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Kong: Skull Island

The film Jurassic World hoped to be

This latest update of the King Kong saga, while not particularly memorable, pretty much gets it right. It’s capable and engaging, slightly satiric, unpretentious, and playfully self-aware. It knows it’s a big-budget B-movie, and doesn’t monkey around with the spectacle. The overqualified A-list cast includes John Goodman (great) Samuel L. Jackson (mad) and Tom Hiddleston (flaccid). Brie Larson does the Fay Wray honors, and John C. Reilly steals every scene he’s in. This above average multiplex fare tells the story without insulting your intelligence. Sure you’ve seen it all before. See it again. (118 min)