Solid popcorn entertainment, could've been a bit more.

Rating: 6/10 (11 March 2017)

While simplistic at first glance, Kong: Skull Island surprisingly has some good ideas invested in it.
The initial 1970s/post-Vietnam feel of the era is well-built. The conflict arising between the scientists' reason and the strongman attitude of the soldiers gives a good color to the otherwise weak plot. There are also some pleasant literary references thrown in, namely to H.P. Lovecraft's works (South Pacific island, dormant species waiting to reclaim the planet) and Joseph Conrad (Tom Hiddleston's character).
These could have easily been developed into a deeper story without making the movie too serious. Unfortunately, it's a purely visual monster fest that doesn't really add much - if anything - to the existing source material. From a technical standpoint, there is an overabundance of music, some sloppy editing, and occasionally awkward camera work, though the CGI is not too heavy and the scenery is quite beautiful.
It's thin on substance even though it could have avoided that, but still entertaining and worth a watch.