Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John C. Reilly, Brie Larson, Shea Wigham, John Ortiz
Hollywood revisits the remote island where Kong and an assortment of giant prehistoric animals only wish to fight among themselves for island superiority. They have their own natural order of things, with Kong as the head honcho and the rest scrambling to usurp him. The last thing they desire is for humans to arrive with their automatic weapons and bombs to wreak havoc, but they do just that in Kong: Skull Island, which is a fun B-movie headed by an A-list cast. We've seen these types of movies before on Saturday afternoons growing up, but here it is revisited with some substance and some political satire peppered in at key moments.
The opening line uttered by John Goodman draws a knowing laugh. I won't spoil it for you, but it is a telling example of the aforementioned satire. Goodman and his assistant want money and resources to explore Skull Island, which remains unknown to most of the civilized world. The film takes place in 1973 in the days of the U.S. officially beginning its withdrawal from Vietnam. This doesn't make as many people happy in this film as one would think, especially army lifers such as Col. Packard (Jackson), who is put in charge of the mission to Skull Island and is upset that there isn't any more war to fight. Then again, he isn't expecting to see an ape as tall as a skyscraper either.
Along for the ride are Conrad (Hiddleston), a mercenary former British soldier; Mason Weaver (Larson), a very attractive photojournalist, and an assortment of soldiers itching to go on one more mission before returning to the uncertainty of peacetime. Upon arrival on the island, which includes detonating bombs ostensibly for geological purposes, the battalion encounters the mighty, gigantic Kong, who naturally doesn't take kindly to these visitors whose first instinct is to shoot at him,
Many die. Some will live. Along the way, the group of survivors encounters an American pilot (Reilly) marooned on the island since his plane was shot down late during World War II. He is an avid Cubs fan, asking excitedly if the Cubs finally won the World Series. Sadly, he would have to wait until 2016 to witness that, assuming he was even still alive by then. Reilly is the most interesting human in the movie. He has been separated from his wife and child for almost thirty years, so we hope he is at least one of the survivors who gets to go home. The other characters are not exactly fleshed out. Even so, the actors are pros and do their best to make something of them,
The humans escape one giant monster after another, One group led by Jackson wants to destroy Kong while the group led by Hiddleston wants to save him. Kong himself learns, in a way, to show sympathy and some love for the humans that help him. The visual effects do not appear to be pure CGI, so some of the action is believable. Laws of physics aren't bent or broken in the action scenes. This is refreshing in these days of CGI overload that assaults your senses relentlessly. Kong: Skull Island is like a throwback to a kinder, gentler science fiction film. The resolution of Reilly's fate at the film's end shows the movie has a heart too. How many monster movies can you say that about?
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