Kong is indeed King

Rating: 9/10 (21 March 2017)

I was ecstatic 12 years ago when Peter Jackson revived the King Kong franchise with his remake. A feeling, sadly, that quickly faded and left me with a bad taste in my mouth upon actually viewing the film. A three hour movie about a giant ape and more than an hour and a half in you still haven't seen said ape?! Grrr. So, it was with muted expectations, fingers crossed, hoping for the best and fearing the worse I ventured to check out Jordan Vogt-Roberts latest installment of Kong.
Boy am I glad I did. Everything I hated about the last Kong movie starting with being halfway through the film and still not having a Kong sighting has been addressed and how. Vogt-Roberts and company waste no time setting up and getting to the crux of the story. Namely, Kong. After all, that's what made me want to see the movie.
And Kong: Skull Island is quite the movie. Part Apocalypse Now, part Heart of Darkness with a dash of Moby Dick beautifully blended with an A rate movie version of the classic B rated monster movie, Kong thrills, entertains, wows, and triumphs.
The star studded cast lead by the incomparable Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, and John C. Reilly, Brie Larson, and Tom Hiddleston ground this well written fantasy in reality and keep it riveting. While set in the past, this Kong is fresh and current. The characters are more than mere backdrops for the beast and are nuanced and three dimensional.
The directing and cinematography is beautiful. The music on point and serves the story well. The action and CGI work is stellar. CGI Kong is such a far cry from the slow, lumbering Kong of the past. The subtle expressions and emotions are and additional layer of delight.
Have a couple of hours? Take a trip to Skull Island, you won't be disappointed. I'm giving Kong a solid 9 so don't miss it on the big screen. Also, make sure you stay through the credits. Yes, after the complete credit roll things go to black for a few seconds, then more is revealed.