Can Peter Jackson do no wrong? It certainly seems that way when you look back on his filmmaking resume. Working his way up through the low-budget ranks, Jackson was responsible for many a horror fans favourite "splatter comedies" with such fare as Bad Taste and Dead Alive and it wasn't until his triple-threat Lord Of The Rings movies that he was seen as a viable, and skilled, director capable of handling a multi-million dollar blockbuster. For his follow-up to the Oscar winning Return Of The King, Jackson decided to remake 1933's King Kong, a movie so revered as a landmark "classic" that when it was redone in 1976 by director John Guillermin it was met with much complaint. While Jackson's Kong still can't match the original it does manage to be one highly entertaining time that is part love story, part high adventure, and part "rampaging ape destruction". It's probably the most fun you're likely to have in a theatre in recent memory, even if it does feel a tad bloated at over three hours long.

The story should be familiar to anyone who considers themselves movie fans but, for refresher sake, this tells the story of filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black, in a rare non-comedic role - and hard to take seriously) who is being snubbed by the studio heads to make his next "epic" film. But seems our director has other plans as he's scheming to head-off on a ship to an unchartered island dubbed "Skull Island" to document this lost world for his newest production.

The only problem is that he is lacking a leading lady, but that all changes when he spies wannabe actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts, who's no Fay Wray but still solid) who he saves from poverty and a life of acting in second-rate plays to star in the movie. Also along for the trip is writer Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), who Ann adores. Packing up quickly to avoid the studio heads (who come storming in with the police in tow); Denham, his cast, his crew, and a ship full of sailors head off for the island.

After many scenes of talking, mild character development, and a scene set in the ships cargo hold that throws Dead Alive fans a bone (if you look closely you'll see one of the animal crates behind the actors labeled, "Sumatran Rat Monkey") they end-up on Skull Island and soon are in the middle of a great adventure when the island's natives kidnap Ann and offer her to the island's resident giant ape who they have dubbed "Kong".

After staying pretty faithful to the original film, Jackson and his co-scripters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens continue the trend giving us reworkings of scenes that pleased us from the 1933 film as we're witness to many scenes of excitement as Kong battles with some T-Rexes (in the films most stunning moment), we finally get to see the "Spider Pit" sequence that was planned for the original movie and never filmed due to lack of funds, and Denham eventually captures Kong to bring back to America as Driscoll turns hero and saves Ann from her hairy suitor.

From there it's back to New York for a restaging of what has to be one of filmdom's most famous finales as Kong escapes from his shackles to hunt down Ann (who he's fallen for) and climb the Empire State Building for a final showdown. It's just too bad that by the time the finish shows-up our senses have been "dulled" a bit making its impact not as strong as you'd hope. But when all is said and done, Jackson's King Kong comes out as an extremely well-done film that has enough good effects, action, and wonder to be a good time - it's just too bad that they've brought the "love story" between Kong and Ann more to the forefront (after all, Kong's still a damn monkey!). (Chris Hartley, 1/8/06)

Directed By: Peter Jackson.
Written By: Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh.

Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann.