Genre: Action/Adventure/Monster
Rating: 3.5/5
Self Aware and Curious Entertainment
Okay everyone, be honest with yourselves. When you’re watching a movie called Kong: Skull Island, you’re not watching it to see some sort of generational drama Academy Award worthy masterpiece film. You’re watching it to see a huge CGI Gorilla, action and monsters. Keeping that in mind, this film delivers. It’s not great, but it’s actually pretty good. Now, was this film ever going to be Tom Hiddleston’s “audition for James Bond”? That’s really unlikely. He does well, but this just isn’t that kind of movie. It’s a mindlessly entertaining monster flick.
The plot of this movie, is a bit forced. The situation that brings all these characters to the “Skull Island” is very manufactured by plot magic-type events, but I get it. Skip a set-up that makes a lot of sense, just put these characters in the thick of things and the audience will be happy. This film does just that.
From their first encounter with King Kong, to their expedition on Skull Island where they encounter a variety of huge animals and make interesting historical discoveries, this film is actually a fun watch. There are some pretty funny bits, mostly involving the film making fun of itself. It’s very self-aware and that’s one of the best parts of the movie, and in my opinion, what makes it work so well. A lot of what happens is bizarre, very bizarre, and the characters agree, so it’s easy to stay immersed in this world. This island which has “escaped evolution” has some pretty interesting elements and keeps the audience curious to find out more.
I like this film a lot because there’s a huge monster who fights monsters, but no city is destroyed. I’m so tired of watching these movies to see big monsters fight, but now suddenly I have to care about innocent civilians being hurt. I don’t want them to be hurt, but the filmmakers are making me worry about that. I don’t want to! I want to watch the monsters fight! That’s what the movie is about!
Overall, this film is a fun watch. The CGI on Kong and the other creatures is really top notch. Some of the shots in this film are actually really good, even though a lot of the elements in the cinematography are CGI’d as well. Of all the recent monster movies I have seen, this is by far the best one. A star studded cast delivers pretty solid performances and the music isn’t half bad either. Again, this doesn’t offer much for a “masterpiece of filmmaking” but it’s fun to watch and that’s what it’s supposed to be. Would I watch it again? Yeah, I definitely will. Should you watch it? If you’re stuck between this and another monster movie, definitely pick Kong: Skull Island.
Tony King
Comments