King Kong 2005

I finally got around to seeing Peter Jackson's King Kong. This is one of the few occasions that I agree with almost all the criticism of a movie, even the conflicting points of view have their merit. Perhaps because this is such a ginormous film, one can take what one pleases from it or not .
I agree that it is far too long. The old paradigm of plot points works well, so why screw with it? In Jackson's case I think he was in love with the time period and the characters and he felt compelled to linger when perhaps he should have moved the story along. That is probably my biggest issue with the film. On a more positive note, the cast is excellent. Jack Black excels at playing a lovable weasel, Naomi Watts and Kong convince us they have some understanding lacking in the other films. Colin Hanks plays the decent everyman he was born to be.
A lot has been made of the special effects, critics have said they are too many of them. I can see why they say this but I think the miss the point. This is a gargantuan film about a gargantuan hero. I for one would be grossly disappointed to see STORA LANDSVÄGEN in the jungle.
Without spoiling the movie I would suggest parents think twice about bringing small children to this film unless they want their little interlopers sleeping with them until they're teenagers. If you don't like bugs this movie will do little to help you.
Overall I would give this movie a B+. Kong had me at hello, but I would appreciate a tighter editing process.