Kong: Skull Island Review

This rendition begins in 1973, when the world was coming into an era of extreme change and utter political chaos. The Vietnam War was coming to an end and Richard Nixon was still sitting in the Oval Office. Due to the new satellite initiatives of the US government and agency overseeing them, Landset, William Randa (John Goodman) sees a window of opportunity to get an expedition funded. As the senior official in a brother government organization called Monarch, he has been attempting to get an expedition underway to the South Pacific to explore the uncharted Skull Island. Similar to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, this area of the world's oceans had remained uncharted until the introduction of the new satellite system. With the assistance of a seasoned US military helicopter division led by Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L Jackson), an award-winning war photojournalist, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) and a former SAS Captain James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), Randa leads this odd crew of misfits on this unknown adventure. The apparent goal of this mission is to seek out new geological findings, potential medicinal discoveries and the discovery of new animal species, but as the team arrives at their destination, the ulterior motives of the Monarch are made clear. Randa and his crew are forced to disclose their priorities as the whole entourage is confronted by the beastly inhabitants of the island. They must figure out how to survive and determine how to confront these beasts who are led by none other than the giant gorilla, Kong.

  The quintessential primate villain is back, but in a new twist to his role as the anti-hero. Throughout the opening sequences of Skull Island, there are no surprises in his vicious attack on the invading human hoard. The king of the island hideaway does all he can to protect his territory. He is the defender of all inhabitants that are above ground, which include the local native human tribe.  Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) takes his central character down a slightly varied path as a visceral defender of this land of behemoth creatures. Even to the point of him being labeled a god and filling the role of savior to all creatures great and small. Even when he is under attack by Colonel Packard and his soldiers or the other-worldly ‘Skull-crushers,’ Kong manages to maintain his distinctive nature of patron-saint of Skull Island. Vogt-Roberts underlying homage to Apocolypse Now does add a nostalgic edge but does not change the familiar King Kong tone of the film.  The star-studded cast all play up to their cliched roles and are bit players in this monster focused adventure. Even though they are strong figures, very few prove to be anything other than a specific 'type' of character that has all been seen before. Tom Hiddleston seems too refined for the former SAS officer. He has the swagger attitude but lacks the look and presence needed to be convincing in the role. If anyone should be able to deliver on the role of the grizzled leader of the helicopter squadron, it should be Samuel L. Jackson. The main issue is that Jackson has come to lack originality in his performance of Colonel Packard. Brie Larson (Room) and John Goodman are left to play trivial characters that seem below their reputations within the acting community. The only highlight of the human players has to be the inclusion of John C. Reilly as the stranded WWII flying ace. He provides the needed levity to the science-fiction action and becomes the heart of the whole story. He is a shining light amongst the rest of the cast's relative perfunctory performances. It comes down to the realization that this is Kong’s film. It is predictable and formulaic, but it still proves to work for audiences. There is nothing new to add to the canon of King Kong films, but it provides a mindless escape to enjoy some light entertainment and popcorn at the flicks.