King Kong is an epic monster American film produced by Universal Pictures in 2005. The story recounts the history of an unsuccessful producer in New York City. Carl Denham (Jack Black), has come to the end of financial tolerance from his partners. Sadly, they are now demanding whatever he has, and his removal from the set.
He escapes with a maiden, a screenwriter, and a film crew to the seas. Here he boards the ship of a friend who is doubtful but tolerant of the producer. The boat shipwrecks into the Skull Islands, where the crew discovers a lost world filled with pre-historic animals.
The island is tormented and protected by the famous giant gorilla, King Kong. After successfully capturing the beast, they bring it to New York where they plan to display it as the ninth wonder of the world.
When things go bad, Kong escapes and eventually jumps to suicide.
Production and Direction
After several delays, Universal Studios reapproached director Peter Jackson to restart the stalled film. The film was originally released in 1933, and the studio wanted a remodeled and modern version. This time with a more communicable monster.
Unfortunately, the film faced several delays again. This time, however, it was different as both the studio and Jackson wanted a movie. The film was delayed mostly due to possible competition from other monster movies being released in the late 1990s.
Jackson started filming in 2003 in New Zealand and finished in 2004. Starring Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, and Jack Black, the film cost over US$207 million. It became the most expensive movie at the time.
King Kong Box Office, Fans, and Critics
Most people were happy to see a giant-sized gorilla with intelligence and who was a defender rather than a tyrant monster. Like Hulk, he damaged almost everything in his surroundings to make sure that his princess stayed alive.
The movie did well at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing movie for Universal Studios, and the fifth-highest-grossing movie of that year. It hauled a worldwide box office of US$562 million. It went on to sell an additional US$100 million in DVD and a video game, released alongside it, became a commercial success.
The movie received and won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects
Universal Pictures immediately planned a sequel to the movie entitled Skull Island in 2013, with Jackson as the producer, and director Adam Wingard. Nonetheless, the project was scrapped when Warner Brothers Pictures acquired the rights and within four years, rebooted the franchise with the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island as a part of Legendary’s MonsterVerse.
Known for its negative criticism, Rotten Tomatoes was overly impressed by the film. The fans rated it an overwhelming 84% and the website stated that “Featuring state-of-the-art special effects, terrific performances, and a majestic sense of spectacle, Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong is a potent epic that’s faithful to the spirit of the 1933 original.”
And the Guardian was very outspoken declaring in no uncertain tones that King Kong “certainly equals, and even exceeds, anything Jackson did in Lord of the Rings.”
Across the three popular rating media, King Kong remained high on the fans’ favorite charts. On IMBd it reached 7.2/10, with 81% on Metacritic, and 54% on Rotten Tomatoes.
King Kong is a monster movie or is it a new monster hero?
