Kong!

*** SPOILER ***

So how do I dissect this 900-pound gorilla?

First of all, it's long. Running 3 hours, get ready to warm that theater seat for a while. You should probably plan your day around it. It's a big chunk of time from your life.

Secondly, there are scenes where you have to give director Peter Jackson extra helpings of suspension of disbelief. Granted that you have to give fantasy/action movies like these extra doses, 10-minutes into the dinosaur stampede, it became increasingly and visually improbable (not to mention difficult for my mind to comprehend) that a bunch of humans could outrun and outmaneuver a herd of 33-ton sauropods running full speed through the narrowest of ravines. And you know what's the catch? Most of the humans survived, while ALL of the dinosaurs died when they fell on top of each other.

Thirdly, it was kind of annoying that Jackson was not really friendly to minorities, killing both the only black guy in the main cast (how predictable!), and the Chinese guy in the bit role, who may or may not have had an affair with the butcher (played by Andy Serkis -- who's also the CG Kong). Haha. I'm not a crazed-activist, but I just noticed it because when Kong grabbed the black guy, there was just no chance in hell that he was going to make it.

Anyway, all those aside, there are still moments in King Kong that will make it worth the price of admission. Kong vs. the Rexes was excellent, and Jackson did manage to make Kong a beloved character. I would still recommend King Kong. Just get ready since it's not perfect, and not a thoroughly fulfilling watch like Jackson's last film, the Return of the King.