Beauty that slayed the beast

Just got home from watching Peter Jackson's re-imagining of King Kong.
It was 3 hours long! But what a ride it was. Central to the story is the bond between Kong and Ann,played by Naomi Watts. The movie resembles part Jurassic Park part Indiana Jones and even part Titanic. It is a visually spectacular CGI fest.

Peter Jackson is a self-confessed King Kong fan so he brought all that fascination to the table when he made the movie, and it shows. In some ways it made it a better movie as it answers many of the 'what-if's' many diehard fans would have asked. As such we lingered for a considerable part of the film on Skull Island to watch the various protaganists face the many perils that may be found. So be prepared for monsters of every kind to be coming at you. Some of the creatures are truly scary which can only come of the twisted mond of Peter Jackson. Even thinking of it now gives me goosebumps. Look out for the T-Rex(s) and Kong fight.
On the flip side, Jackson's fascination with the myth of Kong meant that he over indulged in the CGI. It was overkill. Another potential miss was how Jackson tried to cram so many long set pieces into this film that you could hardly wait for certain scenes to end (see the ship running aground, brontosaurus stampede and T-Rex fight scenes). They went on protractedly and far too long for my liking. It was another case where less is more sometimes.
But what saves the film in the end is the tender relationship between Kong and Ann Darrows. There was nary a dry eye in the theatre as the film reached it climatic end. And all the scenes where Kong was subjected to humiliation and pain at the hands of his human captors really struck a raw nerve. I guess we all wanted him to get the girl and to ride...or rather run...off into the sunset.

The casting of Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow's is a master stroke. She really made the role her own and I cannot imagine anyone else playing Ann but her now.

"...Beautiful"

Rating: 4 1/2 bottles of chloroform out of 5.