Kong Skull Island

Kong: Skull Island, released in 2017, starred Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman, Bie Larson, John C Reilly, and Tom Hiddleston. This film isn't a sequel to King Kong, but is its separate thing. This film pulls references and inspiration from Apocalypse Now, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke. This film strips away the "Beauty and the Beast" story that was present in past versions of King Kong, and creates a war movie feel.

This is the only King Kong movie so far that I have seen in the theater, I went for my birthday with my friend Tom in Eau Claire WI. My initial thought was, "this is a monster movie done right, the perfect amount of action, humour, and the perfect amount of time for the monster to be on the screen". Like Peter Jackson's version, this film very heavily relies on cgi effects, and I will say that this film is a good use of the digital effects. One thing that I don't like is slow motion fight scenes, I always find that annoying, and there are elements of that in this film, but overall this is a great looking film. It was filmed in Vietnam, Australia, and Hawaii, and the sets were aboslutely beautiful. The colour tones also had a beautiful quality to it as well making it feel like it is a film from the 1973, which is when it took place, at the end of the Vietnam War. The music also helped to set the mood and the Apocalypse Now feel to the film, with songs by Credence Clear Water Revival, and Black Sabbath, among many other great bands.

This film is not only a fun action packed monster film, but with the setting in the 1970s and the war theme the film shows the destructive tendencies of humans, and how they destroy anything unknown to them. The character of Colonel Packard, played by Samuel L Jackson, plays a soldier whose entire existence is war, and he is not ready for the war to end. Jackson played that character so well, that he was easy to hate. Packard after losing much of his squad to Kong, has a personal vendetta against him, and loses his grip on sanity as he becomes obsessed with revenge. Kong himself is 100' tall and is a god on the island. The character design is done really well, giving him that monstrous godlike quality. For being CGI the character design of Kong and the skull crawlers was really well done.

The casting was amazing, all of the characters played their roles really well, especially Brie Larson (who plays the role of Mason Weaver, and anti war photographer), she is a strong female lead, who brings an element of sensitivity, and her and Kong have some really sentimental scenes that help to humanize how the audience sees Kong. Samuel L Jackson, was another highlight, in his skill at playing the human villain, whose lost his touch with reality. He plays a character that is very hate-able, and he does it really well. And John C Rielly as Hank Marlow, a WW2 fighter pilot who crashed on the island in WW2 and has been living with the natives ever since then. He brings a great element of humour, but not in a way that ruins the film, but in a way that enhances the film. His role is perfect, he lightens the mood, but is also the voice of reason, and helps the characters to see how important Kong is to the island. His character is more than comic relief, he is also complex and interesting.

This film did really well at the box office, and received generally favourable reviews. Really overall this is a really great film. I have very little negative to say about it really, it looks beautiful, it is well cast, it has a great tone that works really well, the pacing is fast, and the action is perfectly done. This film also sets up the sequel King Kong vs Godzilla, which should be released in march of 2020.

Would I recommend this film? Yes, 100% I highly recommend it. This is one of my favourite newer monster films. This is one that I definitely think is a must see film, this in my opinion is a monster film done right, and one of the best ones in years. If you haven't already seen it, I highly highly recommend finding a copy and watching it.