Movie Review - Kong: Skull Island
THIS latest entry to the monster movie genre is an impressive spectacle, but has little to no heart.
It opens in 1944, with two warring pilots – one American and the other, Japanese – crash landing on a mysterious island, and coming face-to-face with Kong himself.
The scene then shifts to 1973, where Randa (John Goodman), the head of secret government organisation Monarch, negotiates an expedition to an uncharted island.
Aside from a military escort led by Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), Randa also hires former SAS soldier Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) as their guide and tracker.
A Vietnam War photojournalist, Weaver (Brie Larson), smells a story and accompanies the group.
They make it to the island, but are set upon by Kong, who brings down their helicopters.
The survivors are separated, with Conrad and Weaver on one side, and a vengeful Packard on the other, swearing to take down Kong. They also encounter the island’s giant creatures, losing more people along the way.
Conrad and Weaver eventually meet the slightly-unhinged Marlow (John C. Reilly), the American pilot from the opening scene, who tells them that “Kong is king”, and the ape is their only defence against the vicious giant two-legged lizards, the Skull-crawlers.
The film is gorgeous to look at. I saw it in IMAX 3D, which emphasises the size of Kong and the island’s other denizens.
You also feel a part of the action when the helicopters go down, or when the monsters attack.
Credit goes to director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, and cinematographer Larry Fong (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice), who craft some truly creative, if overly-dramatic, shots.
Fong, especially, does better work without Zack Snyder looking over his shoulder. However, he does seem to have a fascination with eyes. You can make a game out of how many times the camera zooms in for an ‘eye shot’.
Sadly, despite having so many capable actors, the film essentially wastes them, giving them weak dialogue and two-dimensional personalities.
Hiddleston and Larson have chemistry, but are reduced to stock action characters, just running and reacting in awe in the face of a CGI Kong.
Jackson is criminally underused, with his Captain Ahab-like Packard never living up to the promise of being a memorable villain.
There are some good moments among the soldiers that were actually touching, but sadly, they get overwhelmed by the action. I found myself wishing I cared a little more when they died.
In fact, the only character I really connected with was Reilly’s funny, sympathetic Marlow, who has a more interesting backstory.
I would have rather watched a film about how a younger Marlow and the Japanese pilot (a cameo by J-Rock star Miyavi) first learned to survive on the island and work together.
Perhaps the script needed fewer characters. It seems that in the studio’s rush to get the effects right, they neglected to give time to the people.
However, the film has just the right amount of flash, and it is much more satisfying than 2014’s undercooked Godzilla.
In fact, stay for the end credit scene, which hints at a truly ‘monstrous’ sequel that is worth sitting through this film for.