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King Kong (2005)

(2005, Rated PG-13, Action/adventure, Starring Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 13.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Boisterous, spectacular remake of 1933 classic.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–14

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Filmmaker is crass and greedy; military is brutal; King Kong means well.
  • Violence:

    King Kong fights dinosaurs; dinosaurs stomp and eat people; King Kong bites a person's head off, tosses bodies (including young women) fecklessly; giant bugs attack humans; in NYC, military shoots Kong off ESB.
  • Sex:

    Couple kisses; Ann runs around in her slip on Skull Island. Reference to "boobies."
  • Language:

    Mild cursing.
  • Consumerism:

    Neon signs in Times Square advertise '30s products (Chevrolet, Coca Cola, Pepsodent).
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Denham drinks from flask, crewmen smoke cigarettes.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About King Kong (2005)

Parents need to know that the movie includes numerous violent scenes that may be frightening for younger viewers and some action pushing the PG-13 edge. Specifically, humans are attacked on the island by giant bugs, bats, and dinosaurs in sustained, pounding action scenes. Kong shifts from scary (chest-pounding and roaring) to sympathetic; he's attacked brutally by men in tanks and planes, shooting guns. Characters drink and smoke cigarettes; Ann wears a slip through most of her adventures on the island. Most troubling is the depiction of the black island natives, who appear as nightmarish, surreal images, chanting and shaking when they sacrifice Ann to Kong. The showbiz version of this scene (recreated in New York) uses blackface performers.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the relationship between Ann and Kong. How does their mutual affection extend beyond person and pet, to something more complicated? How does Denham's exploitation of Kong parallel his exploitation of people? How do the military attacks make Kong increasingly sympathetic (even an underdog, out of place in the city), as he tries to protect Ann and then she tries to protect him? How do the blackface performers serve as commentary on mainstream fear of the "unknown"?

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See all 79 member reviews

Most Recent Reviews

  1. I rate this title off for age 9 and give it 5.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language
    • Excessive consumerism
    • Drinking, smoking, or drug use

    No little kids, maybey 10+ but this movie is scary!!!!!!

    Some smoking, one character is in revealing clothes, reffrences to female body parts (breasts), people are killed often with blood occasionaly shown, one man is accidently wipped with a rope and large amounts of blood is drawn and later displayed graphicly, natives in skimpy clothes are shown in a very scary matter, one native brutally kills a man with a large piece of wood, people are thrown, crushed, bitten, and even hit with a stick all of these deaths are shown with disturbing realism. This movie is defintley a great movie that I strongly recommend. Peter jackson always does great films and this is truly a great film!

  2. I rate this title on for age 9 and give it 5.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages

    Perfect For 9 And 10 Year Olds

    Love It And My Kid Loved It

  3. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Georgia
    I rate this title on for age 10 and give it 5.0

    Amazing. You have to be old enough to take the length and have a long enough attention span to pay attention the whole time, though.

  4. I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give it 2.0

    13+ will like it (maybe)

    I only saw the end but I didn't like it

  5. I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 2.0
    My concerns are:
    • Negative message

    Perfect for older kids, but not for tweens

    I didn't want to watch it but I had to because the babysitter had it on TV. I didn't like this movie because it has a sad ending. It would be a good idea if kids under 13 don't see this because it could give them nightmares.

  6. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 4.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate language

    This was a pretty good remake of the first king kong. Its doe by Peter Jackson so you got a good director doing this. If you want a good movie that kids might not be able to handle, then king kong is pretty good.

  7. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 4.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Drinking, smoking, or drug use

    we saw king kong as a family. It was a bit too much for me and my kiddos. We ended up fast forwarding thru a few spots such as when the giant worm things "eat" some characters. The violence was realistic but a bit intense. I would highly recommend this movie be screened for your child before they see it. All in all it was an ok movie. Great in some spots a bit over done in other spots. It could have been shortened without loosing any plot details. Great movie for 15 and over, iffy for 13 & 14. not for under 12 IMHO. :)

  8. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    Lives in Hawaii
    I rate this title on for age 12 and give it 4.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    It is not pushing PG-13 limits how lame. It is fine kind of boring but Naomi Watts saved it.

  9. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in Massachusetts
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 4.0

    I was dazzled

    Incredible remake is bloody and violent.

