Kong: Skull Island (2017) Review
Kong Skull Island is about a group of explorers (including John Goodman) who go on an expedition to explore an uncharted island with the help of a platoon of soldiers returning from Vietnam (including Samuel L. Jackson), a tracker (Tom Hiddleston) and an anti-war photographer (Brie Larson). They soon find out that the island is home to creatures beyond their wildest imagination.
Kong benefits from being set in the 70’s so the music in the film (which is awesome) along with many of the visuals is influenced by that time period. The style in which Kong is filmed is unique. For example the helicopter crash (see minor Spoilers ahead) when Kong knocks the helicopters out of the sky is phenomenal. The camera stays completely in the helicopter for one crash in particular, and the scene gives an exciting POV crash and the perfect visual of Kong. This style makes this scene and many others much more exciting and theatrical. I couldn’t get enough.
The film was also extremely funny thanks to John C. Reilly who placed the film’s only use of “fuck”, since it is PG-13, in the best spot possible. The story itself is not the best in the world, but it was good enough and definitely did its part in making a fun, fresh King Kong film. While there weren’t many twists or mind-blowing revelations along the way, the movie was not predictable at all and paired with the new creatures around Skull Island definitely held my attention throughout the entire film. The acting was also pretty good. Nothing Oscar worthy here but the main cast like Larson, Jackson and Hiddleston definitely put there all into the material they were given. The director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts did a magnificent job and I will definitely be checking out his other work. I actually liked the style of Kong Skull Island better than Godzilla, which is saying something because I do consider myself a big Gareth Edwards fan. I would not mind at all if Vogt-Roberts brought this kind of visual style to the next movie in the franchise and directed Kong vs. Godzilla. Kong Skull Island is certainly better than Peter Jackson’s 2005 adaptation and, in my opinion, is better than the most recent Godzilla film.
Kong: Skull Island is a fun, unique and visually beautiful ride that will hold your attention from the opening scene all the way through the post-credits scene (yes, stay after the credits) I was very impressed with this interpretation of King Kong and will be looking forward to the inevitable fight between King Kong and Godzilla in the future. B+
Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Starring John Goodman, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Hiddleston
