Hello guys and welcome back to the MonsterVerse with my latest throwback review! Last time I delved into this universe I covered the 2014 Godzilla which was the kick off to this particular franchise (if you want you can go read that review for a more a depth look at the movie) and I really like it as I’ve come to appreciate more over time. It did well financially so of course more movies in this planned series were announced with the next being a re imagining of everyone’s favorite giant ape, King Kong himself. This time though it would be set in the 1970’s at the end of the Vietnam War and the whole movie would be set on the titular Skull Island making this one stand out from the many other versions of the King Kong story. It did end up paying off though as it was a big hit at the box office and it remains the highest grossing movie in this franchise and for the longest time it was actually my personal favorite of the bunch. Now, with the caveat that I have yet to see Godzilla vs. Kong, it’s actually a really close race for my favorite between this and Godzilla, but I still really enjoy it all the same and it holds up nicely. With that said let’s head straight into Kong’s home and go on an adventure filled with dangerous creatures and some fun thrills!
After a 1944 set prologue that both sets up a character for later and introduces us to the King himself we jump forward to the end of the Vietnam War where the head of Monarch, a government organization that searches for mysterious and unfounded creatures on the Earth, Bill Randa, gets approval to search a new island that they discovered called Skull Island. To do that though he needs to put together a search team and he recruits the likes of James Conrad, the tracker, Mason Weaver, the photographer, and a U.S. army unit led by one Colonel Preston Packard. So they head off on their mission and are able to enter the island via helicopter fleet successfully but once they start dropping bombs onto the territory, Kong does not take too kindly to that and destroys the fleet leaving the survivors stranded in the middle of the island and split up. Now they all must try to head to the rendezvous point where re enforcements will pick them up in two days time, but the journey will be filled with many obstacles such as never before seen creatures and even the Colonel who develops some ulterior motives of his. Will they be able to make it to the location in time and what exactly is Kong’s role in all of this, friend or foe?
Right off the bat this movie succeeds at delivering what people would want from a story like this. It’s an exciting monster mash with plenty of exciting creature stuff and some colorful characters to keep things entertaining when the monsters aren’t doing their thing. What I think the writers do really well in the beginning is building up the mysteriousness of the island and it introduces the characters and purpose of the mission efficiently and effectively. Once we get there it’s just a non stop survival story from there on out and while there are some moments that can drag here and there, I can’t say there was a part that bored me or was dull as I was invested in seeing what would happen next. It also manages to keep maintain a nice tonal balance as it knows the type of movie it is, yet it still is able to keep the focus on the events at hand and is able to have genuine stakes since the movie does the job of making sure most of the characters are interesting enough that we want to see what they’ll do next. There’s also a good bit of humor thrown in there with some one liners and character interactions and while it they don’t land every single time I did find them amusing and it made some characters, like the soldiers, entertaining to watch when the are onscreen. I also like how it continues a re occurring theme of the MonsterVerse in how these giant monsters are treated as Gods by some below (in this case a tribe of native of the island) and I really like that as it gives the monsters a sense of awe and fear where your not sure whether to be afraid of them or be amazed. Just one way this ties into the larger universe and I appreciated that while it does contain some set up for future films and it does do a lot of world building it still manages to stand on it’s own two feet nicely telling a complete story and not getting bogged down in the stuff I just mentioned. As for any major issues well like I said there are a couple of moments that drag and there times where things get a little too exposition heavy or when things that could have been easily inferred are spelled out loud. Still for what the story is going for it’s a really well told one that provides all the adventure I’d want from a movie like this.
One of the other stand out elements of the MonsterVerse is how each film looks and feels different from the other. Whereas Godzilla (2014) was something of a natural disaster movie that felt apocalyptic and grand in nature this is a lot more colorful and light hearted by comparison but still just as visually impressive. The colors pop out a lot more here (particularly the color orange) and it just makes for a really nice looking movie thanks to Larry Fong’s beautiful cinematography, with some great use of the locale they shot at and it captures the Vietnam War setting well with the production design and costumes. Jordan Vogt Roberts adds a lot of flair and style to the proceedings and he does a really good job of building up the excitement and then paying it off with some great action sequences that are coherent and mostly take place during meaning it is clear to see what is going on. There are many really fun ones, but my personal favorite has to be when Kong arrives and starts taking down the helicopters as it’s exciting and does a great job in showing just how powerful Kong is (same goes for the big finale too). Also the VFX work is once again great as I really like the different designs of the Skull Island creatures, such as the Skullcrawlers who are a creepy presence whenever they are onscreen, with only one scene where a green screen looked obvious (and it was not even that long). Of course the real MVP is Kong himself who is an impressive CGI creation with both Toby Kebbell (who does the facial expressions) and Terry Notary (who does the mo-cap movements) bringing him to life as they do a great job visually expressing Kong’s personality and emotions. He’s a much different type of monster compared to Godzilla as he shows himself to be a benevolent ruler of the island with the intent of keeping it safe from threats and I love how just as with the other interpretations of the character, deep down he does have a nice heart as shown by his connection to Mason Weaver. I also really liked the soundtrack for this movie as yes there are plenty of well known songs, but they actually fit in to the scenes and vibe of the movie and Henry Jackman’s score is intense and adds to all the events that happen onscreen.
