Kong: Skull Island
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Toby Kebbell, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Richard Jenkins
Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
2017
Times Seen:
Tim: 1
Summary: An expedition travels to the mysterious Skull Island where they soon find themselves face-to-face with an enormous creature.
Review:
Tim: It's 2017- do we really need another King King movie? After watching Kong: Skull Island, the answer is yes. I had great fun with this take on the classic monster movie. It features a strong cast, great visuals, and presents a really fun adventure. We need more of these kinds of movies.
The greatest strength here is that this film presents a compelling and exciting adventure. A large expedition visits the mysterious, deadly Skull Island. There, they encounter a whole host of enormous creatures. This journey is a fun one. It's exciting, unexpected. There's danger and death around every corner. It was quite simply an entertaining viewing experience. I wanted the expedition to survive. It always surprises me that we don't get more authentic adventure movies. They can be such fun. Kong: Skull Island taps into this.
It helps immensely that the cast is pretty incredible. The cast really made the movie. Tom Hiddleston is really good in the lead role. He's already proven he makes a fantastic villain, so it was fun seeing him here as the hero. I hope he gets more roles like this. Samuel L. Jackson is always so fun in films like this. He has a smaller supporting role, but he makes an impact on the film. Brie Larson was a good addition to the cast. She felt a little out of place and not completely comfortable, but she's a solid actress. She has a future making movies like this, so the experience she gained was likely invaluable. John C. Reilly provided some nice comic relief. He's such a great actor and I enjoyed his odd role here. I loved the casting of John Goodman- he's a perennially underrated actor. He makes the movie better with every scene he's in. I actually didn't hate Toby Kebbell here, which was a big win for him. Shea Whigham adds a strong supporting role (I always like him) and it was fun seeing Thomas Mann here, too. Richard Jenkins was great in a too-small role. Truly, a film like this usually doesn't get such an incredible cast. It certainly benefits from so much talent.
The visuals were impressive here. Kong certainly looks incredible, but all the fantastic creatures look impressive. This movie is greatly helped because it had the budget to make Skull Island and its inhabitants look as realistic as possible. I also loved the cinematography here. There are some truly incredible moments. One of the most memorable is the silhouette of Kong against the setting sun. It's such a fantastic, memorable image. There were quite a few visuals treats in this film- the use of slow motion helped as well. The action sequences are exciting and intense. This all contributes to a really enjoyable viewing experience.
This is the second film in the budding MonsterVerse. The first was 2014's Godzilla (which I probably liked more than I should have). With this film, the MonsterVerse all of a sudden becomes something truly exciting. Two movies in, both of them really good- the DCEU certainly can't boast that, two films in. We have the sequel to Godzilla before the big mashup between Godzilla and Kong. I'm pretty surprised to be anticipating future movies as much as I am. Kong: Skull Island delivers an entertaining, fun time. I really enjoyed this film.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5
If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Godzilla, The Avengers