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by Guest
Mon Mar 13, 2017 1:08 am
Forum: Full Reviews
Topic: Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Replies: 4
Views: 2317

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

With the box-office success of Gareth Edwards' Godzilla offering a green light, Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. decided to put their MonsterVerse into full development. Kong: Skull Island, helmed by former indie director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, sees the MonsterVerse begin to meld together. The (undeservedly) tepid response by audiences from 2014's Godzilla has clearly been noted and addressed in Kong: Skull Island, where rather than saving Kong for the last few minutes of the film (as was the case with the 2014 reboot), Kong shows up nice and early. Also, no audience member could complain of a lack of action, as the majority of the film is populated with chaotic monster fights that have satisfying degrees of carnage and icky-ness. And in a creature feature like this, very little else matters.

The film sets aside the first 20 minutes to establish characters and the story, but it's an arguably unnecessary use of time. The characters are paper-thin and the story bottles down to a group of people plopped on a monster-inhabited island. Fans of King Kong as a tragic and romantic figure will be disappointed to find that Kong has been watered down to a big monkey that punches things (albeit, with a savior arc, similar to Edwards' treatment of Godzilla). But Vogt-Roberts is solely interested in the spectacle and the action, and in that respect, Kong: Skull Island delivers in spades.

The action offers brainless escapism, with just enough clever touches to elevate it above forgettable CGI recycling. There are several sequences that are quite memorable, thanks in part to wildly frightening and interesting creature designs. And while the level of tension and nastiness doesn't ever match, say, the bug canyon sequence from Peter Jackson's King Kong remake, audiences can expect to be thrilled and engaged throughout much of the chaos.

The action is so entertaining, in fact, that it brings a film that's objectively really terrible into something actually recommendable. Some discerning viewers won't even be quite that kind to it, but those with an affinity for monsters and giant crawlies will enjoy themselves tremendously, in spite of the film's many problems. As expected, the root of many of Kong: Skull Island's issues lies in the script (featuring three credited writers) which is, frankly, awful. In addition to frequently painful attempts at humor, the script offers many tiresome cliches, often echoing the now-pillaged plot elements of the original King Kong while still trying to distance itself from it. The overwhelming sense of style (and excessive song placements) attempts to distract from how little is going on from under the surface, but it only exacerbates the emptiness.

Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Samuel L. Jackson offer passable performances as boring characters. It's always a pleasure to see John Goodman, who brings more to his tired character than it deserved. John C. Reilly is possibly the highlight of the cast, understanding the comic beats far better than the other actors. The scattered supporting cast members are annoying and shallow (more the script's fault than theirs), with Toby Kebbell's character in particular being very poorly handled (never mind Kebbell's laughable accent). Jing Tian could've been written out entirely; she contributes less than nothing to the film and is only there to help check minority boxes.

Kong: Skull Island probably can't be called a "good" film, but it's so entertaining that it earns a recommendation; at least for those seeking a monster-filled romp that satisfies on its promises of action and nothing more. That's not to say it sets its aspirations right, as it too often tries to be a popculture classic in the vein of Jurassic Park. On the contrary, it has a lot more in common with Jurassic World in its disregard to decent writing and thirst for carnage. Kong: Skull Island will appeal to a similar audience, while everyone outside that bubble will write it off as pointless rubbish.

Score: 7/10