Returning to our screens for the first time since Peter Jackson’s 2005 epic, the King is the undoubted star in this enjoyable reboot. The humans of the story are never completely fleshed out – Tom Middleston isn’t entirely convincing as the gruff tracker and Brie Larson can only offer glimpses in an underused role – but John C. Reilly brings a much needed levity and spark to the second half as the long lost World War II lieutenant Hank Marlow. Kong: Skull Island is an old fashioned spectacle, lacking the impact and gravitas of a classic Spielberg blockbuster, but a big, explosive pile of fun all the same.
