"I spent thirty years trying to prove the truth: monsters exist"- Bill Randa.
It's been twelve years since we last saw everyone's favourite giant ape on the big screen. Now he's back, bigger and badder than ever. Kong: Skull Island serves as a reboot to the series, and establishes Kong in the shared MonsterVerse in which a crossover with Godzilla is planned for 2020. With the original King Kong being one of my favourite films, I'm always keen to see what's next for the series, especially after hearing the news of the upcoming crossover. As a blockbuster, this new entry ticks all the right boxes, but if you're expecting the same levels of greatness as seen back in 1933, then this really falls short of the mark.
Story-wise, the film shares a similar plot to the original, with a group of explorers arriving on Skull Island, encountering natives, as well as a few brushes with death via the various creatures they encounter. And, of course, there's a giant ape who is worshipped as a god. However, instead of a film crew and an actress who is captured by Kong for the majority of the film, we have a mixture of soldiers and scientists who are sent to prove the existence of monsters on Earth. Sure enough, after dropping explosives on his territory, Kong greets the team by destroying their helicopters and killing a significant number of the crew. With the team split up, they must head to the north of the island and signal for rescue, that is of course if the headstrong Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) can learn to get along with former serviceman James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and pacifistic photojournalist Mason Weaver (Brie Larson). With all manner of creatures after them, it's a race against time for the outnumbered humans, but Packard is intent on showing Kong that man is the superior species...
The film's biggest star is sadly one of the film's biggest problems. No, not Tom Hiddleston or Samuel L. Jackson, but rather Kong himself. Despite being larger than ever before (around 100ft tall) and taking on many opponents, Kong serves very little purpose to the story. He isn't given anything interesting to do, whereas he originally formed attachments to some of the human characters, particularly Ann Darrow in two of the other films. Whilst this film is a reboot and doesn't feature any previous characters, not having this connection and Kong not being central to the plot takes away what makes him a memorable and tragic character. There is a suggestion that Weaver "understands" Kong better than the other characters, almost acting as the Ann Darrow replacement, but it comes far too late in the film and still doesn't give Kong much of a purpose. I liked the appearance of Kong, however. He stands upright and is very agile, not to mention a powerful opponent for the other monsters. It is suggested that Kong is still growing in size, and hopefully he'll grow fast enough for his upcoming confrontation with Godzilla.
As seen in the trailer, and in the tradition of the other Kong films, there are other monsters roaming the island. Throughout the film, the humans encounter creatures such as a giant water buffalo, giant daddy longlegs and even a giant stick insect (although it's more of a log than a stick). Whilst these creatures are at least given there own individual set piece, I lost count of the amount of times they emerged after being camouflaged. Every creature appeared to be introduced in this manner, to the point where I was numb to seeing it. The biggest letdown, however, has to be the new monsters. Dubbed as "Skullcrawlers", these beasts move at lightning speed and are apparently so terrifying that the island natives built a giant wall to keep them away from their village. The design of the monsters appears all too familiar, with the most obvious connection being the monster from Cloverfield (2008). I found these monsters to be very underwhelming, especially given how the natives respond to them and them supposedly being a worthy adversary for Kong. Whilst the sequences in which the humans encounter them have their moments, I didn't believe for one second that these things posed any sort of threat to Kong, and so overall, they are a missed opportunity to give the film a unique, memorable monster.
As for the human characters, there really isn't much to say. None of them are really developed enough to care if they survive the ordeal. The actors, however, do all they can with what they are given. There are no bad performances to speak of, and the film would feel significantly duller without the inclusion of a quirky John C. Reilly. Reilly's character does tend to create a farcical tone to the whole thing (as if the film isn't strange enough already!), but he does get the funniest lines and moments in the film. Samuel L. Jackson also has plenty of charisma to keep things moving nicely. I will give special mention to Jackson and the script for including one of the funniest, unexpected quips ever. After attacking Kong, Weaver attempts to plea with the Colonel, arguing that "the world is better than this". The Colonel's response is a simple statement of "Bitch, please", completely shattering the seriousness of Weaver's argument. Tom Hiddlestone really has nothing to work with here, and so I didn't end up forming an attachment to his character, despite the fact he's the hero and being a fan of the actor. Everyone else is there to be eaten or squashed by the monsters, and nothing other than that.
I enjoyed the monster battles, though, and they are by far the main reason to see the film. They are brutal and not afraid to show the damage these massive beasts cause. The heft and weight of the monsters, despite being all CGI, was also well realised. The monsters aren't flipping around without care like you'd see with the robots in the Transformers films, but rather each movement feels heavy and powerful. The action scenes do include some pretty weird moments though, such a scene where a Skullcrawler eats a character holding a camera. The camera continues to flash repeatedly after being swallowed by the monsters, which is one of the oddest ways to try and create tension I think I've ever seen. There's also a moment where Kong uses a long boat chain as a weapon, something which bares an uncanny resemblance to Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat video games.
