Review of Kong: Skull Island (2017) by Dhchris — 01 Apr 2021

One of the high points of the Legendary MonsterVerse, Kong: Skull Island does everything Godzilla 2014 does not. It is a colorful, visually stunning film with a sense of humor, a likable (if not much more developed) human cast, and not the slightest shred of fear in being what it is.

The monsters are all on full display here, not just shown in broad daylight and allowed to do their thing uninterrupted, but given scenes to themselves that aren't just big battle set-pieces. Kong is given the chance to simply hang out and be a character, fleshing out both his personality and the fantastical world he explores around him.

He shares the screen with a whole host of weird and interesting creatures that at times push the movie into borderline horror territory; creature feature fans who left the last Godzilla feeling shorted will have heaps to gush about here.

Sam Jackson and John Goodman deliver solid performances, but the real standout isn't either of them, Tom Hiddleston, or Brie Larson- it's John C. Reilly. Movie-goers who might be going into this worried by his goofy antics in the trailers are sure to be surprised: his character is actually the emotional center of the movie, easily the best human character in the MonsterVerse and genuinely funny to boot.

Ultimately Kong: Skull Island doesn't try to be anything more than a simple monster-driven action adventure movie, and that's okay: it's one of the best ones ever made.