Although the film is a touch on the long side, there's enough jaw-dropping action crammed into its three-hour running time to satisfy all but the most demanding action junkies. I say a bit on the long side but it's really only in a few specific moments that some judicious editing would have made the film better (and even those elisions would only amount to a few minutes). For instance, as Ann and Kong watch the sun rise over the New York skyline, it takes Ann so long to figure out what the ape is trying to indicate that I started to worry that she was dim because she should have figured it out a full minute earlier.
But that minor grievance aside, I can't say enough about how spectacular the action sequences in the film are. One on top of the other (especially the scenes on Skull Island) and each one more spectacular than the last, there's never been anything like it in the modern computer-generated-character age. Kong's fight with the T-Rexes for instance takes them from the top of a mountain, down a crevasse and finally through the jungle with Ann balanced in between the entire time. This sequence (as well as the one in New York City and the Brontosaurus chase on Skull Island ) is like a complete film unto itself. It has separate acts and rising and falling action. It also has a distinct plot aside from just having cool shit happen. I just can't get over them.
Add to all this the fact that Jackson and company (Naomi Watts deserves a lot of the credit here) have created a real and deep emotional connection between Kong and Ann and you have one tremendous film. It's tremendous on an old school level. It works the way a John Wayne / John Ford picture works. And its also tremendous on an I-can't-believe-they-did-this level. It's a filmgoing experience unlike anything I've ever had, being completely enraptured with the film itself and simultaneously dazzled by the level of filmmaking prowess on display.
Interestingly, I think it's just that sort of enjoyment on two levels that has led to the less than stellar box office thus far despite unanimous critical acclaim. Critics and people involved with filmmaking can easily appreciate the film on both those levels but the average moviegoer is oblivious to that second level. And, that being the case, they just think it's too long and not interesting enough when Kong isn't kicking ass. I guess, then, that I feel sorry for those people because the film I'm watching is pretty damn good.
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