A mediocre update of a classic for a bigger universe

Rating: 6/10 (12 March 2017)

Kong: Skull Island brings the biggest ape yet to the screen in order, supposedly, to fight Godzilla at some point in a sequel. The story takes place in the early '70s as a pair of scientists from the Monarch group Bill Randa (John Goodman) and Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) seek out Skull Island spotted from a satellite. They hire the tracker James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) to lead the ground expedition and recruit a military unit lead by Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson). War photographer Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) also hitches a ride and geologist San (Tian Jing) is thrown in as another character.
The most interesting group are the squadron of helicopter pilots including Jack Chapman (Toby Kebbell, who also helped with the motion capture), Mills (Jason Mitchell), Cole (Shea Whigham), Silvko (Thomas Mann), and Reles (Eugene Cordero). There were other researchers and soldiers thrown is as victims of Kong and the other dangerous beasts of Skull Island. The expedition to drop seismic explosions to map the island is almost immediately derailed as Kong starts smashing helicopters and killing a portion of the crew. From this point on Jackson's Colonel Packard swears vengeance and is determined to take down the giant ape.
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