Even without knowing about Peter Jackson's love affair with the iconic tale of King Kong immortalized in 1933 by adventurers-turned filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and co-director Ernest B. Schoedsack, one would immediately recognize Jackson's remake of the monster classic as a labor of love. Ever since he was a young boy, he's considered King Kong his favorite movie and declares it the single reason he decided to get into filmmaking. Let's consider ourselves fortunate that Jackson watched that movie on television one night in New Zealand. Otherwise we might never have been treated to one of the biggest and grandest love stories to hit the silver screen.

Staying true to the original, Jackson sets the film in the 1930s, where we meet the three central human characters trying to make their way through the Great Depression. Carl Denham (Jack Black) is the impetus that drives the plot of King Kong. He's a flamboyant showman and struggling filmmaker who lures a down-and-out vaudevillian actress, Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and a talented young playwright, Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) onto a tramp steamer to finish shooting his film. Jackson keeps the story in New York City for the film's first hour, patiently painting a vivid picture of depression-era New York City. It's in his master plan to familiarize the audience with each and every character, as human emotion plays such an important role in the success of the story.

Carl Denham, a bit of a scoundrel, represents everything that's wrong with the film industry, then and now. He's greedy,  unscrupulous and will lie to get his way. His latest whopper involves telling his crew they are heading for Singapore to finish the film. But instead, he steers the ship toward an uncharted and mysterious destination known as Skull Island.

Almost immediately upon arrival at the mist-enshrouded isle, things begin to go terribly awry. Ann is captured by the local aboriginal-type natives and offered as a human sacrifice to quell the beast the locals call Kong. There's great anticipation before the audience is treated to the sight of Kong. The jungle quakes, and tree branches shake before Ann is eventually snatched up in the giant ape's hand. We've come to expect incredible visual effects from Peter Jackson. And here he doesn't disappoint. From a thrilling Brontosaurus roundup to the mighty Kong himself, the visual effects from Jackson's WETA workshop (the same outfit that worked on the Lord of the Rings series) are nothing short of spectacular. Kong is truly a sight to behold. Nearly every hair and wrinkle has its own animation key frame, giving him a truly lifelike appearance. The only aspect of real-life movement escaping the animators' skill seems to be the ability to add an  appearance of weight and mass to animated objects. Kong gracefully runs and jumps through the jungle, but we don't see the effects of gravity on his skin and individual muscles as he hits the ground.

Kong is eventually captured and shipped back to New York, but not before taking on a trio of T-Rexes in claw-to-paw combat. The fur flies as Kong gently cradles Ann in one giant paw while fending off the vicious reptiles. We get the point that Kong is just protecting his fair-haired maiden from danger and would fight to the death for her, but these sequences seemed a bit lengthy. If there's anywhere the film should have been shortened from its 3-hour runtime, it's here. One battle would serve the purpose.

Upon his arrival in New York, Kong is put on display by the money-grubbing Carl Denham and billed as the "eighth wonder of the world." Denham's dreams of success, however, are dashed when the angry Kong breaks his chains and runs rampant through the streets of Manhattan, destroying everything in his path.

Although the action sequences are quite spectacular from a visual standpoint, it's the quieter moments that give the film its true lift. After all, King Kong is a love story. When Watts and Kong are on screen together, we feel a genuine emotional connection between the two. One scene in particular is especially memorable as the two star-crossed lovers skate hand-in-hand on a frozen pond. 

Jackson's remake carries many of the original's messages about the effects of man's greed on nature and even takes a few ironic jabs at the filmmaking industry. And as we expected from a man who so loved the original, Jackson allows the compassionate love story to punch through the digital spectacle and provide a colossal holiday treat, one that's technologically mind-blowing yet heartwarmingly endearing.

(Released by Universal Pictures and rated "PG-13" for frightening adventure violence and some disturbing images.)

Review also posted at www.franksreelreviews.com.