Kong: Skull Island proves to be an eyeful extravaganza and a crowd-pleaser that actually pleases. While it doesn’t hold up as well as the 1933 classic or even Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake, this latest incarnation is really entertaining in its own way.
It’s 1973 and a mass expedition has been set up to find the mythological Skull Island which inhabits none other than King Kong himself. Tom Hiddleston stars as a leader hired by a government official (John Goodman) to take them to the island to investigate it. Hiddleston is initially reluctant, but soon has a change of heart when he wants Goodman’s crew to find out first hand if they can survive the dangers that lie ahead.
Samuel L. Jackson costars as an Army Lieutenant Colonel who leads his men onto the island to capture Kong but soon he has other ulterior motives for being there especially after Kong kills some of his men. Jackson delivers a terrific performance here and he helps keep the movie on its toes.
Brie Larson and John C. Reilly also costar as a photojournalist and a survivor of the island since WWII respectively. Together the entire group is exposed to other inhabitants on the island including dinosaur-like creatures and gigantic insect-esque creations that would equal anything in Jurassic World both in terms of size and ferocity.
Kong: Skull Island works well mostly because it’s a movie that knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything more than that. It’s an expensive B-movie that has B-movie charms to go along with its impressive yet intense action sequences. The movie does contain measured doses of blood and gore for a PG-13 rating.
The cast is uniformly good inducing moments of sly, effective humor in the midst of the action and it also leaves with a feeling that this could potentially set up its own cinematic universe.
Kong: Skull Island didn’t leave me having as much fun as other blockbusters so far this year like Logan or John Wick: Chapter 2, but for what it is, it’s more fun than a barrel full of monkeys.
Grade: B+
(Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language.)
