Nerds That Geek Movie Review - 'Kong: Skull Island'

Written by Mike Cervantes

What can I say about King Kong? There is no single character that is more representative of American cinema than the great big ape, a fact that is made more interesting due to the fact that he’s only been in eight feature films, counting the two that used him as a Japanese “kaiju” import monster. Not to mention the fact that a somewhat loose interpretation of his copyright status has led nearly every one of those films to be produced by a different studio, from the duo of John Guillermin films from the early 80’s, to Peter Jackson’s wish-fulfillment project for Paramount.
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But this is a different Hollywood, and we know that any licensable movie property is destined for two things: remakes and in-universe sequels. This movie has only just been minted in theatres, and already Legendary has plans to move the franchise to Warner Bros., where he’ll do battle with the 2014 American film version of Godzilla.

So, for the sake of, I dunno, helping people get into that movie when it releases in two years, let’s look into what they did to King Kong in this movie.

It’s 1973. The very day before Nixon is about to drop the axe on Vietnam, and the representatives of a top secret government organization called “Monarch”; William Randa (John Goodman) and Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins), petition a senator to grant them an expedition to Skull Island, explicitly to provide evidence of giant monsters. They are given a military escort in the form of Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), ex-British special forces operative James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), and military photographer Mason Weaver (Brie Larson). This version of Skull Island is conveniently surrounded at all times by a ring of giant thunderclouds and Packard’s platoon is all too happy to clear the storm clouds and drop the ‘scientific’ depth charges. 

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Then Kong shows up, knocks all their planes out of the sky and kills twelve soldiers. The two sets of main characters, military and civilian, find themselves on separate parts of the island and need to head north where a military helicopter is scheduled to pick them up. Packard wastes no time in going full Captain L. Ahab, and begins a long, calculated plan to murder King Kong for revenge, while the civilian team, led by Conrad, runs across the inevitable band of natives, and a World War II era castaway by the name of Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly) who informs them that Kong is actually the good guy, protecting the island’s natives from a mass of bipedal Earth lizards called the “Earthwalkers.”
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While this film is more representative of one of the two ways someone can make a film about King Kong, the one that involves monsters battling monsters, the focus is more chiefly on the human actors, as they attempt to convey to the military their need to escape the island while not blowing up King Kong. In that respect, you get the feeling that there’s more of a movie in the minor details that get lost in the mist of...monstery-punchery-blowery-uppery action. You get the feeling that Hiddleston and Larson’s characters had grown together, but there’s nothing explicit about how their relationship got there. They don’t even kiss. Then, in the final moments of the film, they have a five-minute scene where they form a bond with Kong that seems sincere, but it is as brief as any other scene.

Generally everything else about the movie is fine. It runs at a good clip for an action film, with enough unique action to fill in the full 118 minutes; all the while providing its full sixteen person cast with enough humanity that you actually feel bad when they get stepped on, blown up or eaten. The monsters are all uniquely designed, and the CG for Kong and his kin is just convincing enough for you to appreciate every passing monster-fight. I couldn’t help but snicker at the fact that Kong seemed to be fighting a lot of big lizards in this one…as though he’s climbing the giant lizard UFC bracket.

Is Kong: Skull Island a good film though? On its own, I would say, absolutely. I spent the entirety of its two hours completely and thoroughly entertained. While it significantly strips away the classic film’s themes of humanity versus the wild, it exists as a window into an alternate reality where Kong truly gets to live up to his “King” moniker. It is certainly the Thor of what will soon be a rich American-made giant monster movieverse. 

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