Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Review

118min

Genre:      Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Director:   Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Cast:        Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson…and more

Writers:    Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly

-Synopsis-

The latest incarnation of the ‘King Kong’ myth set just after the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, where a group of American scientists and soldiers embark on a voyage of exploration to an uncharted Pacific island—only to find that they’ve discovered a land of monsters lorded over by a great mythical beast.

In a bid to leverage their movie monster rights and set the Max Borenstein-led ‘MonsterVerse’ in motion—which also includes ‘Godzilla’—Warner Bros. bring us their latest blockbuster creature-feature reboot/remake with the return of the world’s most famous great ape. Back and more majestic than ever, armed with a new origin story, an ensemble cast to play with and more explosive action set-pieces than you can shake a near $200 million budget stick at.

Our intrepid group of explorers is brought together by John Goodman as a scientist whose team includes Tom Hiddleston as the British tracker and Brie Larson as the American war photographer, all of whom are escorted by ‘Colonel Packard’ (Samuel L. Jackson) and his Airborne Cavalry helicopter unit. But their firepower accounts for little in this uncharted tropical hell, as they struggle to survive against the island’s fearsome inhabitants . . . even with the help of an eccentric and stranded earlier visitor to the ominous ‘Skull Island’ (John C. Reilly).

Right from the start it’s easy to see what type of film director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and the writers are going for here, a monster mashup B-movie—only with a huge blockbuster budget—combined with a survival action/thriller, in a sort of “Island of Doctor Monstreau” proposition which mixes traditional ‘Kong’ mythology with a bit of ‘Jurassic Park’ and plenty of classic Vietnam War cinema, including multiple references from ‘Apocalypse Now’ among others.

‘Kong: Skull Island’ kicks off by building a team dynamic with its ensemble cast, using some familiar military tropes and trying to get the audience invested in the characters—with very limited success—before plunging them all into the dangerous wilds of ‘Skull Island’ and wasting no time showing everyone who the king of this jungle is, treating the audience to a spectacular and extended ‘Kong v Choppers’ action sequence . . . to go with the many others in the film.

This latest version of the classic Hollywood monster movie staple is no doubt an epic visual spectacle, with the latest incarnation of ‘Kong’ being a bigger and more upright version which harks back to the original—as opposed to the more traditional silverback version in 2005’s ‘King Kong’—and with some impressive CGI to ferociously bring him to life. But frankly it’s no more impressive than the efforts of Weta in Peter Jackson’s version—which is disappointing considering twelve years have passed—and with the rest of the digital effects pushing no boundaries, the visuals alone are no more imposing than what we now see a dozen times a year . . . every year.

From the trailers and teasers alone, we know not expect a blockbuster with depth which delves into man’s dominion of the planet and his effect on nature, let alone a monster movie which effectively reflects our own nature—the way the original ‘King Kong’ and Jackson’s remake did—and ‘Kong Island’ dully obliges by paying paltry lip service to those themes and making no attempt to really give ‘Kong’ himself any depth. But given the large eclectic cast of on-screen talent—which we spend more time with than with the film’s titular character—we assumed that the human contingent would bring some soul or at least something fresh to the table . . . other than the novelty of a new era as the setting and vague new fantasy monster origins.

However we couldn’t have been more wrong as Borenstein & co. pen a predictable script riddled with clichés and very little character development, providing the actors very little to work with and wasting the talents of (presumably highly-paid) actors like Hiddleston, Jackson and Larson, not to mention the large supporting cast—leaving John C. Reilly as the only interesting character and sole source of charm and humour in the whole affair . . . and the only one you’ll end up caring about (human or ape).

The final product here is an underwritten epic adventure with one-note characters which heavily relies on the Vietnam War era setting—and the sight & sounds it comes with—for its novelty factor, but which ultimately just turbochargers a tried-and-tested creature-feature formula with a huge budget and underused stars, leaving a visually satisfying and entertaining enough couple of hours at the cinema . . . which will slip your mind as soon as you leave it.

The Bottom Line…

In spite of its promising ensemble cast, a plethora of dynamic action-sequences and some impressive visuals, ‘Kong: Skull Island’ delivers no more than your typical interchangeable modern Hollywood blockbuster. Reasonably entertaining and instantly forgettable, we hope this isn’t a sign of things to come for the Warner Bros. ‘MonsterVerse’, which started promisingly with 2014’s ‘Godzilla’ reboot—and which continues in 2019 with ‘Godzilla: King of Monsters’.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Godzilla (2014)

When scientists in Japan awaken something ancient and monstrous with disastrous consequences, humanity must rely on something even bigger and more fearsome to save it, as director Gareth Edwards brings us his interpretation of the sci-fi monster movie classic starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Nowhere Boy).

Directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen among others.

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