'King Kong' is a towering achievement

When Fay Wray starred as Ann Darrow in the original "King Kong," the character's incessant screaming was what most people seemed to notice.

The 1933 review in the show-biz trade paper Variety said: "It's a 96-minute screaming session for (Wray) — too much for any audience. With the blonde still screaming while in Kong's palm atop the Empire State, after having screamed all the way from the first reel, another of the unbelievable facts is that Kong shouldn't drop her and look for a non-screamer — even if he has to settle for a brunette."

Wray was quickly dubbed the "scream queen" — a nickname that stuck for the rest of her life.

Naomi Watts doesn't scream nearly as much. In fact, silence plays a big part in her performance as Ann Darrow in Peter Jackson's re-imagined "King Kong," which is surprisingly faithful to the original, while expanding the characters' depth.

This new "Kong" also pumps up the action so that some scenes — especially a chase sequence that will bring "Jurassic Park" to mind — are as harrowing as movies get.

It's also quite a violent PG-13 movie; think twice about taking little ones. And if you have phobias about bugs or heights, you might want to bring some leather to bite down on.

One of the best things the film does is make beauty's relationship with the 20-foot beast more acceptable, calling on Ann's comic vaudeville skills to entertain Kong, bonding with him as she sings and dances and juggles and does cartwheels. It sounds silly . . . and it is . . . but it works in the context of the film. (She should also suffer from whiplash, the way Kong jerks her around.)

And if Watts was a mid-level star before, this should shoot her through the roof. She's terrific, and, dare I say it, deserves an Oscar nomination.

The first hour, a lengthy setup, moves well as it helps us get to know the period and the players. Then the approach to Skull Island begins the roller coaster ride, as everything builds and builds, and it's mostly nonstop action for two more hours.

The film begins with a remarkable re-creation of Depression-era New York City. It's 1933 — which becomes clear to fans of the original "Kong" film when someone mentions that a movie actress, "Fay," is making a picture at RKO. (That would be, of course, "King Kong"; there are also other in-jokes, including art-deco credits and musical cues from the original film.)