Quick Rating:  ****

Peter Jackson's King Kong is not perfect, but it is a damn fine movie.  He could not wish to attempt to recreate the impact that the original 1933 film had, but he does revision it, and does give it extra life and emotion and visual appeal that the story deserved.

You can tell by watching this movie how much Jackson loves the original movie.  There are references to it everywhere, and the story does not stray much from the '33 film.  Some may say the beginning is slow, and it is, but it pays off as the film goes on.  Jackson gives us more depth to the characters, as well as more characters.

Skull Island, or more specifically its natives, is one area that has changed dramatically from the original.  They are scared people, but also vicious and savage.  Living in the shadows of dinosaurs and giant apes will do that to you, I'd imagine.

The best improvement is Kong himself.  The digitized ape shows extraordinary range, in his motion, his actions, his facial expressions.  He is phenomenal.  And Jackson shows us his softer side (don't worry, fanboys, you'll also see Kong in all his destructive fury, killing dinosaurs and throwing cars in Manhattan), and it is the heart of the movie.  The interaction between him and Anne Farrow (Watts) is a beautiful thing to watch.  There is a bonding that happens, and it's a testament to Jackson, Watts, & Andy Serkis (who plays Kong here, much like he played Gollum in LOTR) that this works so well, considering Kong existed only in a computer.

Once on Skull Island, he action is intense, and goes on for quite a while, almost to a fault.  There's almost too many dinosaurs, bugs, slugs and scorpions putting our heroes in peril.  As a side note, some of the visual effects in these scenes were disappointing to me.  The running with brontosauri looked very fake to me.

Anyway, you know the story, pretty much.  They find the ape, capture the ape, bring the ape to New York, piss off the ape, and ... well, kill the ape.  But it gorgeous and tear-jerking.  1930's New York looks great, the friendship of woman and ape is emotional, and the climatic battle atop the Empire State Building is beautifully done. A must see for all movie lovers.







 
 

Quality: 8.0  Visuals: 8.0  Intensity: 7.0
OVERALL RATING: 7.7