Kong: Skull Island Review Roundup

We've repromoted this story today, March 10, now that Kong: Skull Island is out.

The new monster movie Kong: Skull Island comes to theaters this Friday, March 10. Ahead of that, reviews for the film have started to show up.

To help you get an idea if the movie is worth your time and money, we've rounded up excerpts from a number of publication's reviews; you can see them below. Go to GameSpot sister site Metacritic to see a wider look at reviews for Skull Island.

Directed by The Kings of Summer's Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the movie's tone was influenced by the PS2 game Shadow of the Colossus, with one of its creatures based in part on the Pokemon Cubone. Vogt-Roberts is also attached to the upcoming Metal Gear Solid movie, which is still in the works.

Skull Island is part of an ongoing monster movie series that kicked off with 2014's Godzilla. The next entry will be Godzilla: King of Monsters, which is expected in 2019.

• Film: Kong: Skull Island
• Release Date: March 10
• Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson
• Directed By: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 118 minutes

GameSpot

"Skull Island's most memorable moments come from spending time with Kong, and it's a success because of that. Seeing the giant gorilla in quiet moments as he tends to his wounds and helps out other island inhabitants are as enjoyable to watch as the moments where he's trying to tear apart the skull of a really big lizard. This is a film where philosophical quandaries are taken for granted; we know man is the real animal, we know beauty tames the beast. Kong: Skull Island revels in the magnificence of the big ape, and for the majority of its runtime, leans on its strengths of pitting man against ape, ape against monsters, and being a fun, over-the-top spectacle." -- Edmond Tran [Full review]

Variety

"A reboot set entirely on the great ape's jungle island proves to be a better creature feature than either of the previous remakes." -- Owen Gleiberman [Full review]

Empire

"King Kong lives! But only just. This is an uneven adventure that's saved by the spectacle of its towering title character and the various beasts with whom he shares his island home." -- Jonathan Pile [Full review]

Polygon

"Kong: Skull Island gets what so many monster movies before it get wrong: There is humanity in the creatures, even if they can seem gigantic and monstrous at first. Vogt-Roberts understands what type of movie he's trying to create, and succeeds in pulling that off. Despite Skull Island being riddled with flaws, it's pretty hard not to have a smile on your face when Kong is on screen." -- Julia Alexander [Full review]

IGN

"There's a moment in Kong: Skull Island when one of the soldiers plays some '70s music for Reilly's Marlow, who responds by asking, 'How can you swing to this?,' confused by the heavy emphasis on electric guitars rather than a piano or saxophone. Some King Kong purists may feel that same frustration with Skull Island, but while the aesthetic of this new adventure may be very different, it ends up evoking the same feeling that made King Kong such an icon in the first place. Even if this time, it's coming to you with roaring electric guitars and napalm rather than Empire State Buildings and damsels in distress." -- Alex Welch [Full review]

SlashFilm

"Overall, Kong: Skull Island is one gnarly monster movie that doesn't hide the monsters in the darkness or create tension by having them lurk in the background. Instead, it puts monsters front and center in the spotlight, and they come through with shining colors. Kong has never been more thrilling, and his nasty opponents make for such compelling monster fights that you'll be even more disappointed in the fact that we didn’t get to see Godzilla do this much in his own return in 2014." -- Ethan Anderton [Full review]