I came in with low expectations, the trailers didnt really impress me. Then I had heard that it was way too long, and if you can make it through the first hour in which there is no King Kong and no action, then it gets enjoyable.
And I was still disappointed.
As many had told me before seeing it, a good 30 minutes could have been cut from the first hour, maybe more.
There was alot of time spent on character development when all the characters were paper thin. No need to devote all that time if it isnt of any consequense. Then there were characters that were wholly useless. The black guy and the kid subplot went nowhere. They had a seperate storyline kind of going, then the black guy dies. Maybe the kid is important later in the movie? Nope, he is gone for the last hour - and nobody in the audience notices! Clear sign that he could have been cut. You could have cut down quite a few of the extraneous characters and kind of blended them together.
Brody's character seemed to be important, only to see that he shows up too late at the end. Why even bother? May as well have killed him off on the island, or just have the two of them get together and not worry about him chasing her around. Another pointless subplot that went nowhere and sucked up time.
Then you have a bunch of repetition. Kong and the girl play around, and he starts to enjoy her. He knocks her down, she gets up, he knocks her down, she gets up, he knocks her down, she gets up, he knocks her down, she gets up.... After the second time we get the point, and dont need another 3 goes at it. During the brontasaurus stampede, why didnt the guys weave through them (as they were doing anyway) and let them pass? Chances of survival are alot better weaving through them and letting them run by than to run along side of them for a great distance. Put that aside, and you still have to wonder why that scene went on for so long. Yes, they are being chased, we get it. We dont need it to go on for 10 minutes. How about Kong fighting the TRexs. Probably the highlight of the movie. How many times did they bite his arm? How many times did he drop her, and catch her with his other hand/foot? Then they bit him again, and he dropped her and caught her. Then they bit him again, and he dropped her and caught her. We get to the top of the Empire State Building, the huge climax, and the planes swoop in and fire. Then the planes swoop in and fire, then the planes swoop in and fire, then the planes swoop in and fire. Then it happened again, and again. Seriously, they need to cut some of this crap down. The action scenes get bogged down and are taxing because they are too repetitive.
Cliffs. It should have been named Cliff Island. There were cliffs everywhere. Every action sequence involved at least one cliff, if not more than one! I kid you not.
How did they get Kong onto the ship after taking him down? Wasnt the ship leaking and needed to lighten its load in order to stay afloat? I can deal with those being unresolved in order to pick up the pace of the movie (it was a quick cut from the Island to NY), but that was the only place where they didnt go into excruciating detail, and as such, can be criticized. Its been made clear that running time is of no concern to the viewer, so you better not leave things unanswered.
Peter Jackson's desire to leave everything in worked for LOTR, especially the extended editions. It worked so well because the characters were so full and enriching, and the story was very strong and involving. I mean, I dont know if anyone has built a world as detailed and well thought out as Tolkien did. As such, being so unwilling to trim anything worked well. With this source material (paper thin characters, little real storyline) what Jackson did was appalling. I honestly will not watch another movie of his, not unless its clear to me he is working with good material. I dont trust him to show restraint, because despite all this movie's flaws, there still could have been a half enjoyable popcorn flick.
I left the theatre worn out, and had no desire to see another movie (Narnia was on my list, but Im just so put off by movies for the time being). The disgust I felt after having seen this is the exact opposite (EXACT) of the elation and joy I felt after seeing Fight Club in 1999 and Eternal Sunshine in 2004. Both movies which I found truly satisfying in every possible aspect (visuals, sound, story, acting).
Edit: The repetition in my post was very intentional. Take from that what you will.