Kong: Skull Island - directed Jordan Vogt-Roberts
This is an odd movie in many ways but in no way bad for it.
The poster to the left is perhaps the first clue that this latest KOng flick is going to take a different approach.
If the art style, colours and military angle reminds you of films like "Apocalypse Now" it is no mistake.
This film feels a little bit like the spiritual successor to Peter Jackson's "King Kong" (2005) - a film which referenced Coppola's movie albeit indirectly by way of Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
But "Kong: Skull Island" is still nonetheless deeply in debt to the 1933 original and maybe even a little to the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis attempt.
If that makes you concerned that it seems a little muddled in tone and intention then rest assured that although the fear is founded it is still nothing to worry about.
This film begins with what must be a swipe at the current US President.
After a very effective opening flashback scene and a montage detailing some recent American history we arrive in Washington DC as the US Forces are finishing their withdrawal from Vietnam.
John Goodman's Bill Randa exits a taxi amidst protesters and police clashes and says something along the lines of 'Mark my words - there'll never be a more messed up time in Washington'.
It is the very first sign that this Kong is aiming for something a little different.
Perhaps it is the second sign because even this short amount of time into the film we have already been given ample evidence that director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has applied a great visual style to the film.
After a wonderfully effective IMAX countdown down in the style of the Kong lettering there are numerous nice touches to the editing and to the shots.
This is a seriously well shot film loaded with visual punch and dynamic shots.
Even titles announcing a new location look amazing.
Another good sign is how much fun the first half hour is.
It's all set-up and character introduction but thanks to some great casting and light and witty dialogue delivered by the likes of Goodman, Jackson and an uncredited Richard Jenkins it races by and bam- we are on an island loaded with savage beasts - including man himself.
And there's that Heart of Darkness / Apocalypse Now tie-in again.
In this case instead of Colonel Kurtz losing his mind it is Samuel L Jackson's military tough guy Packard who goes nuts with thoughts of revenge.
After seeing a number of his loyal men plucked out of the sky by an irate, very large ape he is bent on killing the beast.
Packard and his men have been charged with escorting what they are told is a geology team to the remote, well hidden Skull Island.
Tagging along is a British special forces tracker named Conrad (there we go again...) played by Tom Hiddleston, a tough photographer played by Brie Larson and a bunch of company men and scientists who are pretty much there for the killing.
The group is split into three as the seismic bombs they drop causes Kong to attack the helicopters they are in.
Packard's team marches through the jungle looking like the Vietnam veterans that they are while Hiddleston, Larson and the science types encounter John C Reilly's World War 2 pilot who has been stranded on the island for almost 30 years.
They learn that the island is a very carefully balanced environment with Kong the counterpoint to some nasty lizardy creatures that emerge from the earth.
So long as Kong is around the status quo is maintained and everyone can live in relative peace and quiet.
(apart from the giant spiders, insects, water buffalo and so forth of course)
I like this idea.
It brings a fresh perspective to the Kong story and makes the large ape (and he is really large in this one!) instantly sympathetic.
I love Jackson's 2005 film for many reasons but his elevating of Kong to loveable hero was masterful and here the result is equally effectively achieved.
Larson does well in a role that isn't as fully fleshed out as Watts or Wray and certainly looks stunning in a tank top.
Hiddleston is playing the utter square jawed hero - never more than a wisecrack away from being a cartoon figure.
He gets a cheesily delightful slow motion scene in which he dons a gas mask and wields a katana to battle a vicious flock of bat/bird/pterodactyl creatures.
The tone is wildly inconsistent but somehow Vogt-Roberts gets aways with it.
John C Reilly's mentally compromised WW2 pilot provides much of the humour and it is the perfect counter to Jackson's deadly serious, jingoistic mad man.
Larson and Hiddleston are definitely the leads and as such play the conscience of the audience.
Their decision to side with Kong so soon after he has almost killed them both is not entirely convincing but is again perfectly counter to Jackson's single minded insistence that the beast must die.
I found it oddly ironic that a movie about the balance on the island should utilise the same concept to provide its own weird tone.
Also adding to this is the violence which is darker and a lot bloodier than the rating would suggest.
Kong tears the guts out of more than one adversary and many a human meets a grisly end with a giant spider leg down the throat being the most memorably grisly.
No one is indispensible and characters die suddenly, often with little or no warning.
One character builds up to a real movie cliche heroic moment only to have his sacrifice rendered completely useless in the most darkly funny way imaginable.
It is all shot and edited wonderfully well.
Slow motion shots of Iroquois helicopters, sweeping zoom shots onto Hiddleston on the bridge of a ship and multiple out and out beautiful shots of Kong framed by mist or flame abound.
And there is no shortage of action.
For all of its references to classic novels and films this is still at heart a movie for the big kid in all of us.
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to watch monsters battle and this film absolutely delivers.
Obviously I am recommending this but I do strongly suggest you see it in IMAX and preferably in 3D... both options add much to the experience.
And wait through the credits for an extra scene indicating that more is on the way.
Bring it on I say.
RATING: 80 / 100
CONCLUSION: Beautifully shot and loaded with references to more intellectual works it may be but this is still single mindedly a film about a huge ape punching three colours of poo out of a host of other 'monsters'. So yes- a lot of fun and well worth a look.
