Better than '05

Rating: 7/10 (19 March 2017)

This movie had no shortage of familiar faces: Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell from Straight Outta Compton, Shea Wigham from Boardwalk Empire, Toby Kebbell from Black Mirror (excellent Netflix program), John C. Reilly from Talladega Nights and a host of other things, and John Goodman and Samuel L. Jackson who both need no introduction.
The Kong story has been done time and again, most recently in 2005 with Jack Black. This version was a lot less drama and more action. They didn't dink around in this movie with delaying the unveiling of Kong, rather they gave us a glimpse early so as to not keep us in rapt anticipation like the '05 version. In that respect, they did well. But, the one consistent trope that is a constant bummer for me is the damsel in distress that Kong is enamored with. They downplayed that dynamic this time around so that the quasi-love affair/love triangle wasn't the story but it still had a part. I'm just not moved by the beast being tamed by the delicate white woman.
Kong: Skull Island offered a lot of ooh and aah moments, some obligatory humor and a strong anti-war message. I had no problems with any of it although they made Preston Packard (Sam Jackson) so over the top with his dogged pursuit of military action as the answer that it detracted from the movie.
I liked this version better than the '05 one and I can't remember the '76 version that well. With reference to Kong as a Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Object (M.U.T.O.) we can probably expect him to have an eventual showdown (or tag team effort) with Godzilla. That is a battle I'd pay to see.