Kong: Skull Island
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Talent: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly
Release Date: 9th March
It doesn’t take long to see Kong in Warner Bros’ latest reimagining of the genre-making monster monkey. Peter Jackson took a swing at the franchise some ten years ago: that film was a loving tribute to classic cinema but it took too long to get to the giant monkey.
Skull Island front-loads its spectacle and dials up the silly, resulting in a pastiche of ‘70s and ‘80s Vietnam pictures, Hanna-Barbara cartoons and professional wrestling. The film successfully sidesteps the pitfalls that trapped WB’s Godzilla refresh by sidelining the human characters in favour of goofs and spectacle. John C. Reilly’s lost and crazy WW2 pilot is the standout in a cast of cookie cutter adventurers and scientists.
What matters is the monster on monster battles, which are never short of thrilling. Kong even gets to show his softer side. This is a well-rounded, self-aware and action packed monster mash that’s everything it needs to be, no more, no less. Appealing.
Words – Luke Maxwell