  10. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in Ohio
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 4.0

    Excellent, spectacular action movie: might scare younger children.

    My two older kids say this movie, and they enjoyed it. They wouldn't even stand up to go to the bathroom until it was over, which was very strange. The movie is great, but it's 3 hours long. If you are into action and adventures, this movie is one worth sitting through, but younger kids might get scared. There is a scene with giant roaches that climb on peoples backs, and one of the main characters is surprised by a hidden tarantula. This movie either grosses you out, or gives you energy. I would rate this movie: PG-13.

  11. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in Missouri
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 4.0

  12. I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 4.0

    A Rousing, Engaging, and Stunning Adaptation!

    KING KONG is a fun movie. It starts out slow, gets a little creepy, then takes off a full force and maintains a breakneck pace that is exhilarating but manages to play out the touching relationship between Ann and Kong. The film is violent. Very violent. People are thrown by big apes, attacked and killed by giant bugs, scrificed alive by creepy indians, and stomped on by large dinosaurs. The violence mostly bloodless, but there is some here and there. The indians (who have immensly wrinkled skin and speak in grunts and chants) probably wouldn't be scary for anyone over 12 or 13, but they and the huge bugs and bats could be disturbing. Language is constant, with countless abuses of the Lord's name and several "h*lls" and "g**d**n"s. Sex is minor, with a brief reference to "boobies", a few kisses, and brief, non-graphic shots of the outside of a `30s stripper theater. It can be graphic. It can be creepy. But the visuals are stunning and the acting is great. Kong eventually wins you over to his side, and I gaurantee that by the end of the movie you'll be rooting for him over the pilots in the prop planes. Highly recommended.

  13. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Georgia
    I rate this title off for age 13 and give it 5.0

    15 plus

    scary,d-word,s-word,h-word,and bast-rd.

  14. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Virginia
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 4.0

    scary

    Parents need to know that this movie is not humerous like the origonal one. It has giant bugs, killer dinosuars, and natives that are so creepy that everytime I watch that movie I have nightmares about them. But this movie is good for 10 and up.

  15. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Connecticut
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 5.0

    Not for the younger crowd!

    This is a spectacular film filled with great special effects, but also scary and violent. There is a scene where men are eaten by giant bugs, and another suspense-filled scene where natives come and attack a group. The sexual content is minimal. A couple of kisses, and a misconstrued "employment" offer are as bad as it gets.

  16. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    Lives in California
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 4.0

    Amazing Remake

    Me and my dad saw this movie in theaters and thought it was amazing!!! This movie was really long and some scenes could have been compressed down, like "the bug scene". the real bad violence happen from a distance and blood is limited.

  17. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    Watch it!

    From what i expected i thought that this movie was great. It is definately a must see. Although they could make this movie a bit shorter cause it is like almost 3 hrs. You are not wasting your time watching this movie. There are even a couple of violent scenes which kids might think is cool.

  18. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Iowa
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 5.0

    A Film to Love go Peter Jackson

    Amazing acting,visual effects, and ictuer don't miss out in this! But I worn you see it before any kid uner 13 cause ther is scariness and a scene of graphic gory images with more than 100 bugs.

  19. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Iowa
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 4.0

    A 13 and older film

    Godd Outstanding remake of the 1933 King Kong. Sexual wise Naomi Watts gets a card that a guygives her and it ends up being a strippers theatere you see breif partial pictures but thats as faras it gets also there are about 3 kisses none of them prolnged.Lanuage no f's but 6 s*** and a dozenother misuses of the Lords name in vain.Violence very violent some graphic image when you see enormous bugs attack and dinsours but other than that just gun shooing and thematic elements.

  20. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in North Carolina
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 5.0

    Fantastic movie

    Definitely keep your younger ones away from this one. Fantastic for teens and older. Though there is constant violence, it takes place in a gorgeous world. The natives are very scary, equivalent to those in horror films. The giant bugs are absolutely disgusting. The main characters do a lot of running around and screaming, usually being forced to run from giant bugs, dinosaurs, King Kong, natives, and creepy things of the like. Many characters die. The filmmaker is a rather selfish person, but the movie doesn’t try and make you watch him the whole time. This is an amazing, eye-dazzling remake of the original. Peter Jackson did an unbelievable job, and I doubt there will be another remake after this one. It doesn’t get much better than this!

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