by MATTHEW HAYS

For some time I’ve believed that there are two kinds of moviegoers: those who get off on excessive digital effects and those who don’t. I have tended to fall into the latter category. But after watching King Kong, Peter Jackson’s artful remake of the 1933 classic, I’m forced to rethink the breakdown. In fact, there are two kinds of filmmakers—those who know how to manipulate digital effects artfully and those who don’t.

Lucky for us, Jackson certainly knows what he’s doing. And while I grew weary of his Oscar-winning Tolkien trilogy, Jackson’s sardonic wit combined with his ability to tell an epic story makes the act of watching King Kong a hugely entertaining experience. It’s no Meet the Feebles, but hey, you can’t have everything.

Jackson has worked to flesh out the story—his Kong is over three hours. Naomi Watts is the struggling, down-and-out actress, working in a cheesy Vaudeville show that’s shut down. These are the dirty ’30s, and she’s famished, so she’s caught trying to steal an apple. Enter Jack Black, who’s well cast as the ambitious filmmaker. His leading lady has dropped out of the project, so he needs a woman who can use her size-four costumes. Watts is the perfect fit.

There are some borderline overly cutesy comical moments in the first hour of Kong, but this is part of Jackson’s effort to recapture the period in which the film was set. As well, he’s paced his film very methodically and carefully, much as a filmmaker would have decades ago. I rather liked the build-up, but younger viewers may want to wait for the DVD so they can skip the first few chapters and get to the monster bits.

But that would mean missing Kong on the big screen. And when the travellers/filmmakers do make contact with Kong, Jackson unleashes his full bag of goodies, making this film feel more like a Jurassic Park sequel. There are all sorts of disgusting and deadly critters wandering around this island, and Black, Adrien Brody and Watts are all desperately attempting to survive. Kong, meanwhile, ends up falling for Watts.

Jackson then ups the ante with the Kong-Watts romance. It’s always been there, of course, but in the 1976 remake director John Guillermin added some love and lust scenes between Kong and Jessica Lange. (For my money, the ’76 version wasn’t nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be—check out the final scene atop the Twin Towers, where the now-vaporized architecture is exquisitely detailed.) If anything, Jackson errs on the side of excess—there are a few too many moments of Watts and ape looking longingly into each other’s eyes.

Still, for any faults Kong ’05 may have, it is well worth seeing, a funny and often very scary action/fantasy film. Don’t look for anything too deep (there are some Heart of Darkness references that really should have been cut) but enjoy it. This is Jackson at his finest.

King Kong is now playing

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