King Kong MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +4 Content: -1

During the Depression, Carl Denham (Jack Black), a reckless and eccentric New York filmmaker, finds himself at odds with the producers of his latest work. Unwilling to accept his films termination, Denham secretly loads his cast and crew on an oceangoing ship in search of the mythical Skull Island. With the help of screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) and leading lady Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), Denham hopes to create his own masterpiece, set against the islands exquisite, untouched landscape. But when they arrive, hostile natives with a strange religion capture Ms. Darrow and offer her as a sacrifice to Skull Islands king of beasts: a giant gorilla called Kong. Forced to brave the islands other prehistoric dangers in order to rescue Ms. Darrow, Denham hatches a plan to capture Kong and bring him back to New York City. Meanwhile, Darrow develops a growing affection for her primate captor, turned protector.

From the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong is a remake of the 1930s film classic. A visual feast, coupled with an engaging and epic storyline, the film is a pleasure to watch. Viewers are drawn into the adventure and are eager to see the mysteries of Skull Island unveiled. And like Ms. Darrow, moviegoers will feel a certain compassion for the often misunderstood King Kong. Jack Blacks performance borders on cheesy, but together with seeing Naomi Watts tossed around like a rag doll, it is good comic relief. Though it is a fairly clean film, several scenes are violent and frightening, including one where a man is impaled and others where Kong battles dinosaurs. The portrayal of gigantic leeches and insects is enough to make anyone shiver with disgust. In addition, natives perform sacrificial religious ceremonies. Finally, the film includes more than 20 occurrences of profanity, which will turn off people of faith and Christians in particular.

Preview Reviewer: Shaun Daugherty
Distributor: Universal