Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Yeah. That was an unconventional encounter.
So here we have it, part two of the franchise reinvention of the beloved iconic creatures of cinema lore. After the 2014 redux of Godzilla was something of a tonal misstep, it's unsurprising to find this version of the King Kong legacy going all out blockbuster popcorner, and with that it succeeds - kinda.
Plot is wafer thin, bunch of humans from various professions rock up at the uncharted Skull Island, each with differing levels of interest as to what might be there. Of which they quickly find out is a whole heap of trouble - big trouble!
It's clear that the makers, fronted by director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, are trying to blend crowd pleasing mayhem with thoughtful observations of not only the period the pic is set (1973), but also of man's inherent propensity for stupidity. On the surface, the battles and creature feature carnage in general, are wholly entertaining, but it's sometimes just too ridiculous for its own good. Even worse is that it's shallow, with no real substance of note, particularly where the characters are concerned, rendering a very admirable cast as one note players in the monkey maze.
However, irritants aside, the pic is great fun, with enough excitement and quippy dialogue to make the time spent on Skull Island worthwhile. Be it man versus beasties and the alien terrain they traverse, a popcorn muncher it be. There's some sly humour within (Tricky Dicky Nixon going down), and the nods towards Coppola and Cameron et al are pleasing as punch. You may have to lower expectation levels to not let the problems it has drag you down, and for sure it's not hard to understand why a lot of folk hate it, but it's not a disaster, far from it.
One does hope, though, that the next instalment in this series goes up another couple of notches, for Kong, Zilla and the other monster gods deserve it. 7/10

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After a pleasant revisit to Godzilla (2014), now comes the time for Kong: Skull Island, the second installment in Warner Bros. and Legendary’s shared cinematic universe. I watched this film at its original release date and never saw it again. Not because I deeply disliked it or anything of that level, but I never felt a strong desire to rewatch it. I remember feeling indifferent towards the movie since it didn't really surprise me in any aspect. If there's one thing no one can complain about MonsterVerse, it's the jaw-dropping visuals that would evolve beyond the wildest expectations as years went by, but even these didn't blow me away completely in this film. Nevertheless, a small part of me had high hopes for this rewatch…
The screenplays of these first two movies are pretty similar concerning their narrative structure. Naturally, most of the runtime is spent with human characters who, in this case, wander around an uncharted land supposedly to perform geologic studies. This time, more monsters are displayed on-screen besides Kong and his main adversary, leading to more action sequences, most in broad daylight, which is a major plus. Basically, any viewer is able to follow every fight, even the ones that happen at night since they're beautifully shot by Larry Fong (DP), who uses fire as a lighting device to produce some wallpaper-worthy images. Kong looks incredible, and the monster fights are utterly riveting.
The monsters' visuals hold up strong for most of the runtime, except when humans get involved. Despite a fantastic scene between Kong and Samuel L. Jackson's character, some of the humans vs. monsters sequences are way too weird. Several feature too noticeable green screen, mixing humans and monsters in close proximity, which didn't work as seamlessly as intended. Still, viewers who complained about the lack of Godzilla in his own flick will be more satisfied not only with the increase of action sequences but also with the main monster's sightings. Kong is a visible, powerful presence throughout the film, and Jordan Vogt-Roberts used him right when the movie needed the big monkey the most.
However, the characters are so hollow, cliche, insignificant, and underdeveloped that the time spent with them is much heavier than in the previous film, which is by far, the biggest problem with this movie. It's true that Godzilla doesn't deliver a perfect balance between humans and monsters, but at least the former group feels like such. From clear motivations to well-defined personalities, the protagonists are quite compelling and captivating, making the third act reach greater levels of excitement and overall impact. The short period of monsters fighting each other is so efficient and feels so good that viewers left the theaters demanding more, but this feeling only arose due to the time spent with the human characters that offered bigger stakes to the last act.
Vogt-Roberts' film features a great cast, no doubt about it, but only John C. Reilly's character gets a decent arc. Therefore, despite spending more time with humans and seeing fewer monsters in Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island feels slower and lazier (so many unnecessary exposition dumps), ultimately transforming the higher amount of action less impactful. In addition to this, a couple of likable characters meet their end in an extremely underwhelming, embarrassingly illogical manner, which always leaves me a bit annoyed. I wish the screenwriters delved more into Kong's story through other methods besides generic exposition, but at least they keep the "balance of nature" overarching narrative from the cinematic universe.
Technically, I already applauded the visuals above, but I'll do it again. Kong truly is a beauty of a monster. Any wide shots of him standing up are outstanding, but the one with the sunset in the background is a gorgeous painting on the screen. Henry Jackman's score is definitely exciting, possessing a memorable Kong's theme music. Tom Hiddleston (Thor films, Avengers: Infinity War) and Brie Larson (Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame) make a good duo, but John C. Reilly (The Lobster, Tale of Tales) steals the spotlight. The editing (Richard Pearson) could be a lot better, but overall, it's a well-produced blockbuster, as expected.
Kong: Skull Island doesn't reach the level of the previous MonsterVerse's installment, but it's far from being a massive disappointment. Jordan Vogt-Roberts' sophomore movie follows a similar narrative structure to Godzilla, just with more action sequences (visible and in daylight), more monsters, and a visually stunning Kong. However, most of the runtime stills belong to the humans who, unfortunately, are nowhere near to being as compelling as in the previous film. Except for John C. Reilly's character, everyone else is incredibly hollow, annoyingly cliche, and significantly underdeveloped, making the time spent with them quite heavy. The excessive reliance on lazy exposition scenes also drags the movie, ultimately turning the monster battles less satisfying. Some narrative decisions concerning certain characters are questionable, to say the least, but overall, I believe it still offers what viewers are looking for. Huge praise to Larry Fong's beautiful cinematography and Henry Jackman's addictive score.
Rating: C+