Remember the last monsterverse movie ? The one where the titular monster doesn’t show up until towards the end of the film ? Kong, thankfully, is not like that.
In the very opening scene of Kong: Skull Island, we all get an up close and personal look at what’s possibly one of the largest Kongs we’ve seen. A monster movie in full glory that understands what the audience came down to watch. A pristine landscape where mammoth sized is puny and gigantic creatures both peaceful and not duke it out in full glory.
It’s also filled with subtle subtext of historical America and commentary on current America. It’s the 1970’s and the Vietnam war is done. There’s Super 8 cameras, slide projectors and tape reels that show the extent of America’s technological capability. That aside, we get the classic era of 70’s rock reminiscent of the setting, music from The Stooges, Black Sabbath, and more than a few tracks from Creedence Clearwater that comes out not from jukeboxes but from a makeshift turntable. Taking notes from Apocalypse Now and what appears to be an easter egg from the Heart of Darkness, show that this film relates and takes influence from Heart of Darkness.
It’s not the main theme though, this is a movie of giant animals fighting each other and the human characters in the background are unfortunately in the way. It’s not the kind of film that quickly snaps back when a character is killed, and yes plenty are killed, the film decides to show battles in super slow motion so expect to enjoy carnage. More so when you start feeling for Kong. I have to stress that I appreciated that Kong was humanized as a title character that held a greater presence in the film than the main cast. This is a monster movie done right.
There’s a sense of palpable tension on Skull Island and seeing the humans try and remotely survive on it is enjoyable. Of course there are plenty of characters with little or no introduction and you’ll know who’ll get picked off, which ruins the fun. Speaking of fun, there’s even moments of humor as John C. Reilly brings some dark humor to the table that doesn’t make this film overly gritty or serious about itself. He laughs at death and when he does, there’s a certain charm to it. It becomes a question of not who but how long a character will live.
Another notable character in all of this is Samuel L Jackson who you basically see play himself. He plays a war torn hero who longs for the thrill of war. There’s even moments that show his unit suffering from PTSD from a war they didn’t want to fight but they’re now battling a tower sized gorilla. A fight they didn’t want to pick but follow their captain out of loyalty. Samuel L Jackson tries to bring himself on the same level as Kong by bringing Kong down. The way he brings some of his charisma is reminiscent of his work in other films, even bringing in a line that I could have sworn was from Jurassic Park. Kong plays on memories like this for the discerning monster film enthusiast.
However, what seemed as a surprise and a dissapointment is the rest of the main cast. I would have expected a little more from the likes of Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston who are used nothing more in their traditional “damsel saved by hard grit soldier with a past” coupling. Even John Goodman’s motivations aren’t fully discovered beyond delivering some hitting one liners throughout his role in the film.
The true stars of Skull Island are the inhabitants. We spend much time with Kong, see why he’s become the way he is. From trying to heal his hounds, avoid human contact and help animal creatures, he transitions from vicious animal to benevolent King. However a King can be angered and he makes short work of american choppers to trying to crush several lizard’s skulls. Stay after the credits for a gracious next highlight of the next monsterverse film.
Kong : Skull Island wants to remind us who the true monsters really are. Hint: They’re not from Skull Island.
