It became increasingly clear after the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy that Peter Jackson is really into CGI and prefers his films to be overlong. And while the CGI in this "King Kong" remake is not yet the biggest problem (at least the ape looks solid, unlike most of the dinosaurs), the three-hour running time did bother me. Because it's not really used in any meaningful way. I thought the whole beginning in New York and on the ship was pretty good, but everything drags on tremendously on Skull Island at the latest, because every action sequence is unnecessarily longer than necessary. Only in the finale does the movie pick up speed again.

In terms of the characters, I would say that at least the interplay between Ann (Naomi Watts) and Kong is successful. Meanwhile, Jack Black as film director Carl Denham takes some getting used to, while Adrien Brody remains bland throughout. The rest of the cast isn't particularly memorable, and Jackson simply drops many characters at various points.

Ultimately, the director has gone too far in the task of creating the perfect homage to the 1933 classic. He doesn't have much new to say, and the story doesn't get a thematic update either. All in all, it's nothing more than a nice-looking update to the original, but it can't even begin to outdo it. And, while I may be in the minority, I prefer the 1976 "King Kong" to Jackson's film.