A film with the title Kong: Skull
Island doesn’t need much clarification.
You know it’s going to be a standard monster movie, and without watching
any of the trailers, or looking at the movie poster, you can infer that it will
be one of the many remakes of King Kong—and
Skull Island implies copious amounts
of bloodshed and casualties. Oddly, the movie poster does try to make this
movie appear like more of a bigger deal than it is; by ripping off the famous Apocalypse Now poster, it seems to
suggest that this monster movie is going to artier than you’d expect.
Regardless of the promotional elements, and the fact that this film is
inexplicably set in 1973 during the fallout of the Vietnam War, Kong: Skull Island plays out exactly as
I thought it would: a bunch of foolish
people arrive on an island claimed by the eponymous King Kong, who retaliates
by killing everyone real good.
All of that said, is the movie good enough to recommend? As far as B-movies go, this is endlessly
entertaining. Although it doesn’t
contain a single second of genuine terror, the visual effects are good, the
acting is as good as it needs to be, and the two hour runtime breezes
past. You have Tom Hiddleston, who is
introduced as a badass who can beat up two men at the same time, which is apparently the only qualifications needed to do battle with Kong. You have Brie Larson, who followed up her
Oscar-winning role in Room to co-star
as an anti-war photographer who stares off in the distance and snaps a
picture. You have John Goodman, who knew
about these monsters on Skull Island for years but nobody would give him the funds
to support this mission. You have John C. Reilly, who crash-landed on the
island during World War II and managed to survive this entire time. You have Samuel L. Jackson, who plays his
typical role as a hardened Colonel who is looking for revenge, and will shout
at everyone to get his way.
From the first fight sequence, which really shows you how outlandish
the action promises to be, Kong: Skull
Island hooked me in. It’s not a
great movie by any stretch, but it’s so enjoyable for those of us who like
watching especially stupid movies at times.
This will undoubtedly be broadcast within the next five years on the USA
Network, or on the Sy Fy Channel…and I’ll probably stop what I’m doing to
re-watch it.
Rating: B-
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