The monstrous ape that has caused chaos in pop culture for years makes his triumphant return to Hollywood in Legendary Pictures’ latest MonsterVerse movie, Kong: Skull Island.

Set in 1973, the film follows a group of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers as they set out to explore a previously uncharted island known as Skull Island by dropping explosives to map it out. However, this causes the group to be attacked by Kong, the massive gorilla that lives on the island. With the explosives awakening large lizard-like creatures called Skull Crawlers responsible for wiping out Kong’s species a long time ago, the group must now try to escape the island with their lives.

The movie features an ensemble cast, including Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, and John C. Riley. I have previously seen all of these main stars in other movies except for Larson, and I was once again very impressed with their acting. Tom Hiddleston especially pulls off a nice protagonist character, which was a new twist for me to see, as he has previously played the role of the villain Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The special effects were also well-done too. Kong appears in all his massive glory, and unlike the Kong from the 2005 movie, he is not really that fat. The explosions and the epic battle scenes of Kong fighting against the Skull Crawlers as well as the humans also were really amazing.

In conclusion, I give this movie a 9/10 or A-. This movie proves once again that King Kong is still king.