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Wow. Once again, Peter Jackson appears at the end of the year and knocks most of the other contenders out of the ring. This film is simply a stunning achievement. You can tell that PJ's been wanting to make this for decades because it's put together with so much passion and care with loads of standout moments. It may be the most expensive film ever made but it's not hard to see why; the effects are absolutely brilliant throughout. If this doesn't win at least the effects Oscar, well, suffice to say it would be a travesty. Kong himself is magnificent, and the recreation of 1930s New York is just staggering. After this and LOTR it's clear to me that Weta is well ahead of ILM as the best effects house in the world at the moment; remarkable considering that before LOTR nobody had heard of them.
The film opens with a great little montage showing life in New York during the depression, which sets the tone perfectly. Obviously the film is long, and the first act has been singled out as the place where most snipping could happen, but I wouldn't cut a second of it. Personally the length is not an issue for me because I loved it all. If any of it was to be shortened though, I would choose the Skull Island section because there's so much action that it almost gets to the level of sensory overload. It's Jurassic Park meets Indiana Jones with huge Kong-sized knobs on, but to me it never got tiresome due to the first act character development. Unfortunately, I think that this will always be known as "that three-hour King Kong remake" and I think that will put people off. It really shouldn’t, because it’s such a fast three hours. On a side note, PJ certainly knows how to stretch a 12A (or PG-13) certificate to its maximum extent! Also, I must give credit to James Newton Howard for composing a very good score in such a short space of time. It may not be instantly memorable but it fits the movie perfectly and helps keep the momentum going all the way through. The casting, though unconventional, is spot-on and the acting throughout is great, especially Naomi Watts and Andy Serkis as Kong. Give this guy some recognition already! For me, this is better than the last movie PJ did with the word 'King' in its title (that’d be Return of the King, if you can’t figure it out).
The summary
Epic, fabulous, unstoppable entertainment.
