'Kong: Skull Island' - What Did You Think?

The king has returned. Kong: Skull Island is officially in theaters, bringing the giant ape back to the big screen as you've never seen him before. Director Jordan-Vogt Roberts has created a monstrous action adventure that is packed with plenty of creatures for Kong to do battle with. It's nothing like Peter Jackson's King Kong from 2005, and it's the kind of monster movie that we don't get to see often from Hollywood anymore.

Sneak preview screenings started last night and Kong: Skull Island is playing everywhere right now (with the Dunkirk prologue playing before IMAX screenings), so we want to find out what you thought about this movie, which stars Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and a scene-stealing John C. Reilly.

Below, we've assembled our thoughts on Kong: Skull Island and we'd like you to you sound off with your own!

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. Charged with a 1970s rock and roll soundtrack, Kong: Skull Island never loses steam. It plows through an endless array of vicious monster attacks, all presented through a lens that masterfully captures the action, scenery and delightfully grim adventure that Jordan Vogt-Roberts has assembled on screen.

If you'd like to read more, you can read my full review right here.

After years of monster movies that hide the monsters, Kong: Skull Island is finally a big monster movie not afraid to show off some big monster action. There is no long build to see King Kong. In fact, he shows up in the first scene. The action is a delight and the visuals look like an over processed Instagram posting and I love it – high contrast, high saturation, and full of vibrant colors. Tonally, John C. Reilly feels like a character from another movie, but I love the comedy he brought to what is otherwise an action adventure film. If I have any real complaint, it is that the other human characters are thinly written. But honestly, I didn't come to this film to see them. I came for Kong and the monsters of Skull Island and I'm glad they got the spotlight.

There is so much imagination in Kong: Skull Island and so many moments specifically designed to elicit cackles of delight. If I was still a 12-year old boy, it would be the greatest movie of all time. And yet, this is a classic case of parts being better than a whole. With the exception of the brilliant John C. Reilly, the actors are charming in individual scenes without leaving an impression in the grand scheme. The various monster throwdowns are slick and wildly entertaining, but if often feels like King Kong himself exists in a separate movie than the human cast. The film's pacing is the real double-edged sword here – it gets down to business so quickly that vital feelings like terror and awe are often reduced to afterthoughts in favor of totally bananas action. However, like Gareth Edwards' Godzilla before it, Kong: Skull Island has an odd pulse that I can't help but respect. It's clear that this a movie only Jordan Vogt-Roberts could have made. It's anything but generic.

Now it's your turn. What did you think of Kong: Skull Island? Sound off in the comments below!