It has, inevitably, dated, with 1933 attitudes towards women, race, and Imperialism; also not all the special effects have aged well. But it retains it's magic: the adventure of going to Skull Island, the mysterious old walls created by a former civiliasation (has anyone thought of using this notion for a prequel), the villagers and their ceremonies, the exotic eco system of the island with its wide variety of dinosaurs, the fights which are bloody and to my untrained eye appear realistic (eg Kong ripping apart the jaws of a dinosaur, reaching under cliffs, biting heads off humans), the cynicism of exploiting Kong for money.
Bruce Cabot is probably not handsome enough for his role (imagine Joel McCrea, who often worked for RKO around this time); Fay Wray is alright in what's a thankless part really but she looks good in some clinging outfits (am I mistaking things or can you see her nipple in one scene?) and screams brilliantly; Robert Armstrong adds gravitas to his part.
None of these are exactly liberals - in later films, the girl and her lover would become concerned about the ape but here they don't, they are just terrified, and they don't seem to blink an eye with his later exploitation (indeed, they line up for photos). The sailors blast away ruthlessly at the animals - but are killed by Kong ruthlessly in turn. There seem to be no consequences for Armstrong's character, even though he's indirectly caused the destruction of half of New York.
The action sequences still impress with their pace, air of realism and sheer violence (Kong munches on several, throws an innocent woman sleeping in bed to her death). And there's a scale of it. Remains a classic.
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