King Kong -- 2005 -- PG-13

King Kong is a remake of the famous 1933 RKO film of a giant ape who takes a woman who was sacrificed to him and is subsequently captured and taken to New York where he climbs the Empire State Building and is shot down. Peter Jackson's follow-up to The Lord of the Rings epic is also an adaptation of pre-existing material, and while faithfulness is likely maintained to the original, the material appears to have flaws that not even the masterful scriptwriting team of The Lord Of The Rings can save.

The execution of the material makes it crystal clear that Peter Jackson knows what he is doing behind the reins of the film. The plot is followed logically and every major even happens for a sure reason so nothing runs out really unexplained. The special effects are top notch and the acting is good as well...but this film is not the near flawless perfection of Lord of the Rings.

I found multiple points in this film worth cutting out, but on the whole it worked rather well for me (the run time was over 3 hours). I liked the characterization of Kong himself and the relationship between him and Ann. Their relationship, which is mostly shown with little dialogue, is absolutely touching to watch as they go through their trials. It is this relationship that really takes the film up several notches on the ladder of great films because it is so well done. When the Empire State Building comes, you are just glued to the screen because that whole scene is all about Kong and Ann.

I felt that the other characters were mostly well-rounded, although there was a fair amount of the gratuitious 2 dimensional death fodder. I also think some of the subplots were unnecessary such as the kid, Johnny or whatever his name was. 

The most glaring thing about the film that was just unbelievable (if you were paying attention) is Ann Darrow running full speed through the jungle BAREFOOT! The was one rickety bidge but she crossed it barefoot wthout so much as a cut on her perfect little feet. 

I also felt that some of the actions were unnecessary and a little unbelievable. I mean, seriously. No matter how gorgeous the woman is, are you going to risk a freakin' crew to go back in there and try to rescue her from bloodthirsty natives? And even if you do that, are you going to trudge through an overgrown jungle to try and rescue her from an overgrown ape? And when the brontosauruses started running, I had to ask, why didn't they step back into the jungle out of the path of the beasts? After all, they just came out of the jungle onto that little road to start with. Sure, it made a cool sequence to watch, but it could have been easily avoided.

However, the three T-Rexes vs. King Kong? Wow. That was seriously cool. It also served an awesome purpose of solidifying the Ann/Kong relationship.

Definitely could have been shorter without any loss to story or character, and some of the plot hiccups were probably a result of the original material that was never changed when it was reenvisioned. These hiccups are ultimately forgiveable due to the awesome characterization between Ann and Kong as well as that killer T-Rex vs. Kong sequence that runs for a good 15 minutes without letting up. Overall, I enjoyed it and will probably actually buy the DVD when it comes out.