This Planet Doesn't Belong to Us

Kong: Skull Island

I must admit that I was never one for big screen monster movies. I don’t know why the thought of giant monsters destroying modern cities or each other ever really appealed to me. I can respect the love of the genre, because things like this are what make movies great. Recently monsters have been making a comeback with Gareth Edwards’ (Rogue One) take on Godzilla a few years ago. So why not bring back the other movie monster synonymous with Godzilla, King Kong. Well that is exactly what Warner Bros. has done this year. I give you Kong: Skull Island.

The Story: As the Vietnam War is coming to a close, a top ranking official of a private organization, Bill Randa (John Goodman 10 Cloverfield Lane), called Monarch has convinced a U.S. Senator to allow him to lead a team of scientists to a mysterious island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Accompanying him on this expedition is former British Intelligence Officer James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston Thor), hired as a tracker; also Mason Weaver (Brie Larson Room), an anti-war photographer, and Randa’s military escort provided by Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson The Avengers) and his Sky Devils, a helicopter squad. What this expedition (and what Randa didn’t tell the rest of the crew) runs into is a 100 foot gorilla named Kong and after Kong swats down their helicopters and destroys most of their equipment, the group must now try and make it to the opposite end of Skull Island. Along with Kong, the crew must stay alive with other creatures that inhabit Skull Island.

The Good: Well I can tell you that Kong entertains. This movie could have gone horribly wrong on so many levels, but it succeeds. I am quite surprised of Kong’s success, particularly because of the odd cast and an unknown director. However director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) galvanizes the cast, but more importantly showcases the monsters that we all have walked into the theater to see. Vogt-Roberts magnificently balance the human cast with the movie monsters and also somehow makes Kong a sympathetic character that the audience can almost identify with. The film’s comedic relief, John C. Reilly, wonderfully breaks a lot of the tension of the film without ever becoming too annoying.

The Bad: As much as I liked Reilly in this film, I can’t say that I cared too much for the other human characters. Hiddleston and Larson seemed like they were added for star power, to give audiences someone to recognize, and Goodman is a cookie-cutter misunderstood scientist going about discovering stuff the wrong way. Of course Goodman had his cookie-cutter “lackeys” and then there is Jackson. *Sigh*, I did not like his character at all. Packard became this Captain Ahab character for some obscure reason that is barely explained. Packard loses come of his men and snaps, believing that he can kill a 100 foot gorilla with very little supplies. I believe that Jackson and maybe the writers just over did it with this character because toward the middle of the movie he becomes more of a distraction to the rest of the movie.

The Verdict: Looking past the human character issues, Kong: Skull Island is an entertaining monster movie that does an amazing job of giving Kong a little more character. The special effects were seamless and impressive. Unlike 2014’s Godzilla, this film doesn’t take itself too seriously which works and makes it an enjoyable time in the theaters.

Worth Your Time.