Ann to Kong is a grand spectacle full of chanting and fire as Kong (played by Andy Serkis) makes his grand entrance. Just like before, Kong takes Ann back into the jungle with Jack, who had bonded with Ann over the course of the voyage, and the rest of the crew follow in hot pursuit. Carl even lugs his camera and tripod along, hoping to get priceless footage of the mighty Kong. Along the way they face all the mighty horrors the island has to offer, including giant bugs, evolved prehistoric monsters and even Kong himself. Meanwhile, Ann is able to tame the mighty Kong and even bond with him during their time alone. When Denham's camera is destroyed and the footage exposed, he decides the best way to recoup his losses is to bring Kong himself back to New York City with them. 

Peter Jackson directed the film from a script he co-wrote with Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens. The film itself has a lot of reverence for the original 1933 film while also fleshing out the story, giving us more background on the main characters as well as giving more screen time to some of the crew members of the SS Venture, especially Jimmy and Ben. The film has top notch special effects, which is clear from the get go with a flawless recreation of 1930s New York City. But special notice has to go to this film's depiction of Kong, achieved through performance capture technology performed by Andy Serkis. For this first time, Kong really is a giant Gorilla and the effects are flawless as we get a Kong that is more expressive and relatable as ever. It truly is a wonder to behold. The cinematography by Andrew Lesnie is quite impressive from the bright and colorful New York City to the nightmarish Skull Island and back again. I also have to give credit to James Newton Howard for this fantastic score for the film and the way the score changes from when the film is in New York in the opening and everything seems so bright and optimistic and then slowly changes as the film goes on. 

Jackson assembled a dynamite cast for the film. Naomi Watts is quite impressive as Ann Darrow as she fleshes out the character, but also for having to spend large portions of the movie playing off a character that wasn't there and doing it all convincingly. Whether it is her initial attempts to charm and tame Kong with her Vaudeville routines or her desperate attempts to save Kong at the climax at the Empire State Building, she is fantastic. Jack Black stretches outside his usual goofball routine as the ambitious and driven Carl Denham, often to a frankly reckless degree. For the role, Black drew inspiration from Orson Welles and it really shows in the performance. As the film goes on and the various disasters that befall him and his crew, Black really shines as he shows Denham is really beginning to mentally unravel. Adrian Brody is is an uncharacteristically heroic role here and does quite well as Jack Driscoll, playing the romantic hero type. He has decent chemistry with Naomi Watts and the two play off one another quite well. He also proves quite adept at the more heroic elements of the film, swinging from vines or leading Kong on a car chase through the New York streets that turned out to be a highlight of the film for me. Kyle Chandler has an amusing supporting role as adventure movie star Bruce Baxter, who turns out to be more than a bit self absorbed as well as a bit of a coward. It's also amusing he's in this movie in hindsight because he is also in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and going to be in that movie's follow-up, Godzilla vs. Kong. 

Peter Jackson has crafted a fantastic remake of King Kong and his love for the original film shines through from beginning to end. The only complaint I could possibly muster for the film is the length. Clocking in at a staggering 3 hours and 8 minutes, there are times where it all feels like overkill. There is a scene where Kong is saving Ann from not one, not two, but three T-Rexes and the sequence just drags on and on with Kong taking all three on at once while literally juggling Ann, tossing her from one limb to the next. It all felt like a bit much. But at the same time, I appreciated that the film took it's time setting up the characters and built up Kong and Skull Island with enough anticipation that it really felt like an event when he finally shows up. It's still a damn near perfect movie and the best of the remakes, for sure. It just perhaps could have used a few trims here or there. Still, as it stands it is fantastic adventure entertainment of the highest order.        

King Kong (1976)

 

Time and History have certainly had an interesting impact on the 1976 remake of King Kong. Sandwiched in the middle between the original and the more recent Peter Jackson remake, this one is probably best remembered as the one with the World Trade Center. Still, there is a fair amount to enjoy with this reasonably faithful remake of the 1933 classic. 

