King Kong

reviewed by Jane Louise Boursaw

Suggested Ages: MPAA Rating: Star Rating:
10+ PG-13 *****


He's big. He's brown. He's…a giant ape. That's right. Just one humongous gorilla who made his screen debut in 1933 and is now back and badder than ever. Set in the 1930s, this classic tale, directed by Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings), follows a group of explorers who travel to the mysterious Skull Island in search of a legendary gorilla named Kong. Once there, they discover that King Kong truly does exist, and is living in a jungle where prehistoric creatures have been protected and hidden for millions of years (think: Jurassic Park).

The explorers find themselves up against both Kong and his dinosaur enemies, but ultimately, it's the beautiful actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) who steals his bigmonkey-heart long enough for him to be subdued and shipped back to New York -- to be put on public display! Playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody) falls in love with Ann and tries to save her from the savage beast. And yes, we DO get to see the big ape climb the Empire State Building!

Rounding out the cast are Jack Black, Jamie Bell, Colin Hanks, and...hang onto your hats -- Andy Serkis, who plays Kong! (You might recall his role as Gollum in Lord of the Rings. He's carving out quite a niche for himself with these weird-creature roles.) By the way, for film buffs, there are some very cool production diaries on the movie's web site, [www.kongisking.net/kong2005/proddiary/]

PRE-SCHOOLER (ages 2-5): The fast-paced action, scary creatures and intense images in this movie are NOT for little kids. Just hearing the gorilla's mighty roar in the theater trailer was enough to freak out several small children -- and, ok, a few adults, too.

GRADE-SCHOOLER (ages 6-10): This is iffy, because you know if Peter Jackson is at the helm, there will be special attention paid to ALL the finer details. That said, kids 8 and older who were ok with the special effects in, say, Lord of the Rings or Jurassic Park, should be fine with this one. Just prepare them ahead of time.

TWEEN/TEEN (ages 11+): What a great way to introduce older kids to the mighty Kong. Better yet, watch the original 1933 movie together, then go see this modernized version to see how incredibly far we've come with special effects. The original was a huge deal when it came out in 1933 -- they were carrying distraught people out of the theater on stretchers!
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Jane Louise Boursaw is a freelance writer specializing in the television and movie industry. Her syndicated column, "Reel Life With Jane," is published in papers throughout the country. Email her at jboursaw@charter.net.

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