Some decent monster madness in this one.

Rating: 6/10 (15 September 2017)

Not really connected to other "King Kong" films in terms of story or characters, this is a reboot for the new century, telling the familiar apes' story for a new generation. A bunch of dreamers / monster chasers led by Bill Randa (John Goodman) are accompanied by a military escort as they set out to explore a newfound South Pacific island. They'll find that the main occupant is an ENORMOUS gorilla (this may be the hugest Kong on record) - but there is absolutely no shortage of formidable creatures on the island. Leading the military is an officer (Samuel L. Jackson) who is a bitter warrior in need of a new enemy. Hired to guide this bunch of dummies is a British tracker named Conrad (Tom Hiddleston).
You do have to be pretty undemanding to get into "Kong: Skull Island". The script is rubbish, with far too many ridiculous characters and far too much awful dialogue. It's also in the mold of a lot of modern Hollywood product, with the filmmakers seemingly hellbent on making sure that their audience is not bored. To that end, there's quite a bit of good monster action, as Kong is joined by a spider with VERY tall legs, giant wildebeest type things, a giant fresh water squid, and a menagerie of lizard type animals dubbed "skull crawlers". The movie is never more entertaining than when it focuses on Kong and his battles with his fellow island dwellers.
As for these people who are foolish enough to invade Kongs' domain, who really cares? Some of the actors - Hiddleston, Goodman, the gorgeous Brie Larson - manage to survive with some dignity intact. John C. Reilly adds a fair amount of the comedy relief with his role as a soldier who's been stuck on the island since the second World War. Jackson actually delivers a performance instead of just being a personality, but his character is one of the most absurd.
This does benefit from some lovely Hawaiian scenery, effectively shot in widescreen. And the CGI is actually some of the best that this viewer has seen; it doesn't look overly cartoonish. Kong is performed capably through the motion capture technique by Terry Notary and Toby Kebbell (the latter also plays the soldier Jack Chapman).
This viewer can understand why some people would be unimpressed, but was able to take the bad with the good, and have a reasonably fun time with this.
The use of all the rock songs got to be annoying. I didn't need *that* many reminders that this story takes place in 1973.
Six out of 10.