Pacific Rim meets Jurassic Park with monstrous adrenaline.

Rating: 7/10 (9 March 2017)

This will probably become my biggest guilty pleasure of 2017. Although I do believe Peter Jackson's King Kong is one of the few great remakes that have been made, a part of me always wished they would just skip the first hour on the boat and spend the rest of the movie exploring Kong's world called Skull Island. Rising director Jordan Vogt-Roberts definitely delivers on that. He presents an ecosystem of giant creatures that stands apart visually from other monster movies like Jurassic Park. And it shows Kong less as a misunderstood monster but more as protective figure in this new mythology.
When the director described this new King Kong as a god he really wasn't under-selling it. Kong has never been more intimidated and powerful then ever. He is re-imagined to be more then just an animal and monster but as this powerful force of nature that is both ferocious and benevolent. He felt like a combination of the Marvel's Hulk and Planet of the Apes's Caesar. By removing the beauty and the beast story, Kong is explored more as a character with almost sentient qualities and we see what his existence is like on the island. His best moments range from him taking out helicopters with his fists during his big reveal to when he is just sitting around and killing time with stunning visual effects that rival what was done in the 2005 remake. And the island itself is presented as a character with always having unique ways to reveal the other creatures that hide within Kong's kingdom in suspenseful and surprising ways. The creatures are both beautiful and scary as they feel like they're one with the landscapes. I could watch a whole nature documentary on this fictional world. The most terrifying out of all of them are the Skullcrawlers. If Kong is a god then the Skullcrawlers are the island's demons. They felt like a combination of the creatures from Jurassic Park, Aliens and Bong Joon Ho's The Host. They really made up this great threat to both the humans and the island in new and surprising ways.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts uses a fresh way to show the action and visuals in this big-budget movie. While Gareth Edwards's visual style in Godzilla felt similar to Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan, Vogt-Roberts is closer to that of Zack Snyder, Edgar Wright and Guillermo Del Torro. The action and editing is very energetic and quick with warm vibrant, colour tones. When he shoots action you feel like you are suddenly thrown into the middle of it with amazing slow-motion shots to help you process the destruction and detail you are seeing. This movie has some of the most gorgeous cinematography I have seen in a monster film thanks to DP Larry Fong. The beautiful and exotic real-like locations give Skull Island an extra sense of depth and believability. The Vietnam locations like a Ninh Binh and Hao Long Bay make me believe they could actually hide 100-foot creatures. The monster fights are very brutal and feel very much like a Ray Harryhausen movie where there are long shots that stay on the titanic creatures brawling with each other. The final battle is unique enough to stand apart from the dinosaur fight in 2005 as it shows Kong's intelligence being used in battle in order to challenge the Skullcrawler's agile and nimble movements. The end of that fight makes breaking a T.Rex's jaw look tame by comparison.
What unfortunately holds this movie back from being great is the human narrative. I wouldn't say it's terrible but there is nothing special either. The list of big-name actors injects some personality into it but what you get with most of the characters is just what's on the surface and nothing more. Tom Hiddleston is similar to Aaron-Taylor Johnson in Godzilla where he was just there as a plot device to get from point A to B. Sam Jackson's military leader is uniquely written and has justifiable reasons for wanting to kill Kong but still feels like other roles he has played before. Corey Hawkins and Jing Tian only really exist to setup universe building. Out of all the human characters John C. Reily was the only one I was truly invested in and felt like he matched the movie's stylized surreal tone. Got a kooky Tom Hanks Cast Away vibe from him. His crazy personality and backstory is what kept me going through the scenes without any monsters. His scenes of exposition could have been handled poorly but work when he is delivering them with some well-time jokes. Brie Larson's role in this is not going to measure up to her Oscar-winning Room performance but at least she isn't portrayed as a useless damsel like in most monster movies. I did also enjoy the dynamic between Jason Mitchell and Shea Whigham surprisingly. In Godzilla, the movie felt subtle about giant monsters rising from the earth being served as a metaphor for our over-reliance on nuclear power and lack of control on nature. Skull Island's thematic messaging about military power invading native lands like Vietnam felt more forced and didn't leave as much of an impact on.
Overall, I would say that Peter Jackson's remake has a stronger emotional story with more depth but Vogt-Roberts delivers a King Kong movie that is simple, and more unique. Similar to Pacific Rim, the humans serve more as a way for us to explore this world of giant monsters then be emotional centre piece. The movie knows when to inject fun, humour and energy when it needs to and doesn't become too reliant on these characters that can't carry the movie without having a giant monster on screen. I definitely look forward to seeing this new Kong take on Godzilla in 2019. Also I got child-like excitement when I saw the after-credits scene for Godzilla: King of the Monsters.