A Good, Old-Fashioned Monster Movie

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2017)

"Kong: Skull Island" reimagines the origins of the title creature, the enormous ape made famous in the legendary 1933 RKO Radio Pictures release "King Kong"—the biggest classic monster of them all.
The new picture, a co-production of Legendary Entertainment and Tencent Pictures released by Warner Brothers, takes place not during the Depression or in the present day but in 1973, during the waning days of the Vietnam War: A crack US Army helicopter squadron is rerouted from their rotation stateside to accompany a government operative and his team of explorers to an mysteriously uncharted island in the South Pacific where, it is whispered, monsters still roam the earth.
From that point on, the plot becomes too complicated and convoluted to bear simple description, let alone belief. Suffice to say that "Kong: Skull Island" gives us a lot so swallow during its 118-minute running time, and does not withstand a great deal of scrutiny. Every time the picture slows down long enough to allow the viewer an opportunity to think, "Hey, wait a minute" another thunderous action sequence begins and the implausibility of the screenplay goes out the window. But credibility issues aside, the picture goes down fairly easily, thanks largely to an outstanding cast.
The commander of the Army helicopter squadron is played by the wonderful Samuel L. Jackson in the inimitable slow-burn, short-fused style familiar to fans of his appearances in the films of director Quentin Tarantino. Plainly Jackson is having the time of his life in his role, and his relish, enthusiasm, and plain enjoyment are infectious—the audience has just as much fun watching him as Jackson has playing the part.
The government operative responsible for diverting Jackson's squadron to the island is played in a subdued, thoughtful, and slightly unhinged and obsessive style by John Goodman. Although known primarily for his comic roles, Goodman provides a hint of tragedy to this picture: His character is revealed to have been the solitary survivor of the sinking of a US-owned vessel. The ship was presumed to have been the casualty of other, more natural forces. But Goodman eventually reveals the sinking was actually the result of an attack bywell, something big, and unseen on Earth for millions of years. Looking into his slightly unfocused eyes, we begin to believe him.
As a former British Special Forces officer turned mercenary and now working for Goodman as a tracker, Tom Hiddleston adds a note of clipped and efficient authority to the picture. Although Hiddleston gained wide public attention in his recurring role as the villainous Loki in the popular film adaptations of Marvel's "Thor" and "Avengers" line of comics, the actor has also gained critical recognition in pictures as diverse as Steven Spielberg's 2011 adaptation of the novel and play "War Horse" and in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris." And as an anti-war photojournalist working to expose the Skull Island mission as a corrupt military operation, last year's Academy Award-winning actress Brie Larson contributes a little gravity to a role which might in other hands have become jokey or cartoonish. While Larson appears in most of the island scenes, her role contains relatively little dialogue. But the actress displays a laconic aura of single-minded competence in a surprisingly unglamorous role. This member of the expedition is decidedly not a damsel in distress—rather, she gives even the US Army members of the expedition a run for their money, with a few lessons in fortitude in the bargain.
The versatile and dependable character actor John C. Reilly is also on hand, as an agreeably loopy Army Air Corps pilot shot down in 1944 and stranded Robinson Crusoe-style on Skull Island for the past three decades. In a role originally intended for Michael Keaton, Reilly acts as a sort of tour guide for the others, introducing to the members of the exploration mission the various sights, customs, and monstrous inhabitants of the isolated island.
As noted, the "oh, come on" factor of "Kong: Skull Island" is high. The screenplay, credited to Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connolly, seems to have been a result of marathon caffeine-fueled sessions with the writers trying to top each other in proposing outlandish notions and preposterous situations, an effort matched perfectly by Jordan Vogt-Roberts frenetic, let's-cover-our-tracks style of direction. But to be fair, the audience does not attend a movie such as "Kong: Skull Island" with an expectation of credibility.
Rather, a movie such as this succeeds of fails on its verisimilitude, its special effects. And in "Kong: Skull Island" those effects are impressive and sometimes breathtaking, if never exactly overwhelming or frightening. The scenes of Kong taking on his various opponents—from the gigantic subterranean Skullcrawlers, to vicious flying pterosaurs, to a squadron of US Army helicopters and loads of napalm—are alone worth the price of admission. And in close-up shots, with the giant ape roaring from the screen, the viewer is not only able to inspect the orthodonture of the monster, but also nearly feel his hot breath blowing in their faces, even without the aid of 3-D glasses.
In the original 1933 "King Kong," the title beast was described as having a size of between forty and fifty feet. In this picture, the ape is considerably larger, in plain anticipation of Kong being matched in future sequels with various other familiar monsters.
To be honest, "Kong: Skull Island" is likely not going to win any major awards for acting, writing, or direction. Movie viewers in the mood for an artistic triumph or a cathartic emotional journey are advised to look elsewhere.
But if you're looking for a raucous good time, a place to scratch your itch for a good, old fashioned monster flick, or even in the mood for a visit with a treasured—and very, very large—old friend, "Kong: Skull Island" is the movie for you.