Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Proceeded by a strong A-List cast, Kong: Skull Island is a modern-day throwback to big popcorn flicks, the 1960’s, and the wonder of classic Monster Movies.
Monster movies are making a comeback. And they are truly unique, in that they are one of the few spectacles that exist purely through cinema. Few television networks have the budget necessary to create such a world, though smaller-scale Monster stories like Stranger Things do break the mold.
It’s important that a monster movie knows thyself. In that, it’s characters are present and at times, corny, unafraid to tell it how it is (Bitch, please), and ready to call each other crazy at any given moment.
Kong: Skull Island is fast and lean, covering a lot of ground in it’s 2 hour run-time. And though there’s some occasional cheese and corn throughout, it manages to stay the course and mostly important, be fun at all times.
John C. Reilly is a complete scene-stealer, with both his charm and self-deprecation on display at it’s finest. Samuel L. Jackson is Colonel Packard incarnate, and it’s crazy to imagine that neither one of them were initially cast for their roles because they inhabit them so completely. You’d think the roles were written for them.
But the best thing, is that out of all of this, our gift as an audience is a future King Kong v. Godzilla movie, fit for the big screen.
Hold on to your butts.
Review Score: B-
Feels Like: Jurassic Park, Godzilla (2014), the 1960’s.
Standout Performance: John C. Reilly & Samuel L. Jackson, playing the two most interesting characters in the film to conviction.
This was more like a war movie than a monster movie. For that reason, I liked it. Monsters are real in this movie. Yet, it also makes one ponder the whole notion of the enemy. In any case, it is mostly a good war movie. Thus, this will not be like any other Kong movie. It is not a re-make. It simply takes the concept into a new direction.