Whilst I wasn't expecting the film to come anywhere near to creating the same impact as the 1933 original film, Kong: Skull Island is still far less impressive than I had hoped it would be. The battles are fun and the performances have their merits, but the unremarkable cast of characters and lack of some fresh ideas makes for an underwhelming reboot. Kong is very impressive to look at, but the core tragic nature of the character is lost in a sea of lazy monster designs and a clunky script. With Kong set for a few rounds of fighting against the equally iconic Godzilla, here's hoping the giant ape returns to his former glory when he stars in what could be the biggest monster clash ever made. Until then, Kong: Skull Island will definitely need some time to grow on me.
The film's biggest star is sadly one of the film's biggest problems. No, not Tom Hiddleston or Samuel L. Jackson, but rather Kong himself. Despite being larger than ever before (around 100ft tall) and taking on many opponents, Kong serves very little purpose to the story. He isn't given anything interesting to do, whereas he originally formed attachments to some of the human characters, particularly Ann Darrow in two of the other films. Whilst this film is a reboot and doesn't feature any previous characters, not having this connection and Kong not being central to the plot takes away what makes him a memorable and tragic character. There is a suggestion that Weaver "understands" Kong better than the other characters, almost acting as the Ann Darrow replacement, but it comes far too late in the film and still doesn't give Kong much of a purpose. I liked the appearance of Kong, however. He stands upright and is very agile, not to mention a powerful opponent for the other monsters. It is suggested that Kong is still growing in size, and hopefully he'll grow fast enough for his upcoming confrontation with Godzilla.
As seen in the trailer, and in the tradition of the other Kong films, there are other monsters roaming the island. Throughout the film, the humans encounter creatures such as a giant water buffalo, giant daddy longlegs and even a giant stick insect (although it's more of a log than a stick). Whilst these creatures are at least given there own individual set piece, I lost count of the amount of times they emerged after being camouflaged. Every creature appeared to be introduced in this manner, to the point where I was numb to seeing it. The biggest letdown, however, has to be the new monsters. Dubbed as "Skullcrawlers", these beasts move at lightning speed and are apparently so terrifying that the island natives built a giant wall to keep them away from their village. The design of the monsters appears all too familiar, with the most obvious connection being the monster from Cloverfield (2008). I found these monsters to be very underwhelming, especially given how the natives respond to them and them supposedly being a worthy adversary for Kong. Whilst the sequences in which the humans encounter them have their moments, I didn't believe for one second that these things posed any sort of threat to Kong, and so overall, they are a missed opportunity to give the film a unique, memorable monster.
As for the human characters, there really isn't much to say. None of them are really developed enough to care if they survive the ordeal. The actors, however, do all they can with what they are given. There are no bad performances to speak of, and the film would feel significantly duller without the inclusion of a quirky John C. Reilly. Reilly's character does tend to create a farcical tone to the whole thing (as if the film isn't strange enough already!), but he does get the funniest lines and moments in the film. Samuel L. Jackson also has plenty of charisma to keep things moving nicely. I will give special mention to Jackson and the script for including one of the funniest, unexpected quips ever. After attacking Kong, Weaver attempts to plea with the Colonel, arguing that "the world is better than this". The Colonel's response is a simple statement of "Bitch, please", completely shattering the seriousness of Weaver's argument. Tom Hiddlestone really has nothing to work with here, and so I didn't end up forming an attachment to his character, despite the fact he's the hero and being a fan of the actor. Everyone else is there to be eaten or squashed by the monsters, and nothing other than that.I enjoyed the monster battles, though, and they are by far the main reason to see the film. They are brutal and not afraid to show the damage these massive beasts cause. The heft and weight of the monsters, despite being all CGI, was also well realised. The monsters aren't flipping around without care like you'd see with the robots in the Transformers films, but rather each movement feels heavy and powerful. The action scenes do include some pretty weird moments though, such a scene where a Skullcrawler eats a character holding a camera. The camera continues to flash repeatedly after being swallowed by the monsters, which is one of the oddest ways to try and create tension I think I've ever seen. There's also a moment where Kong uses a long boat chain as a weapon, something which bares an uncanny resemblance to Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat video games.
Whilst I wasn't expecting the film to come anywhere near to creating the same impact as the 1933 original film, Kong: Skull Island is still far less impressive than I had hoped it would be. The battles are fun and the performances have their merits, but the unremarkable cast of characters and lack of some fresh ideas makes for an underwhelming reboot. Kong is very impressive to look at, but the core tragic nature of the character is lost in a sea of lazy monster designs and a clunky script. With Kong set for a few rounds of fighting against the equally iconic Godzilla, here's hoping the giant ape returns to his former glory when he stars in what could be the biggest monster clash ever made. Until then, Kong: Skull Island will definitely need some time to grow on me.
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