Kong: Skull Island

So whilst we are all, I'm sure, forever grateful of Marvel for gifting us the MCU we must deal with the subsequent consequences. Like other forms of media, once an idea has success it shall be copied and imitated in the hope of matching it but, inevitably, the original's heights shall never be scaled.

So it is with Kong: Skull Island. Bafflingly a 'shared universe' flick with 2014's Godzilla. A shared universe film with, it must be said upfront, hardly any throwback links to its forebear. This isn't the end of these Marvel-aping shared universes either as Universal are the next to follow the trend when they follow up the tepid Dracula: Untold with a Tom Cruise-led Mummy reboot which they plan to build into a full Avengers-esque 'Monsters' franchise.

Anyway, back to Kong, and I'm pleased to say it does deliver more satisfaction than Godzilla before it and that it's clear Warner Bro's are listening to their critics' feedback. This works much better as a family entertainment, summer Blockbuster delivering more action, more thrills, more big name actors and more CGI beasties.

I'm not sure it does too much different to Peter Jackson's brilliant, epic reboot (which came out 12 years ago now!) but it is nice to see such a brilliant creation back on the cinema screen.

The CGI is wonderful; maybe not quite as spectacularly photo-real as the recent Planet Of The Apes films but appealingly realistic, yet also slightly B-movie like, in keeping with King Kong's origins.

There's also, continuing on from Godzilla, lots of those lovely 'this-could-be-a-poster' scenes and shots. Yes, they're kinda cheesy but, ultimately, in family entertainment and a monster movie such as this they're totally welcome.

I like the cast here as well and feel criticism of their lack of character depth is slightly harsh. Yes, they are introduced in a rather one note, Suicide Squad-esque montage (this ain't Peter Jackson's version in that sense) but they're all appealing and root-for-able. Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson are almost at the Chris Pratt/Jennifer Lawrence stage of A-list-ness, John C Reilly, whilst feeling like he's walked in from another film entirely, is funny as always and Samuel L Jackson brings the fire and thunder you'd expect as the leader-cum-villain of the piece.

It's all just brilliantly entertaining. Sure, there are some plot holes, sure there is some hammy parts and, sure, it really misses the Empire State Building ending but, I don't know, maybe I'm a sucker for an old-fashioned family Blockbuster.

For those who like Jurassic World, Goosebumps and Godzilla before it, this probably trumps the lot. Whether the actual Kong vs. Godzilla end point will deliver (unlikely) at least we can enjoy getting there.

4 stars ****