Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Written by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, Derek Connolly (screenplay), and John Gatins (story)
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Toby Kebbell, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Miyavi, Richard Jenkins, Robert Taylor, Terry Notary (Kong motion capture)
Soundtrack: Henry Jackman
With respect to the Japanese kaiju genre (which had a fantastic entry last year in Shin Godzilla), it was American cinema that cemented the rise of giant monsters with 1933’s King Kong.
With apologies to the Japanese kaiju genre, 2014’s American Godzilla was an absolute turd on stilts.
As everything has to be a cinematic universe these days (whether we want it or not), the inevitable match-up of these two giants (echoing Toho’s 1962 effort) has been obvious for some time now. However, you can’t have a fight until both combatants have been introduced, and Kong: Skull Island is an explosive entrance that would make any pro wrestler proud.
It’s not a great film in the way that Logan or Mad Max: Fury Road are great films, but Kong: Skull Island is unquestionably a get-your-money’s-worth kind of movie. It may go too far in a few places (sometimes a little too schlocky; sometimes a little too serious), and, without spoiling anything, I’ll say it ends on a decidedly odd note, but, overall, it’s trying to entertain you, which is very much in keeping with the spirit of the original King Kong (something neither the 1976 or 2005 remakes could get quite right).
Frankly, Kong: Skull Island is everything Godzilla (2014) isn’t. It doesn’t tease you (you see Kong’s face within the first five minutes as opposed to nearly an hour for old ‘Zilla), it doesn’t bore you, it doesn’t saddle you with dull characters and bland creatures, it’s not afraid to occasionally make you laugh. and it’s got a lot of really interesting visual concepts (I enjoyed the period elements quite a bit).
It’s also big, as it should be. No doubt a good chunk of work was done on sound stages, but it appears by and large that the movie was shot outdoors in real locations (including Hawaii, much like the Jurassic Park series and Kong ’76), and I give the cast and crew a ton of credit for subjecting themselves to some rather unpleasant conditions in order to make the movie look noticeably better than many other commensurate projects these days.
If there’s one major flaw I can point to, it’s that some of the dialogue feels out of place for the early 1970s, and some of it is just downright bad (John Goodman in particular gets stuck with a lot of exposition and I’m not sure he even tried to make the best of it), not to mention some of the jokes are too on the nose, but it’s not enough to soil the entire movie. On the whole, the cast is at least adequate in its performance, with John C. Reilly charting as the most florescent in a largely comic relief role.
It has to be said that the movie deserves credit for not being just another King Kong remake, and actually doing something different with the story. Sure, it wears its influences on its sleeve (Tom Hiddleston and John C. Reilly play characters named Conrad and Marlow, respectively; got it), but if the movie’s entertaining enough (which it is), then that’s perfectly fine. It’s fresh where it needs to be and classic when called for.
Again, it’s not the best movie in the world, but if you’re looking for a big, fun, action-adventure creature feature, this one’s for you.
I don’t know that it gets me excited for the rest of the “MonsterVerse”, but Kong: Skull Island is plenty worth seeing on its own merit.
Get your popcorn ready.
Rating: ★★★★☆
P.S.
Yes, there is a post-credits scene (this is a cinematic universe after all).