Kong: Skull Island Review!
With Godzilla and King Kong coming together in another cinematic shared universe, and one that makes sense and has happened briefly before, it was only a matter of time we got King Kong's story retold. Looking back on the King Kong movies that came before this I must admit that I was shocked at how many were direct remakes from the original. Only a few were true sequels and one had a crossover with Godzilla in the early 60s. Kong: Skull Island brings with it a breath of fresh air to the King Kong mythos. No more "Beauty and the Beast" story line, no more dying on top of the New York skyline. This Kong movie is different, has fun with the King Kong character, and shows a promising future to the Godzilla/King Kong monsterverse that Legendary is trying to build.
Two things I really loved about this movie when it came to plot was the fact that you had the Monarch faction, that special group from Godzilla, that wants to prove to the world that these giant monsters exist, and thus take precaution. The other faction is led by Samuel L. Jackson and his rag-tag Military gang. This dynamic brings with it the tragic villain, in a sense, of one against themselves. Jackson and his crew fought in Vietnam, but when it's time to leave the war his character looks back at all that he'd accomplished, and asked what the point was. He's a soldier without a war, and I thought Jackson handled his character's arc very well.
The rest of the characters are either there for future movies, or are monster fodder either getting stepped on, torn apart, eaten, or worse. Each character is easily identified by their unique personalities, but if you're looking for depth then that's not here, nor should you expect that. These characters are here for you to have fun watching them panic, understand what's going on, and eventually die. Some deaths will feel more emotional than others, but at the heart of this movie it's a giant monster film, and by George it's one of the better monster films released in this decade.
You can tell that a lot of time and passion had gone into the designs, and animations of the giant monsters. If you look at Kong you can see past battle scars, his fur is all dirty and disgusting with odd green colors getting stuck on him. Just from looking at him you can tell he's been through hell, but the motion capture used to make Kong brought in the sense that he's been through hell, but he's done it so long that he's not only used to it, but he's a badass! Through numerous fights you can tell that he's thinking, and planning, while battling monsters that could kill him. He's learning and trying to figure out ways to survive and his opponent(s) to die. He has compassion for the animals that don't want to kill him. At his core he wants there to be peace on his island home, and he'll do whatever it takes to keep that peace.
The antagonistic monsters were fun, but not as creative as Kong. Obviously all the man hours had to go to the titled monster, but the other monsters that show up are serviceable and keeps in line with what type of island this is. These creatures are hungry, some are large and monstrous but peaceful, others will kill you in creative ways. The only thing I would have liked from the island was to see more of it, and to see more of the dangers it presented. We saw the giant monsters, but are there dangerous fauna? I don't know, but exploring the island, while awesome it would be, could have taken away from the point of the movie and the focus of Kong. This was a double edged sword for me, because while I'd have liked to see more, it could have easily been done in a way the took away from the charm and focus this cut of the film had.
The cinematography was done well, and shots throughout this film looked absolutely gorgeous. They knew how to shoot action with giant monsters. It was dynamic, and pretty to look at. In fact, I think that actually added to the film's overall enjoyment, because it had a unique way of showing this familiar story.
My biggest question, that might be answered in a later movie, has to be how King Kong and Godzilla meet. This film takes place in the 70s while Godzilla takes place in modern day. They did mention that Kong still had some growing since he was young, but that's still around fifty years difference. I'm not sure how they're going to bring back certain characters, or how these two legendary monsters meet. It could be Old Man Kong vs Young Godzilla, or it could take place before, but that wouldn't make sense since in Godzilla people are reacting to a giant monster for the first time. So, while this problem doesn't affect the actual film, it's more of a "How's this universe going to go from here?" type of question.
In the end this is a giant monster and war film. It's lots of fun, the action and special effects look great, and if you're into 3D it's one of the better 3D movies out right now. It takes a lot of inspiration from Apocalypse Now, and with what they did I thought it helped the film. There are a few things they could have done better, but I liked the film so much that I didn't care. For example, sometimes the comedy would work, but most of the time you can tell that they're trying too hard. I didn't mind that because the actors had such a camaraderie around them it never stuck with me as a negative. Overall this film is just pure fun. You get to see more Kong in this film than you did with Godzilla in his film. If you want to learn more about the upcoming future of this shared universe make sure you stay after the credits for a cool scene. If you can see this in theaters then please do.
B+
