One of 2017 most entertaining movies!

Rating: 7/10 (30 March 2018)

I had no interest in another King Kong movie. Peter Jackson's 2005 remake was a boring rehash. When I first heard there was coming another I was like well they have to drag the franchise out for another try. Several big actors were to be in it but I had never heard of the director. But then the trailer and marketing for it started coming and it looked quite interesting and also and maybe especially it looked different. So eventually I actually went to the cinema to see Kong: Skull Island. Luckily that I did because this is really a movie which should be seen in the cinema.
Kong: Skull Island is the definition of a popcorn movie. Where the 2005 movie was drawn out and almost pretentious this movie wastes no time to get to the action and adventure. The action is outstanding in entertainment. Obviously there is a lot of cgi. However I'm not against computer made effects just for no reason. Some things are hard to do in other ways and as long as it doesn't feel like it's used for laziness sake it's fine. And in this movie it works fine. The action in this movie was among the most exciting I saw last year. Some complained about the characters being thin and while that criticism does have a point I don't think it matters much here. This is a fun action adventure that doesn't need deeply developed characters. They are not what's important. They are just enough for this type of movie. And the performances are good. Samuel L Jackson is the bad*** that he always is and does so well, Tom Hiddleston gives us a glimpse that he could definitely play James Bond, Brie Larson works well with what she's got even if it's not a lot. The best is John C. Reilly, his character is the most interesting and performance the most entertaining. Simple they may be but they do all have some distinct personality. Minor complaints are that many of the quotes that are meant as jokes don't land but for me it wasn't a big issue, the movie is funnier in other ways. Like previously stated I knew nothing about the director who it turns out had only directed one other movie but he totally nailed this one. He gets great performances even if the script probably didn't give much to work with. I love the look of the movie, the style it's done in. The shots of helicopters flying over the island and Kong silhouette against the sun. It could have taken this grim and gloomy look which I'm so glad it didn't. Another thing is the music, while there is tunes that are written for it the movie uses a lot of songs from the era when it is set which works perfectly. Having a lot of well known songs can work greatly in the right kind of movie but not all.
Kong: Skull Island was one of the most surprisingly good movies in 2017. A movie that knows what it is and embraces it. It's campy and over the top and I like it. No one would claim it to be any amazing piece of work but I believe the filmmakers totally know it and all for the better. I have seen a lot of 2017 movies and Kong: Skull Island was while definitely not the best but one of the most thoroughly entertaining. See Kong: Skull Island if you haven't already. I have several times.