Where the beast is the real hero

Despite a striking cast, the strength of Kong lies in its special effects

A good part of my childhood was spent not watching monster-centric films. That also meant that I saw almost no good film for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s because there were so many of them. And yet, here I was watching Kong: Skull Island, first day, first show, no less. 

If you, like me, do not have the stomach for gory monster-related plotlines, Kong is to be avoided. It is nothing like its predecessor, where King Kong, a pre-historic ape who is the film’s central character, falls in love with the female protagonist. The emotional aspect of