Remakes of classic movies are almost always a bad idea. Unlike the theatre, where everything depends on what is happening in the moment and new productions can sometimes offer a fresh perspective on familiar work, a truly classic film becomes burned in the cultural memory and much of its potency is derived from that very permanence. Come to think of it, a frequent characteristic of classic films is their unchanging freshness, the way in which they not only stand out in their own era, but in all eras.

But Peter Jackson’s King Kong isn’t just any remake; it’s one of the best films of 2005, a work of unrestrained showmanship and imagination, and an epic labor of love by one of the world’s finest moviemakers. That it’s also a flawed masterpiece should not deter anyone from seeing it; a flawed masterpiece is better than no masterpiece at all, and rare enough on its own. (more…)