After the worldwide success of the Lord of the Rings, movie buffs and Peter Jackson fans did not expect the celebrated director to give up larger-than-life blockbusters and move on to low budget independent films. With King Kong, the master in the art of special effects proves them right and demonstrates that his success with the Tolkein trilogy was not a fluke.

King Kong, a 187-minute remake of Merian C Cooper's 1933 classic, retools the original iconic components with computer generated special effects-one of the biggest cinematic achievements of this century. The movie successfully reproduces Depression-era New York, the voyage of the SS Venture, the Jurrassic Parkish ecology of Skull Island, biplane strafing of the Empire State Building and the giant 25-foot silverback himself. The movie's budget was $ 200 million and Jackson seems to have spent most of it on special effects like T-Rexs and other dinosaurs along with some of the creepiest looking bugs in Hollywood's history.

The narrative in the early scenes seems go on forever before we catch a glimpse of the island. But once our crew lands, the action is non-stop, including gunfights, random executions and human sacrifices. Then Kong appears, snatches actress Ann Darrow played by Naomi Watts and carries her into the wild. During the crew's search for her, the dinosaurs stampede, raptors attack and giant insects swarm. But the action doesn't end there. More dinosaurs arrive, followed by giant bats, more gun battles and then three T-Rexs take on King Kong, with Darrow caught in the crossfire, kicking and screaming as she tries to untangle herself from the vines. The ensuing chase leads us back to New York.

The real star of the film is King Kong because the other characters really do not matter. With his lifelike expressions and infamous cry, Kong is a testament to the power of technology. The actors don't give the ape much competition for the spotlight. The star of movies like 25 Grams, Watts' performance here is mediocre. Her use of the word 'beautiful' to describe the sunset on Skull Island and again the view from atop the Empire State Building is sappy. During the first half of the movie it almost seems like Jack Black can act but he goes from good to bad to worse as time progresses.

King Kong pays homage to its original production and reunites the movie with an old cast member, the Empire State Building. This is Beauty and the Beast and Jurassic Park mixed up with 9/11 and stirred. It will draw some fans but it is the special effects and not the story that will pull most people into theatres. They might be disappointed: the stunning special effects stretched over three hours will probably keep you at the edge of your seat but Peter Jackson needs a better editor and scriptwriter next time.