Review of Kong: Skull Island (2017) by Robert R — 26 Mar 2017

This had much better pacing than the last King Kong film - after the 30 minute mark the action is pretty unrelenting. I loved the time period it was set in, which went a long way to make the "crazy military leader" character type a little less cliche and more real. In fact, the movie has some interesting things to say about war and conflict, which is a credit to the screenwriters.

There are only 2 real complaints I have. 1.The creature design isn't nearly as good in this Kong as in the last movie. There isn't much biodiversity in this version of skull island, which is odd considering it is a land lost in time with a tropical rain forest climate. 2. The side characters are more developed than 2 main characters. This is completely the fault of the screenwriters. Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson, arguably 2 of the most in-demand actors at the moment, aren't given much to do. However, the side characters of Samuel Jackson, John Goodman, and especially John C. Reilly are much more fleshed out and interesting. These minor gripes aside, this movie is a blast.