Into the "Heart of Darkness" with King Kong

Rating: 9/10 (10 March 2017)

2017's "Kong: Skull Island" was a much better film than I anticipated it to be. Perhaps my enjoyment of the film was strengthened by the fact that I didn't go into it with very many expectations - as I had shielded myself from the hype and plot details for months, ever since it was announced that the film was being produced.
Boy, am I glad that I cared little, at first, to read or see anything regarding this picture. (I honestly did not care to see the film, period, but my curiosity got the better of me and I'm glad that it did.)
What I did know, before going in, was that "Kong: Skull Island" was meant to reboot and reintroduce King Kong for the modern era - and set up a possible future crossover with "Godzilla" (2014); Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are behind the whole thing. (And rumors suggest that "Pacific Rim" may figure in there somewhere, too.) I'm 31, going on 32. I grew up on the original 1933 "King Kong," as well as the 1962 Japanese kaiju-eiga (Japanese monster movie) "King Kong vs. Godzilla," which saw America's Eighth Wonder of the World go head-to-head against Japan's mighty King of the Monsters. ("King Kong vs. Godzilla" is referenced here, too, in one brief eagle-eyed scene, just to show that the filmmakers had in fact done their homework.) Honestly, 2020 cannot get here fast enough for this monster movie fan.
But back to "Kong: Skull Island." Let me just say, this film did not disappoint in the slightest. I saw the film with a good friend of mine (which enhanced the experience for me on a deeply personal level). I was surprised to find the picture working from its opening moments, which begins in World War II before fast-forwarding to 1973 during the height of the Vietnam War era. Mixing the story of the original 1933 "King Kong" with elements of "Apocalypse Now" (1979) (and its source material, the novella "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad) and "Platoon" (1986), plus the South Korean monster movie "The Host" (2006) and the critically acclaimed Hayao Miyazaki Anime' "Princess Mononoke" (1997), "Kong: Skull Island" proves to be one of the more original films of its genre - since I did not know much of this beforehand.
The story involves a scientific expedition led by Bill Randa (John Goodman) and his young associate Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) to the titular Skull Island, an uncharted destination located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean that he compares to the Bermuda Triangle, and he has a small helicopter contingent of the U.S. Army led by Lieutenant Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) as a military escort. Leading them all into the jungle (the "Heart of Darkness"), is an expert hunter-tracker and former British S.A.S. soldier named James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston). Once on the island, they come to make an amazing discovery of a world that time forgot - and it is ruled by a monster-god who is the last of his kind, but the "King" of his domain...
This version of King Kong is a true force to be reckoned with. Brilliantly motion-captured by Terry Notary, this is a Kong that can think and displays ample cunning and intelligence, and attitude. Reimagined here as a fierce protector of his homeland (but whose role is not unchallenged by some of the other ungodly prehistoric beasts on Skull Island), it'll be very interesting to see him go toe-to-toe with Godzilla in three years. That should be an incredible monster battle re-match from when they first fought in 1962.
"Kong: Skull Island" is a film that had me on the edge of my seat pretty much the entire time that I was watching it. It's not perfect, but director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has crafted a wonderful first entry into a possible amazing franchise. Its screenplay is credited to three writers, one of whom is Max Borenstein, who was on-board 2014's "Godzilla" (and thereby sealing the behind-the-scenes connection to that film). Where the film may ultimately fall short, are in its characterizations. While Samuel L. Jackson and John C. Reilly (in a surprise cameo halfway through the film) give the most note-worthy performances, you do care about what happens to everyone, even lesser developed characters like Packard's straight-laced right-hand man Jack Chapman (an effective Toby Kebbell, who also motion-captured Kong's performance along with Terry Notary). My personal favorite character was U.S. Army pilot Slivko (Thomas Mann). Maybe it's because I like Thomas Mann a lot as an actor and that I've enjoyed everything I've seen him in (namely 2012's "Project X"), that I gravitated mostly toward his character here and hoped he made it out okay.
"Kong: Skull Island" is a thoroughly enjoyable monster film from start to finish. I had my fun with it. My lack of knowledge beforehand undoubtedly helped me like this movie a lot more than I thought I would, I think. I'm glad that I had the chance to see it yesterday with my friend.
P.S.: Its soundtrack features many songs from the Vietnam era (Black Sabbath's "Paranoid"!), and if you enjoy the music from that time, you'll probably like the movie a whole lot more.
P.S. #2: Stay through the lengthy end credits. You won't regret it. Serious.
9/10