I had a chance last Thursday - along with 13 other people in our group - to go see King Kong.

While it was long - over 3 hours - that is perfect for me.

An amazing fusion of the latest animation ability - which was awesome - as well as harkening back to a lot of mainstay Hollywood movies. 

The girl in distress.
The amoral producer/director.
The adventure to a strange land.

Old New York of the 1930's, was painstakingly recreated, and a joy to see. 
While some thought a lot of the sub-plots say, on the ship, were unnecessary, I found them to enrich the main storyline.
The introduction of the islanders was also done well - very believable "otherness", definitely giving one the willies.
King Kong was animated wonderfully.
And the battles between King Kong and the dinosaurs were incredible as well.

There were a couple of moments that ended up cheesy - like a herd of dinosaurs not stomping all over the party - but other than a couple of minor miscues, this picture WAS Hollywood - the grandeur, the reaching back to an impeccable representation to a lost time, the evocation of the emotional connection between the beauty and the beast, the gorgeousness of the sets and animated actors...

This is THE big action movie to see this Christmas.