Kong: Skull Island

RATING: B

So here's the second installment in the MonsterVerse. What is the MonsterVerse, you ask? The "shared universe" franchise which is basically an excuse to have new Godzilla and King Kong movies, and to have them fight each other in a few years. Which is actually a pretty awesome prospect. But for now, we get their... um... solo movies? 

The biggest complaint about the Godzilla movie was the lack of Godzilla actually being on screen. While it was still a fun watch regardless, fans won't have to worry about such issues here because King Kong is on screen a lot more in this film. As a matter of fact, we're thrust into the action almost *immediately* after arriving at Skull Island. Beyond that... and all the star talent in this movie... the two MonsterVerse movies are actually a bit more similar than you'd expect at times. Mostly in that they attempt to make the main character monsters more sympathetic. 

This movie actually takes place in 1973, centering around the organization Monarch (who was also a focal point in Godzilla, in case you'd forgotten) and their expedition to the uncharted Skull Island, along with a military escort led by Samuel L. Jackson. Why, exactly? Because it's uncharted territory. And this is the Cold War, and the Americans have to do/discover everything before the Russians, of course. At least, that's the "official" reason anyway. But once they get there, they get more than they bargained for. With not just King Kong... but all the other monsters on the island too. Including giant spider-like creatures. And a Krakken of sorts. And Skullcrawlers--crosses between reptiles and more traditional lizards. 

Much like Godzilla, there's not a whole lot of concern with plot here. There's not a lot that's straight up stupid, but they only care about creating enough plot to justify monsters fighting each other and to get humans involved. That also means, once again, that there's not much character development and you don't end up actually caring too much about the characters. But it does help that there is *much* more talent in this movie--Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, John C. Reilly, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell... and of course, Samuel L. Jackson, who is able to give a death stare directly into Kong's eyes without flinching... which is pretty awesome. John C. Reilly also steals the show with his comic relief. 

This is mostly a popcorn action movie; after a kind of slow first 15-20 minutes, it gives you action or suspense of some sort for the rest of it. And most of it's pretty doggone exciting and fun to watch--whether it's watching humans taking on monsters (and usually losing) or watching Kong go toe-to-toe with monsters as well. You get what you came for, and the spectacle is quite fun. If Godzilla was good because of how well it was directed (despite a couple glaring flaws) and its production values, then Kong: Skull Island is good because of all the insane monster action. 

With that said, Kong: Skull Island isn't a classic by any means. A movie with great action but also with mediocre writing and uninteresting characters can only be so good. This movie is good, for sure. But it is mostly geared towards the popcorn action/adventure fans. You'll definitely have some fun and enjoy it when it's all said and done, but it's certainly not the best thing you'll see all year either.