Kong: Skull island is the latest movie in the upcoming "Monsterverse" by legendary. It's sort of a reboot of the old King Kong franchise. The film follows a group of people (comprised of scientists, military men, and a photographer) as they explore an uncharted island in the Pacific. And as expected, they find the answers they were looking for. Or, WHAT they were looking for. Kong is the king of the island and doesn't take long to make that known.
I love that Kong showed up really early in the film. If 2014's Godzilla was any indication of what was to come, I didn't see Kong showing up until later in the movie. But thankfully, that was not the case. Not only was he in a lot of the movie, but his scenes were top notch in my opinion. I was memorized. I remember many times sitting in the theater with a smile plastered on my face watching him. the CGI was really great, his movement was good, all of it. To me. But we all know why anyone wanted to see this movie, the monster fights! They were incredible. I loved seeing Kong welling on the other monsters throughout this film. But by far, my favorite part of the movie was the scene where Kong stands up in front of the sun. It really shows his size (and looks totally bad ass).
I have seen people complaining about how little the human characters were developed. In some ways I agree and in others I do not. They did lack some backstory here and there and i wish I had gotten to know more about them. It's hard to care what happens to people in a movie if you don't have a reason to. The majority of the characters didn't matter to me. But it didn't ruin the movie. Mostly, I just wish they had told us more about Tom Hiddleston's character. He was intriguing (and easy on the eyes too). But had I known more about his past, I probably would have cared a little more what happened to him.
Bri Larson's character was just kinda, there. She didn't do much except take pictures. The majority of the other characters fell flat to me. Especially the soldiers and Scientists. However, I enjoyed John Goodman's portrayal of the crazy scientist in search for the unexplained. And Sam Jackson's revenge driven character was nice. But then again, he always does well in his roles. But John C. Reily was the highlight of the human characters. He brought so much to the role. His backstory was so sad yet he remained so positive (and maybe a little Kooky). He provided the much needed comic relief too. Seeing how it all ended for him literally brought me to tears. I really liked Jason Mitchell's Glenn Mills character too. I only wish I had learned more about him.
Despite it's few flaws, Kong: Skull Island was a well put together movie. It was every bit worth the money to go see it The action was great, the scenery was absolutely beautiful, and Kong himself was captivating. I loved the music in this movie. (I'm listening to the soundtrack as i'm typing this). They used Sabbath, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bowie & so much more great hits from the post Vietnam period to really drive home the setting. It fit so well. Especially in that really awesome slow mo scene! The movie has a very Apocalypse Now feel to it. It was definitely inspired by it. And let me just say, if you missed that ending credits scene, shame on you! I am really excited for what's to come in the monsterverse. Especially since as they put it, Kong is "still growing".
Overall, I give Kong: Skull Island 3/5 Stars.