Kong is a force to be reckoned with. I've not seen the film since theaters, so the Blu-ray extended version looked ripe for a rewatch. I remember a lot of the effects outside of Kong himself to not quite up to par. That still hold true, although now I'm of the opinion that it's partly intentional as a lot of the film is intended to have a sort of camp feel to it. It's cartoony almost (almost) in the same way that Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is or even Speed Racer is in some ways.

It's b-movie schlock done on a big budget and therefore becomes epic in scale and gorgeous in visuals.

The strange casting choices somehow work to the strengths of the near-melancholy feel of the entire picture, yet at the same time really do evoke quite a bit of emotion by the end. Of course this is due in very very large part to Serkis and Kong himself.

The action scenes are thrilling and original. Sure a bunch of guys fighting off giant CGI creatures isn't really anything new and I'm not usually one to brag about action scenes in these Hollywood mega-budget, summer blockbusters, but the triple T-Rex fight in here is 110% stunning. T-Rex's swinging from vines fighting a giant gorilla as they fall down a giant gorge while trying to eat the meagerest of meals in a 115 lb. woman should be completely ridiculous and goofy on paper. But man alive is it riveting and grandiose.

The New York sets are stunning, the cinematography is fascinating to watch change from night to day to fog to city scape dawns.

In short, this movie is one hell of an accomplishment and in a word is stunning. I don't see myself ever watching the theatrical version again. This movie deserves its 4 hour extended version on Blu-ray.