Get the Skinny on Kong Skull Island!
King Kong is a character that has appeared in movies that span several decades. From a man in a suit, a stop motion model, to today’s CGI, there is something we find interesting and compelling about the big lug.
The opening of Kong makes you wonder if we are hearing the battle in the skies over the tallest building in the world. The opening scene sets the tone for the entire film and it was done perfectly. A nice surprise that the trailers don’t spoil.
Flash forward in time through the credits and the nuclear tests, the Presidents of the past tell a tale of 30 years in the time it takes to put all those big names on the screen. You feel like it really is 1973, the war is over, we lost, and the soldiers who are tasked with flying a bunch of geologists to Skull Island are bloodthirsty and want to show that we can win a war. As with most journeys to Skull Island, things do not go as planned. Kong greets the visitors with his fists and knocks all the helicopters out of the air.
Unlike most movies which re-tell the tale of capturing the big guy and carting him back to the U.S> like a giant freak show attraction, the whole thing takes place on the island and like Sam Jackson says in a very fitting statement. “Hold onto your butts” Kong does not foolishly fall for the girl but he does seem to have a respect, an admiration for her.
If this job is any indication Brie Larson will slip into the role of Carol Danvers with ease.
Speaking of the cast, John Goodman does not disappoint. He does not come off like a slimy devious oil magnate, but he is no angelic scientist either. Science is all about experimentation and finding out why things are the way they are, and Skull Island will give anyone an overload of new things to discover.
Kong is God.
As such, you should not mess with the balance of things on the island.
The visuals are great, the nuggets of things like the sacred chalk paintings of the natives are a neat touch. The story centers around the pilot from that opening scene, who has learned that Kong is God and he has learned how to survive on the island. He still wants to get off the island. A series of snacks and good old 1973 American Military tactics lead us to the climactic battle in which Kong reprises his scene of tearing open the jaw of that large snake, but in an awesome, much more gruesome way.
The story of the pilot, the Captain Ahab military Lt. Col. Packard, the anti-war photographer, the heroic ex SAS commando who always knows the right thing to do, and a slew of soldiers and scientists for snacking all make for a great, well thought out, beautifully shot, monster movie.
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