I give it a 7. It was too long, too slow at times. It had its fair share of unsightly plot cracks (where DID those natives run off to? How DID they get that giant monkey on the boat? Why was Denham not immediately slapped in handcuffs when he returned to NY? We can say he bribed someone or just "worked it out" but why do we have to assume that?).
It was even a bit pretentious (ex. :the typing of S-K-U-L-L mentioned previously, the scene where Kong is looking for Ann in NY, and she appears, slowly walking down the center of the street, bathed in angelic light).
I can't blame PJ - this is his favorite film of all time, and this version really shows how much it means to him. Only it never meant that much to me, so naturally I found the hyper-drama more than a bit cloying.
But I did enjoy it, don't get me wrong- this movie, like Titanic, opitimizes everything we love about movies. Action, adventure, thrills, spills, scares, drama, love, heartbreak- its all there. The film to end all films. And Titanic didn't even have uber-scary monsters. I loved how the audience squealed with horror during the scene with those creepy giant centipedes. And I wanted to jump out of my seat and beat my chest with a cheer after the t-rex fight.Other scenes were beautifully touching ( the first time Anne entertains Kong in his lair, the scene where they slide around on the ice). But the end is so gut-wrenching, so awfully sad that I just can't call this a movie that I could see multiple times.
PJ accomplished his mission, I suppose. He wanted to pluck our heartstrings, and he played them well- maybe too well. I felt like crap walking out of the theatre. I won't be buying the DVD.
Most likely it will get lots of oscar noms anyway. Kinda strange : while alarmists claim the film industry is dropping off significantly, here wa have a remake of the film that ushered in its golden age. Full circle perhaps?
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