Starring: Brie Larsen, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman, Toby Kebbell, John C Reilly, Thomas Mann, Shea Whigham, John Ortiz, Terry Notary, Richard Jenkins, Tian Jing, Marc Evan Jackson
Screenplay: Dan Gilroy & & Max Borenstein
Music Score by: Henry Jackman
Cinematography: Larry Fong
Edited by: Bob Murawski, Richard Pearson & Christian Wagner
Running Time: 118 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Violence that pushes the rating
Running Time: 118 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Violence that pushes the rating
The poster to the left is perhaps the first clue that this latest KOng flick is going to take a different approach.
If the art style, colours and military angle reminds you of films like "Apocalypse Now" it is no mistake.
This film feels a little bit like the spiritual successor to Peter Jackson's "King Kong" (2005) - a film which referenced Coppola's movie albeit indirectly by way of Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
But "Kong: Skull Island" is still nonetheless deeply in debt to the 1933 original and maybe even a little to the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis attempt.
If that makes you concerned that it seems a little muddled in tone and intention then rest assured that although the fear is founded it is still nothing to worry about.
This film begins with what must be a swipe at the current US President.
After a very effective opening flashback scene and a montage detailing some recent American history we arrive in Washington DC as the US Forces are finishing their withdrawal from Vietnam.
John Goodman's Bill Randa exits a taxi amidst protesters and police clashes and says something along the lines of 'Mark my words - there'll never be a more messed up time in Washington'.
It is the very first sign that this Kong is aiming for something a little different.
Perhaps it is the second sign because even this short amount of time into the film we have already been given ample evidence that director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has applied a great visual style to the film.
After a wonderfully effective IMAX countdown down in the style of the Kong lettering there are numerous nice touches to the editing and to the shots.
This is a seriously well shot film loaded with visual punch and dynamic shots.
Even titles announcing a new location look amazing.
Another good sign is how much fun the first half hour is.
It's all set-up and character introduction but thanks to some great casting and light and witty dialogue delivered by the likes of Goodman, Jackson and an uncredited Richard Jenkins it races by and bam- we are on an island loaded with savage beasts - including man himself.
 |
| Kong himself is an expressive, mighty presence thanks to some incredible effects work |
In this case instead of Colonel Kurtz losing his mind it is Samuel L Jackson's military tough guy Packard who goes nuts with thoughts of revenge.
After seeing a number of his loyal men plucked out of the sky by an irate, very large ape he is bent on killing the beast.
Packard and his men have been charged with escorting what they are told is a geology team to the remote, well hidden Skull Island.
Tagging along is a British special forces tracker named Conrad (there we go again...) played by Tom Hiddleston, a tough photographer played by Brie Larson and a bunch of company men and scientists who are pretty much there for the killing.
The group is split into three as the seismic bombs they drop causes Kong to attack the helicopters they are in.
Packard's team marches through the jungle looking like the Vietnam veterans that they are while Hiddleston, Larson and the science types encounter John C Reilly's World War 2 pilot who has been stranded on the island for almost 30 years.
They learn that the island is a very carefully balanced environment with Kong the counterpoint to some nasty lizardy creatures that emerge from the earth.
So long as Kong is around the status quo is maintained and everyone can live in relative peace and quiet.
(apart from the giant spiders, insects, water buffalo and so forth of course)
 |
| Hiddleston and Larson's characters are the least well formed but both trade on their natural charm to great effect |
It brings a fresh perspective to the Kong story and makes the large ape (and he is really large in this one!) instantly sympathetic.
I love Jackson's 2005 film for many reasons but his elevating of Kong to loveable hero was masterful and here the result is equally effectively achieved.
Larson does well in a role that isn't as fully fleshed out as Watts or Wray and certainly looks stunning in a tank top.
Hiddleston is playing the utter square jawed hero - never more than a wisecrack away from being a cartoon figure.
He gets a cheesily delightful slow motion scene in which he dons a gas mask and wields a katana to battle a vicious flock of bat/bird/pterodactyl creatures.
The tone is wildly inconsistent but somehow Vogt-Roberts gets aways with it.
John C Reilly's mentally compromised WW2 pilot provides much of the humour and it is the perfect counter to Jackson's deadly serious, jingoistic mad man.
Larson and Hiddleston are definitely the leads and as such play the conscience of the audience.
Their decision to side with Kong so soon after he has almost killed them both is not entirely convincing but is again perfectly counter to Jackson's single minded insistence that the beast must die.
I found it oddly ironic that a movie about the balance on the island should utilise the same concept to provide its own weird tone.
 |
| Kong: Skull Island is a stunningly shot movie loaded with wonder and excitement in action and non-action scenes alike |
Kong tears the guts out of more than one adversary and many a human meets a grisly end with a giant spider leg down the throat being the most memorably grisly.
No one is indispensible and characters die suddenly, often with little or no warning.
One character builds up to a real movie cliche heroic moment only to have his sacrifice rendered completely useless in the most darkly funny way imaginable.
It is all shot and edited wonderfully well.
Slow motion shots of Iroquois helicopters, sweeping zoom shots onto Hiddleston on the bridge of a ship and multiple out and out beautiful shots of Kong framed by mist or flame abound.
And there is no shortage of action.
For all of its references to classic novels and films this is still at heart a movie for the big kid in all of us.
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to watch monsters battle and this film absolutely delivers.
Obviously I am recommending this but I do strongly suggest you see it in IMAX and preferably in 3D... both options add much to the experience.
And wait through the credits for an extra scene indicating that more is on the way.
Bring it on I say.
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