Its King Kong. Do I need to say more? OK, here's what it's about. In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer (Black) coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady Ann Darrow (Watts).

Having seen the original King Kong last semester it was fresh in my mind for comparison to Jackson's version. Jackson keeps all of the best bits and improves on the rest. The main difference is the relationship between Ann and Kong. In entertaining Kong with acrobatics and juggling, Ann saves herself from the usual fate of Kong's victims and becomes his companion. We see a very different Kong to the 1933 version in that we are given a sense of the loneliness that Kong has endured and we feel for this creature as he sits and watches the beauty of the sunset. This makes his fate that much more tragic and heart-breaking. Andy Serkis is once again the darling of special effects as he lends his motion capture skills to Kong, bringing realism to the creature and enabling him to express the spectrum of emotions.

At three hours this is a long movie, but it's all good. It's at least an hour into the movie before we actually see Kong, but be patient, the build-up is worth it. This is a film that every movie lover should see at least once.