King Kong is my new favorite bad ass. In Kong: Skull Island, the great ape has never had more imposing swagger. He's massive, towering over any previous screen incarnations of the legendary beast. This Kong exists in the same cinematic universe as the decidedly less entertaining Godzilla - where the plan is to eventually "vs" these two in the same film. I'd honestly never heard of director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer), so I had some trepidations (sorry, dude). But damn! This movie is the real deal! My inner nine-year-old, steadfastly raised on a diet of Gorgo and War of the Gargantuas, was in hog heaven.
Imagine a fusion of Pacific Rim, Predator, Apocalypse Now and The Land That Time Forgot, and you've got a pretty good idea of what you're in for - then plant this thing firmly in the 1970s and let it rage. John Goodman is a crypto-scientist explorer intent on proving a hollow-earth theory about as-yet undiscovered species hidden from the modern world. He talks his way onto a Landsat survey mission with some Colonel Kilgore level air support provided by Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson). Packard is the kind of soldier who starts twitching at the prospect of returning home. He needs to be on a mission. He needs to be in the thicket - he gets his wish. They're joined by Tom Hiddleston as a former British Intelligence special ops tracker, and soon-to-be Captain Marvel Brie Larson as a combat photographer looking for that "something" that will take her to the next level. It's a corny gang of incredibly pulpy characters, and that's exactly why it works. There's that same old fashioned larger-than-life charm that worked in the first Independence Day, of a diverse paperback rack group of disparate characters thrown into the unimaginable.
And WOW - do Vogt-Roberts and cinematographer Larry Fong (Batman v Superman) know how to render the unimaginable. Skull Island is a character itself. The filmmakers do a frankly jaw-dropping job of depicting the island as a completely primordial and utterly terrifying environment full of denizens that view you as food. The effects work here is off the charts, both in design and execution. Kong is introduced quickly, and in impressive fashion as he lays waste to Packard's 'Nam-era gunships, stranding everyone in the most horrific of all environments. I really don't want to spoil the glee that comes with discovering how messed up Skull Island and its bestiary is, but it's truly awesome. When a colossal water buffalo looms up out of a river, its muzzle is surrounded by swarming flies. Those kind of tiny details add a level of reality to the impossible, oversized insanity of the film.
A real standout for me is John C. Reilly, as a Hell in the Pacific era pilot, who crash-landed on the island decades ago. He's an eccentric, who's definitely there to provide the funny, but who also has some of the most poignant moments in the film. I just loved him here.
But it's all about Kong. Skull Island is his world, and like some colossal Charles Bronson, he surveys his dominion, enforcing his own code, a being of mystery, rage, and even wonder. If you're hungry for a serious dose of old school adventure on a massive scale, do yourself a favor and seek out Kong on the biggest screen you can find. This beast is the real deal.
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