Kong: Skull Island is a 2017 monster film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, and John C. Reilly.  The film is a reboot of the King Kong franchise and serves as the second film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, following a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers who travel to an uncharted island in the Pacific and encounter terrifying creatures and the mighty Kong.

Positives:

• Good characters
• Great story
• Great visuals
• Good direction by Vogt-Roberts
• Great score
• Fantastic cast

Negatives:

• Some faults in the plot
• Unnecessary characters
• Lackluster characters

Plot:  A team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers who travel to an uncharted island in the Pacific and encounter terrifying creatures and the mighty Kong. It is not story is complicated in the least and Kong is introduced almost right off the bat.  The are moments where the story does slow down for exposition of the characters but when things jump off the film is hoisted into a fury of fast paced action.  There are pretty much three things happening.  After the characters get stranded on the island, one faction is looking to escape the island, another is searching to kill Kong in retaliation, while the final follows Kong as he deals with the Skullcrawler threat.  These do tie in well together. (4 out of 5)

Characters:  The characters were so-so.  The main characters are James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), William Randa (John Goodman), and Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly).  The characters are pretty likable but the two that definitely steal the show are Packard and Marlow.  Packard becomes obsessed at killing Kong due to Kong killing his men.  Jackson does the character well (or at least like he plays other really angry characters).  His reasoning is understandable to a certain extent.  Marlow is a more likable character.  He’s been stuck on the island for decades and having met the newcomers, decides to follow them as a possible means of escaping the island.  Conrad is a good, likable character.  He’s definitely one of those guys audiences can root for. Weaver is a strong female character even though she does show her vulnerabilities.  She’s a photojournalist, so on an island filled with giant monsters, she’s mostly running around.  Even William Randa (John Goodman) is an understandable character with understandable motivations.  There are some characters that are either not needed. Jack Chapman (Toby Kebbell) was completely underutilized, Victor Nieves (John Ortiz) was a completely useless character, and San Lin (Jing Tian) could’ve been fleshed out more. (3 out of 5)

Cast:  Thumbs up for the great ensemble.  The main cast includes Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, and Terry Notary.  The standouts are Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston (who have a lot of good chemistry together), as well as John C. Reilly and Samuel L. Jackson who completely steal the show. (5 out of 5)

Visuals:  Visually the movie is just fantastic.  Skull Island is just a beautiful “paradise” which a great design.  The creature designs look awesome.  Kong’s design is similar to the 1976 King Kong and the level of detail to the character is to be commended.  Some of the most important shots of him are the ones where the camera focuses on his eyes.  The Skullcrawler designs aren’t original but they do look cool.  Even during the fight sequences the creature design looks really strategic. Even the cinematography is done really well; not only of the action but the also the film overall. (5 out of 5)

Score:  The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful.  What makes it so good is the wondrous feel it gives to the film thanks to composer John Barry. The creature effects are just awesome, especially Kong’s roar.  (3 out of 5)

Writing:  The script is good though it is crippled by certain points.  The story behind Skull Island and why it has been undiscovered for so long is actually good.  The problems kind of lean more towards the characters and some of the conveniences surrounding them.  Ramarak knocking Cole into the side of a mountain after trying to sacrifice himself to kill the beast was just unreasonably stupid.  Also, Chapman and Nieves’ deaths are just poorly written and do nothing to push the plot along.  Chapman’s death would’ve worked better had the character been chased by that Skullcrawler and then died in the fight along with Nieves (who died by the Leafwings on the boat) because Leafwings were there.  Vogt-Roberts does a really good with the cast and the film.  The balance of drama, comedy, and action is done really well and the execution keeps the film evenly paced.  The focus of Kong as an intelligent, sympathetic creature is actually commendable. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Kong: Skull Island is a pretty exciting film.  It’s nice to see the big guy onscreen and he has never looked better (well, he looked awesome in the 2005 King Kong). Despite some of the problems with the script and unnecessary characters, the film does feature great cast, great story, great score, good direction, and great visuals.  Kong: Skull Island gets 4 out of 5. For fans of the Kaiju genre, this is a definite watch.