Then we have the incredibly stacked cast of the feature and I honestly keep forgetting how many big names are in this. Really though that’s one of the joys of this movie, seeing great and recognizable actors interacting with one another as colorful characters. On that note this movie also has some of the better and more interesting human characters in this franchise and that definitely benefits this movie as they provide entertainment when the monsters aren’t around. Starting with Conrad as he is arguably the lead in this ensemble he’s fine as the tough guy with a tragic backstory who knows his way around things even if I do feel Tom Hiddleston’s natural charisma and likability elevate him. Not a great character but he’s serviceable and gets the job done while also getting one of the goofier action beats involving poison gas. As for Weaver she is essentially filling the “beauty” role to Kong’s “beast” and unfortunately she was one of least interesting parts of the movie. Brie Larson is fine in the role, but it’s the character who does not get much of interest to do and is just a strong willed person who doesn’t take crap from anyone… and there really isn’t much to her beyond that. Luckily there were plenty of other characters that I did find myself really liking more. One of them is Samuel L. Jackson as Colonel Packard, a character who is sort of like a Captain Ahab from Moby Dick type figure who grows a vengeance against Kong for killing his men in the helicopter attack and will stop at nothing to take him down. Even before he leaves for the mission, he shown to be yearning for a fight given how the Americans lost the Vietnam War and he sees it as his duty to make sure threats like Kong won’t exist in order to serve his countries. He’s definitely an interesting character and he provides more conflict the film that makes things investing and of course Jackson is having a great time going over the top and staring down Kong with flames a blazing around him. John Goodman is also fantastic as Randa who has been searching for Skull Island for so long and is out to prove to the world that these monsters do exist and are at the top of the food chain (although given the events he is partaking in he sure wishes it was nonsense). My favorite character of not just the movie but of the entire MonsterVerse though is Hank Marlow, John C. Reilly’s character, who has been stuck on the island for a very longtime and serves as an aid to the group. He serves as a bit of a comedic relief for the movie, getting some funny lines, but he also turns out to be a lot more, as he is sympathetic in his longing to go home, and Reilly gives a dynamic performance as he is able to convey the comedy, experience, and emotion the character has. A great character who gets a satisfying arc (with a heartfelt conclusion) and I would leave to see more of this character’s backstory on Skull Island explored as that is just full of potential. As for any other notable mentions well Randa’s assistant, Houstan Brooks (Corey Hawkins) forms a romance with fellow scientist, San Lin (Jing Tian), but that isn’t really developed and the latter is given barely anything to do. However I actually did really enjoy the soldiers on the group like Chapman (Toby Kebbell), Mills (Jason Mitchells), Slivko (Thomas Mann), and Cole (Shea Wingham) as they have a nice camaderie with one another and I found their interactions to be a good source of humor with Wingham especially getting some of the biggest laughs. It’s not an easy feat to balance such a huge cast, but I think this movie did a solid job in making most of them stand out and they were good company to be around with a couple of stand outs here and there.
Overall I still really enjoy Kong Skull Island as it is a highly entertaining monster mash that is just a blast to watch. It can be uneven at times, I wish it didn’t always feel the need to spell some things out, and there were some characters that I did not care for, but I think it succeeds at what it’s going for with it’s solid survival story, exciting spectacle, a cool vibe, strong craftsmanship, great effects work, and some really colorful and interesting characters that are fun to be around. A really strong outing for the MonserVerse and it’s honestly tough for me to decide between this and Godzilla (2014) for my favorite of the series as they both are trying to accomplish different things and do them very well and they are among my favorite giant monster movies in recent memory. Not much else to say except I am very excited to check out Godzilla vs. Kong so I can see these two titans of mass destruction duke it out and if it’s nearly as good as this then it should be a grand time!
Rating: B+
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