The running time is 3 hrs. 21 mins..
On top of that I felt Jackson forced Kong's human side on the audience, the original King Kong found his humanity almost by accident, with Jackson's Kong you would almost have to be dead not to see the human elements of the great ape.
Finally, I thought Kong was too intelligent. I think I would have found more sympathy for him had he come off as a little bit less aware of what was going on. The 1933 Kong looked at Anne Darrow almost as a pretty object while Jackson's Kong seems to have an actual infatuation and friendship with her. Kong's intelligence also comes into question in the scene after Kong battles the T-Rex. In the 1933 version of the film when Kong plays with the dinosaur's broken and mangled jaw it seems a bit inquisitive and curious, it does seem like this is a new experience, whereas when Jackson's Kong does it it seems out of place. I felt Jackson's Kong had done this before and his interest in the dinosaur's anatomy was only for purposes of paying homage to the original and not at all inquisitive as it had in 1933.
All that said I still have an interest in the film. Peter Jackson is a great filmmaker and as I took a look at the extended cut in moderate doses I found myself enjoying it a bit more than I had expected. Even Jackson in his commentary on disc two recognizes that it may have taken you till the next day to get to the second half of the film considering the length.
Taking into account the amount of special features on this three-disc I decided to break it all down for you as best as I could, here goes.
The Feature: Part One
Audio Commentary with Peter Jackson and Phillipa Boyens: Jackson and Phillipa do their best to cover anything that is left after all the documentaries and production diaries audiences have already seen. Personally it is a bit of overkill, plus watching a three hour and 21 minute movie is one thing, to watch it again with the commentary is another and depending on if you watch the three hour documentary on disc three and the production diaries there is little left to find interest in when it comes to the making of this film.
Deleted Scenes: As if we needed to see anymore, Peter Jackson does just that giving us 16 looks at even more stuff from the film that wasn't even deemed worthy to make it into the extended cut. Along with each scene there is an accompanying intro by Jackson and you can watch them al at once or in piece meal format. There is nothing all that special here, but I know fans will dig it. Total runtime of the deleted scenes is 38 minutes.
The Eighth Blunder of the World (Gag Reel): This is way more than just a gag reel as it not only shows flubbed lines and falling down it shows behind-the-scenes blunders and even a bit of Bryan Singer when he came on set to help Jackson out with a little filming. The best part of that is when they sneak up on Singer in the bathroom stall, funny stuff. You also get a shot of some Bronto poo, Kong pushing the boat and Jack Black playing with his homemade Pete Jackson doll.
The Missing Production Diary: A diary of day #59, a diary it was felt was inappropriate for online audiences is now presented. It is a quick overview of the actors and directors and how they use scene playback. It becomes a comedic diary and in the opening it shows Jack Black looking at one of his scenes and as he points out his "over-acting" you can't help but laugh.
A Night in Vaudeville: A featurette looking at how the Vaudeville performances came to be, several of the audition videos and extended looks at the performances from the movie that you have not seen. Personally I don't care about this one bit, but if you have a love for that kind of thing this is right up your alley.
King Kong Homage: A look at the scenes in the new Kong that pay homage to the 1933 Kong. Some of it shows scenes that match up exactly and it does make watching the new version a little bit cooler.
The Feature: Part Two: Picks up as the crew heads into the jungle in search of Anne just prior to the Bronto Stampede.
Audio Commentary with Peter Jackson and Phillipa Boyens Continued
Pre-Visualization Animatics: Four different animatics showing you how the filmmakers prepared for the specific scenes in the movie including the "Arrival at Skull Island," the "Bronto Stampede'" the "T-Rex Fight" and finally the "Empire State Building Battle" which also includes a side-by-side comparison to the film. You will be surprised at just how closely the animatics match the final product.
"The Present": A silly little video short created by the cast and crew centering around a present that keeps making its way around the set as person after person keeps getting knocked off until one man stands alone with said gift.
Trailers: Quite simple, the teaser trailer, the theatrical trailer and the Cinemedia promo trailer.
WETA Collectibles: A featurette that pretty much serves as a commercial for consumers to buy WETA collectibles because they are so cool. Granted, they are, but I don't know what I would do with a statue of Kong wrestling a T-Rex. I do understand why Peter Jackson or maybe Andy Serkis would want such a statue, but in my house it would just serve as another item to toss dirty laundry on.
ROM: 1996 & 2005 Scripts: This isn't anything more than the scripts, which you can print out if you don't want to try and squint and read the photocopied typed pages. The 1996 script is 115 pages while the 2005 script runs 125 pages. I am not a huge script reader so I didn't dive into them. If you are perhaps you will enjoy finding the differences, hell I may even take a peek some day down the road, but not right now.
Introduction by Peter Jackson: Even though it is on disc three this is an intro to the three-disc set by Jackson as he gives a brief overview of what you will find and stresses that there isn't anything here that you may have already seen on the initial DVD release or the Production Diaries that were online and subsequently released in a condensed DVD format.
Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of King Kong: Probably the best feature of the lot and the most intensive. While it shows the obvious making of goodies including a lot of Andy Serkis it also talks about the first time Jackson was going to make the film back in 1996 and how the film changed from then to now. It is broken up into eight parts as it goes from the origins of King Kong, through pre-production (2 parts), getting to the island telling the story of The Venture, New York and New Zealand film shoots and recreating old New York and finally bringing Kong to life (2 parts). This is a must for people that liked this movie and even people like myself that aren't ga-ga over it will enjoy seeing how it was made, it really is impressive. If you hit "Play All" just know that these run three hours and six minutes, so set of a block of time to take it all in. Oh, and once the final segment ends be sure to watch the credits as the song playing over them is called "Kong" and is performed by Jack Black, you Kong fans are sure to love it.
Conceptual Design Video Galleries: Five separate video features showing you concept designs for everything from the "1996" Kong, The Venture, Skull Island, New York and finally Kong himself. Probably one of the most interesting things is comparing Jackson's 1996 vision to the one that ultimately hit the screens in 2005 and this is another chance to check out the differences.
So there you have it, if you have stuck with me this long then congratulations. If you were a fan of Jackson's vision of Kong then this is a must buy. I would even say if you somewhat like the movie you may want to consider buying this extended cut, there are plenty of new visual effects and the special features do give you a lot to choose from if you are interested in the making of the film.
However, if the original release was enough or you are a loyal follower of the original then leave this one on the shelf. I should say though, if you are a loyal follower of the original 1933 version you should buy Warner Home Video's Collector's Edition of the film, now that is a phenomenal special edition.