When it comes to exhilarating adventure and jaw-dropping special effects, "Kong" is king.

Fresh from the global success of "Lord of the Rings," filmmaker Peter Jackson now pays homage to his all-time favorite film. His "King Kong" adapts most of the original story and places it evocatively in the original 1930s.

But Jackson also greatly expands the tale, supplying viewers with subplots about various sailors and adventurers on the expedition. There are also details about the Depression, then in full swing, and the Broadway and vaudeville worlds that frame Kong's story.

The result is a stunning, giant-sized, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink remake. At three hours and seven minutes, the new film is 13 minutes longer than the original "King Kong" and its "Son of Kong" sequel, put together. If you're from the less is more school of thought, no need to apply. However, you'll deprive yourself of the most astonishing special effects ever put on celluloid. Indeed, the epic's many moments of spectacle and action help propel it.

But that's not all.

Three memorable performances humanize the adventure, including Naomi Watts, as the spunkiest and most appealing Ann Darrow imaginable, and Adrien Brody as her smart, understanding boyfriend, Jack Driscoll, remade here as a screenwriter (and not the sailor of the original).

The third humanizing performance isn't even human: It's Kong himself, a magically expressive performance by the giant ape, based in part on studies of real silverback gorillas, re-created for the computer by actor Andy Serkis (who inspired the computer geniuses to bring Gollum to life for "Lord of the Rings.") Serkis also plays Lumpy, the colorful ship's cook.

This "Kong" leaps about with boundless energy, jumps easily onto high cliffs and the sides of buildings, and easily tackles three dinosaurs at once. And yet he expresses great passion for Ann Darrow and deeply affecting sadness and loss once he's taken from his primordial world and placed in Manhattan. This Kong will move you in surprising ways.

Having Kong battle three dinosaurs at once is typical of the extravagance of Jackson's film - and some filmgoers may long for the more economical approach of the original. Yet, I imagine if Kong's originators - Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack and Willis O'Brien - had access to today's CGI effects, they might have been tempted to do likewise.

Though astonishing, the new "Kong" isn't quite perfect. Comedian Jack Black was the surprise casting to play Carl Denham, the adventurer-filmmaker, based originally on Cooper, who served as catalyst for the epic. It's an admittedly tough role to cast, but Black isn't really the answer. Too many of his lines - important, key lines - ring like shallow parody in search of a punch line. He makes a valiant effort, but he's wrong for the film.

Still, with so much of "Kong" taking your breath away, maybe you won't notice this one false note.

Rated PG-13, with strong violence.