Kong - Skull Island

Actors: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, John C. Reilly

Rating: 7 out of 10, There are so many unanswered questions about the king of the chest beaters, so we needed a new one. It turned out to be a pretty good adventure flick although they got the vast majority of the military aspects wrong. We are transported back to the 1970s at the end of the Vietnam War and satellite imagery, the new thang at the time, reveals Kong’s hidden island. A mixed bag of scientists, Soldiers, and adventurers are soon wending their way to confront the big guy. The cast is top notch with Brie Larsen once again standing out as a much more capable lady than the unfortunate Fay Wray. Kong takes offense to having his home bombed which leads to a film long confrontation with Samuel L Jackson, in full psycho mode. There’s just enough comedy injected to lighten up the atmosphere, mainly in the form of John C. Reilly who categorically refuses to be bad in anything he does. Loki is along to provide eye candy for the ladies but little else. It’s not really a new take on the big ape but it is certainly entertaining and well worth the watch.

MVP: Reilly as the unfortunate WW2 flyer