Fred Wilson (played by Charles Grodin) is a executive with Petrox Oil Company who is mounting an expedition to a uncharted island recently discovered via NASA spy satellite photos that he believes house huge untapped oil reserves. Having heard about the expedition, primate paleontologist Jack Prescott (played by Jeff Bridges), sneaks aboard the vessel before it departs. Prescott tries to warn Wilson and the crew about going to the island, citing ominous reports of other explorers who had been there, including an ominous final message received that mentioned the "roar of a mighty beast." Initially detained because Wilson is convinced he's a spy from a rival company, once they confirm who he is, they allow Prescott to come onboard as the expedition's official photographer. The crew comes across a small, inflatable in the Ocean whose sole occupant is the beautiful Dwan (played by Jessica Lange), who they promptly take aboard. Since Prescott has some Medical training, he's assigned to look after her and the two quickly bond. Upon arriving at the island, they anchor offshore and take a boat launch to the coast, with Dwan coming along at her insistence. While exploring the island, the group comes across a huge wall a beyond it a secluded village who built and maintain the wall to protect themselves from their mighty god, Kong. The villagers are initially upset that they have interrupted their ceremony until they spot Dwan. Much like the original film, they offer a trade for Dwan but the offer is refused and the expedition returns to their ship. That night, the villagers sail out to the ship and kidnap Dwan and take her back to the island. In a rousing ceremony, Dwan is taken to a platform outside the large gate in the wall. Soon, the mighty Kong makes his grand entrance. Scooping up Dwan, Kong retreats back into the jungle. Prescott and several of the crew members, after discovering Dwan had been taken, follow in hot pursuit. Prescott is eventually able to rescue Dwan, who herself has tamed Kong, who himself is rather fascinated by her. Meanwhile, disappointed that the island does not have the oil reserves he was hoping for instead traps Kong to take back to New York with them with the intention of using Kong as the new Mascot for Petrox Oil. 

The film was directed by John Guillerman from a script by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. The resulting film is a fairly decent update of the 1933 original film to the then contemporary 1976. The script also feels heavily influenced by the energy crisis that was going on at the time, which explains the switch from a documentary film crew to an expedition crew to find an untapped oil reserve they can have sole control over. The film also streamlines some of the more fantastical elements of the Island, dropping the dinosaurs and just having Kong fight a giant snake. Instead, they focus on the bonding between Kong and Dwan, which adds some interesting new layers to the film that the original didn't have. I thought it was a cool touch that Kong's island is surrounded by a huge fog bank to obstruct it from being seen and only discovered by aerial photographs from a satellite that was knocked off course. It adds a certain mystery to the island that was really effective. With the improved special effects over the original film, this Kong is far more naturally emotive and sympathetic. Portrayed largely by special Makeup effects wizard Rick Baker in a not entirely convincing Ape suit and animatronic mask that he designed alongside Special Effects Wizard Carlo Rambaldi. They also crafted a 40ft tall animatronic Kong but it never looked convincing so it can only be glimpsed seconds at a time at the climax when Kong is unveiled in New York. The whole production is topped off with a fantastic score by John Barry that compliments the film wonderfully. 

The film does make some interesting changes from the characters in the original film. Jack this time around is much more of a conservationist in this film, trying to protect Kong and disgusted by how Fred Wilson wants to exploit him. Jeff Bridges does a great job with the character while also keeping the character's more heroic qualities from the original film as well. Instead of filmmaker Carl Denham in this film we have Fred Wilson, portrayed quite well by Charles Grodin. At the start of the film, he seems like a fairly reasonable guy trying to get ahead in his job and make a name for himself but as the film goes on, we see the deeper layers of Wilson and see he's a real slimeball, who just wants to exploit the island for it's resources and when that doesn't work out he has no problem doing the same to Kong. Grodin does a fantastic job in the role and handles both sides of it quite well. Jessica Lange has taken her share of criticism in the role of Dwan and while I don't mind it, it also doesn't match with an actress who would go on to win two Academy Awards either. Still, she does give a suitably warm performance as Dwan and does well playing against Kong too. She also has some decent chemistry with Jeff Bridges so their romance in this one feels a little more natural. Meanwhile, Rick Baker actually gives a good performance as Kong, acting through both the animatronic mask and a Ape suit he never was quite happy with. It still worked well for me, even if it never was completely convincing either. 

I've always had a certain affinity for this rendition of King Kong, perhaps due to it's not infrequent airings on cable T.V in my youth. It's by no means a perfect film, but it is an entertaining one that I've never felt has lived up to it's reputation of being a bad movie. It's not as good as the original film, but taken on it's own merits I think it's an entertaining film. It's also become something of a curio post 9/11 with the climactic showdown at the World Trade Center, including shots of Jack running through one of the towers trying to reach the roof to get to Dwan and Kong (who took the more scenic route to the roof, if you catch my drift). Still, it's not a perfect movie and certainly the lesser of the three King Kong films, but still one I enjoy nonetheless.