This is not only one of the best games based on a movie, but it's a fantastic game all by itself.
Running around and jumping up high with the big monkey wasn't exactly my thing, since you can't go as crazy as I expected with it. Jack's part of the meat makes up for it masterfully, though. During those five hours of game time (oh yes, it's short as hell), the player is about to experience a countless set of fantastic and unforgettable moments [randomwise let me mention running among brontosauruses, keeping a T-Rex away from Ann, running down a slightly vehement river on rafts, the path to Kong's lair, working yourself through local swamps (a nearly horror atmosphere is breathing out of the game at that part)].
The game still could easily live even without these literally breathtaking bits, because it's overall very fun (at least when playing as Jack), and for a game based on a movie, the gameplay is polished almost too well. It also looks great. Sure, some textures could've been sharper, but all in all this Skull Island is a visually stunning place, brought to life by superb lighting, very impressive horizonts, believable fauna and...well to cut it short, your vision will be pleased just as much as all your other senses.
Now that I gave it a second playthrough after those five years, I unfortunately noticed a little bugger - the game really is just too easy. I have no idea what was going on with me back in the day when I played it for the first time, but this game really isn't one to challenge you by any means. Even though Jack indeed needs to be hit only twice by any pet in the game in order to die, these little animals will have a hard time hitting you at all if you'll pay at least a bit of attention while playing. As a matter of fact, the parts played as Kong were much more difficult to me - one, as Kong you're dealing with the really big and really ugly beasts and two, Kong is actually pretty slow, controlling him feels awkward and more than anything, the camera likes to be disobedient with him. While playing as Jack, the biggest (and honestly the only) problem was to deal with the venatosaurus, which is the toughest lil' bastard you'll have to kill manually, and he also happens to be damn fast.
Atmospheric, polished, beautiful, entertaining, often breathtaking - there you go with just couple superlatives that could describe this great...oh what the heck, I won't hold back - this unique piece of a videogame. Trust me when I say you would spend a lifetime trying to find a better game based on a movie than this.
+ A fine collection of breathtaking moments, gameplay, graphics, atmosphere, level design, voice acting, the game never feels unfinished
- Too bloody short, playing as Kong isn't as satisfying as one might hope, low difficulty, the final part of the game feels just plain weird compared to the rest