I’m just going to go ahead and say that this is arguably the second best Kong flick ever. Legendary has stepped their game up. This is fast and fun—quite a different beast from Peter Jackson’s bloated 2005 revival. By setting the entire movie in Skull Island, the filmmakers are able to condense all the boring human stuff into short bursts. The production values are so good, too. I was repeatedly awestruck by the aesthetic nods to Apocalypse Now, not to mention those hype-worthy use of slow-mo and closeups. The MonsterVerse is shaping up to be a very exciting franchise.