Kong: Skull Island
Universal Pictures | Release Date: March 10, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 50 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
19
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 8, 2017
Any movie with the sense, the wit and the visual instincts to introduce Kong the way this one does is fine with me. Read full review
83
MTV NewsAmy NicholsonMar 11, 2017
Kong: Skull Island is an offering to the hungry mouths at the multiplex who want to cheer a movie that doesn't insult, or tax, their intelligence. Read full review
83
The PlaylistDrew TaylorMar 2, 2017
It also cannot be overstated what an asset [John C.] Reilly is. The moment he shows up, the movie feels enlivened and energized; his mere presence adds a tremendous amount of oddball charm and humor. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekMar 9, 2017
The picture is grand and nutty and visually splendid: Vogt-Roberts knows he's gotta go big or go home, so he treads boldly. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsStephen Whitty Mar 8, 2017
The new Kong: Skull Island really gets it right — the exotic adventure, the spectacular special effects, the towering terrors. It’s a big hunk of nostalgic fun, reminding us of the 1933 original even as it monkeys around with the classic story. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanMar 2, 2017
The surprise is that “Skull Island” isn’t just ten times as good as “Jurassic World”; it’s a rousing and smartly crafted primordial-beastie spectacular. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMar 2, 2017
A large part of the enjoyment comes down to the sheer earth-shaking lunacy of Kong’s daily grind, even before the human intruders are factored in. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyMar 2, 2017
This highly entertaining return of one of the cinema's most enduring giant beasts moves like crazy — the film feels more like 90 minutes than two hours — and achieves an ideal balance between wild action, throwaway humor, genre refreshment and, perhaps most impressively, a nonchalant awareness of its own modest importance in the bigger scheme of things. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoMar 2, 2017
Kong: Skull Island is a grand cinematic adventure powered by furry fury, as the horrors of war blend with chest-beating creature confidence. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMar 10, 2017
The action and special effects are mostly first-rate and Vogt-Roberts maintains a vaguely satiric tone that sidesteps schlockiness. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMar 9, 2017
It is the platonic ideal of big, smart-dumb B-movie filmmaking – and, like Kong himself, it must be seen to be believed. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayMar 9, 2017
If Reilly’s presence gives Kong: Skull Island its playful, gonzo edge, it’s the title character himself who gives it soul, morphing from a monster into a brooding symbol of the colossal folly of military belligerence and hegemonic hubris. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonMar 9, 2017
If you’re looking for a film that offers pure escapism, Kong: Skull Island should definitely meet expectations. Read full review
75
The Film StageDan MeccaMar 9, 2017
In this digital world that allows for Kong to be as big as a building and believably so, Roberts is smart to pull out all the stops. And if some of the story and character motivation gets left in the dust, so be it. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMar 9, 2017
Kong: Skull Island is fast, playful and ridiculous, a big-budget extravaganza with the soul of a spirited B-movie. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrMar 8, 2017
Kong: Skull Island isn’t a remake or a reboot or a re-anything. It’s just a Saturday matinee creature feature with a smart, unpretentious script, a handful of solid supporting players, and a digital Kong who feels big enough and real enough to provoke the necessary awe. This is all to the movie’s credit. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzMar 8, 2017
The monsters are brilliantly designed and skillfully animated (except for a few shots where Kong looks a tad cartoony), and the army of visual and sound effects artists convince you that that these CGI titans live and breathe and weigh hundreds of tons. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 8, 2017
It’s wildly entertaining and it has a sense of humor about itself. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 8, 2017
Kong: Skull Island is a smart SciFi action movie that doesn’t rely on a handful of monsters and random scenes of computerized destruction to run out the clock. It has a smart script, imaginative filmmaking and a cast of fine actors that actually get to act. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 7, 2017
The dialogue is clunky, the A-list actors are slumming and, yeah, you've seen it all before. But Kong: Skull Island is a creature feature that's damn near irresistible. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Mar 7, 2017
Skull Island has a lot of globe-trotting fun assembling its team of expendables. Read full review
75
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerMar 2, 2017
Perhaps the most satisfying thing about the film is what comes after, when you stop to realize how darkly comic and sickly fun the film was after you’re done reeling from all the impaling and dismemberment. Read full review
70
Village VoiceBilge EbiriMar 2, 2017
In the struggle between sober subtext and monster-movie goofiness, the goofiness mostly wins out. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyMar 2, 2017
Hiddleston and Larson are especially let down by the script, which wants to be jokey in the way that something like Predator was, but can’t pull it off. The same lack of care goes into the period-specific song choices that have as much imagination as a Time-Life Songs of the ‘70s set. Read full review
65
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeMar 2, 2017
It lacks neither fun nor polish, but it has the square tidiness of a compartmentalized fast-food meal. Read full review
63
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenMar 28, 2024
Skull Island circles around a number of intriguing ideas—about American arrogance and the post-war military-industrial complex, to name just two—but never quite coheres into anything particularly incisive. The movie gives good Kong though. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 9, 2017
As a big-budget B-grade monster movie, Kong: Skull Island is a home run. It offers all the tropes and clichés one expects from this sort of endeavor, sparing no expense when it comes to special effects. As a King Kong movie, however, Skull Island is less successful. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldMar 9, 2017
Kong: Skull Island won’t win any points for the brilliance of its writing (or for the way it reduces a terrific actor like Larson to a personality-free camera-clicker) — but oh, that ape Read full review
63
USA TodayBrian TruittMar 8, 2017
It’s when there's a distinct lack of King Kong that Skull Island turns into a plodding affair. Read full review
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