Thursday 17 August 2017

King Kong: Skull Island


The giant ape King Kong has made numerous appearances on screen and found a home among the most legendary beasts of cinema. Kong first appeared in the iconic 1933 film and since then Kong has trashed New York City more than once and battled Godzilla frequently too. Jordan Vogt-Roberts' version of the story of the giant ape is set in 1973, with the Vietnam war providing a suitable backdrop. The imagery used in the film, such as the fiery explosions and shimmering images, mirror the pictures regularly seen in Vietnam War films such as Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket.

Kong: Skull Island is a much bigger film than the highly-celebrated Kings of Summer (also directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts) and with the size of the film, Jordan Vogt-Roberts struggles to juggle the many characters. When a giant ape, spider or skullcrusher rampages through the platoon, it’s hard to decipher (and hard to care quite frankly) when some of the bit part characters (who seem to multiply and come from nowhere) are eaten, crushed or bashed away.

Most of the fun stems from watching Kong punching a giant octopus in the head as the huge beasts tower over the human characters yet, unlike in the previous versions (such as 1933 and 2005 versions) there is little empathy and understanding for the beast. Every performance in this film is just ‘meh’ except for a superb John C.Riley who not only brings a sorely needed comic touch but some (even more sorely needed) humanity to the film with his poignant performance.

The special effects are tremendous and the film is fun even if the only name I remember is James Conrad and that’s only because it’s a name similar to the author of Heart of Darkness (the book that inspired Apocalypse Now), Joseph Conrad.

3/5

7 comments:

  1. I thought the cinematography in this film was absolutely stunning. I had a good time with it. Great review!

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  2. The Guardians of the Galaxy will be making a cameo in
    Thor: Ragnarok.

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  3. There was a lot of underutilized talent on the screen. Jing Tian doesn’t have anything notable to say until the secret ending. Not even Kong took an interest in Brie Larson. (Yes, he plucked her out of the water but he’d have done as much for anyone not shooting at him: it wasn’t personal.) Well, we can’t all be Fay Wray, I suppose.

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  4. True, it was lacking in a number of areas, but fun wasn't one of them. I had a blast watching this. The pure spectacle of it is amazing.

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  5. I should check this one out. It sounds like fun, and with expectations adjusted I think i'll have a good time. I enjoy a fun "lost world" movie, and the effects sound good. Besides Kong punching an octopus in the head just sounds awesome.

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  6. I think the movie just wanted to be one of those silly monster movies and nothing. It's quite entertaining though not gonna lie but I agree that it's missing a lot in terms of story.

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  7. Its beauty of the film that still we miss something and want more in Kong movie.

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