A thing of wonder

Released in December, Peter Jackson’s King Kong has received near unanimous praise from critics and movie-goers around the world. “This new King Kong is a folie de grandeur with real grandeur; in its power, its spectacle, and its spine-tinglingly beautiful vision of 1930s New York, it is a thing of wonder,” raves the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw. “There’s no cage strong enough for the sheer brute strength of Jackson’s movie, a muscularity matched by its ingenuous love for the great beast himself. Like his tiny blonde worshipper, you will be in the palm of his hand.” New York Times reviewer A.O Scott is similarly effusive. “[Jackson], who not so long ago was making low-budget monster movies in his native NZ, clearly wants to hold onto the artisanal, eccentric spirit of the past – his own and that of the art form he loves … He succeeds through a combination of modesty and reckless glee, topping himself at every turn and revelling in his own showmanship.”