Kong: Skull Island is the most recent remake of the 1933 classic, King Kong. Skull Island stars an ensemble cast of Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, and Samuel L. Jackson. Set in 1973, Bill Randa (Goodman) hires a crew consisting of James Conrad (Hiddleston), Mason Weaver (Larson), and Colonel Packard (Jackson) to investigate the mysterious Skull Island. Along the way they meet Hank Marlow (Reilly) and the famous giant ape himself: Kong, as well as some new giant monsters that Kong has to fight to the death.

Skull Island is a great action film,. There’s never too much CG that makes the film look fake, instead there is a nice mix of practical and computer-generated effects. The action scenes are well shot with little to no shaky cam while Kong or any of the human characters are fighting monsters. The pacing of the story is also fine as the film is able to juggle screen time between all the different characters, so the audience is never bored when the movie transitions from one scene to another.

However, Skull Island struggles very much in the character department. Out of all the main characters, the only one that has any depth added is Jackson’s Colonel Packard, who has a sympathetic reason as to why he wants to kill Kong. John C. Reilly also gives off a decent performance as a survivor of the titular island, but the film spends way too much time on Hiddleston’s and Larson’s characters. Unfortunately, both Hiddleston’s and Larson’s characters don’t have much of a personality going on for them. Larson’s Mason Weaver is a photojournalist whose only purpose is to remind audiences that this film is a period flick with her black-and-white camera. Hiddleston’s Conrad supposedly goes through a character arc where he learns to be more selfless and heroic. However, his character development is rushed due to the film’s pacing, and as a result, Conrad is just another generic, heroic main character.

Unfortunately, Kong himself also struggles to have any sort of connection to the audience. It’s a blast to watch Kong in the action scenes, as watching Kong fight military personnel or other giant monsters like a kraken or a giant lizard is fun. However, the film wants viewers to buy a legitimate bond between him and Larson’s Weaver which ultimately doesn’t add up to anything memorable. The final fight of Skull Island wants the audience to be worried about Weaver’s fate while Kong struggles to save her. As the fight goes on, it’s just more interesting watching Kong fight the giant monster than to be worried about Larson’s stock character.

Kong: Skull Island is a decent action film. It focuses on setting up the atmosphere of the monster-filled island or the titular Kong fighting for survival. Kong: Skull Island isn’t a masterpiece, but it isn’t a forgettable film either.