Kong: Skull Island

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drizzy5oh
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Kong: Skull Island

#1 Post by drizzy5oh » Tue Mar 07, 2017 9:38 pm

Very mediocre. This film was a different take on 'Kong'. Didn't feel any kind of attachment or sympathy for any of the characters, and not even for Kong himself - something that was so key to previous 'Kong' films. This was just a film that jumped from one set piece to the next. Pretty thin plot wise too, it was basically just a bunch of soldiers come across a giant ape who attacks them, before they try to escape. That opening scene was just rubbish too.

A big negative for me, there was no mystery around 'Kong', it only took a few seconds to see him in all his glory. Other scenes were just poorly written, and certain characters just fit stereotypes (e.g. the young black guy who makes most of the jokes, the long lost man in the jungle with a scraggly beard, Samuel L Jackson being Samuel L Jackson etc). Even the action scenes fell flat, there was nothing new or ground-breaking here and it just felt like a poor mash-up of numerous other man vs monster films.

On the positive side, the VFX were excellent at times, truly impressive (and not so much at other times!). Some beautiful cinematography too.

Completely forgettable.

3/10
Last edited by drizzy5oh on Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#2 Post by kevinknapman » Wed Mar 08, 2017 9:34 am

The Kings of Summer director Jordan Vogt-Roberts finally follows up his impressive 2013 coming of age debut film with something completely different.
The sporadically entertaining creature feature Kong Skull Island.
Set at the tail end of the Vietnam war which finds a group of scientists and military personnel travelling to a remote South Pacific island believing that they are on a geology expedition but are in reality on the hunt for proof of monsters. I doubt it would be a spoiler to say that they find exactly what they are looking for and more.

The film is at its best when it's exploring just that, resulting in some effective creature design and some exciting set pieces. Though the film peaks a little early when a multiple helicopter ride to the island is rudely and violently interrupted by the titular beast.
The 70s Vietnam setting is also well used and gives this a strong and different feel from most modern blockbusters. Which is helped no end by cinematographer Larry Fong's solid work.
Though the film does overdo the nods to Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness a little. From the shots of helicopters flying over jungles to a 70s rock soundtrack to John C Reilly's comic riff on Colonel Kurtz, as a US WW2 fighter pilot who's been stranded on the island for 30 years (named Marlow after the central character in Joseph Conrad's novel), to a boat trip up a river, the film's debt to Coppola's classic is hard to ignore. The film also throws in a bit of Hell in the Pacific too, so though it goes out of its way to offer something different from previous Kong movies, it still pilfers from other war movies to tell its story.

Where the film falters quite noticeably and disappointingly however, is in regard to its plot and characters.
A basic 'getting from A to B' plot is overpopulated with thinly sketched characters that its impossible to get emotionally involved with. Frankly they could probably cut out Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson's characters and you'd barely notice. If you asked me to describe their characters beyond guide/mercenary and war photographer I'd struggle to be honest. The fact that Hiddleston's character is called Conrad is about as deep as he gets. Several other excellent actors including John Goodman, Samuel L Jackson, Shea Whigham, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell and Thomas Mann do their best to breathe life into these one dimensional characters but with only moderate success. John C Reilly gets the closest to offering up a slightly more rounded character but then his mostly broad comic performance also feels like it's been lifted from a totally different movie anyway. Even Kong himself is a more straightforward creation, lacking the emotional weight of previous incarnations, despite the mocap efforts of Terry Notary and Toby Kebbell. Like Andy Serkis in King Kong, Kebbell plays a human character as well as Kong, but his Koba in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a much more interesting role than either.

For all its impressive CGI, striking visuals and effective set pieces, a wafer thin plot and one dimensional characters mean that Kong Skull Island never quite rises above the level of competent B movie. It certainly has enough fun moments to make it worth watching but it could have been so much more.

For those willing to stick around right to the very end, there is a post credits scene that hints at the possibility of more monsters to come. If they can come up with a better plot and characters we actually care about it may be worth looking forward to.
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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#3 Post by Florence1 » Wed Mar 08, 2017 10:51 am

I was trying to figure out how I felt about this film and it is indifferent. Like others have said the plot was weak and I never really cared much about the characters which was a shame as I did like the monsters and the cinematography. There was really no build up in the plot as Kong was found really early in the story. Worth a watch but quite forgettable. Shame! 6/10

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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#4 Post by superstar_kd » Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:47 pm

Didn't take too much concentration to follow, good film to just switch off and watch. Quite different to previous King Kong movies, not quite the substantial story line that you really attached to in the past. Got some giggles out of it too.
Graphics were very excellent in places.

Depends what you expected from the film, my expectations weren't that high so i wasn't disappointed.
I just wanted to forget about the world and be lightly entertained for a few hours and it worked wonders.

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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#5 Post by The Sparrow » Fri Mar 10, 2017 12:22 am

kevinknapman wrote:The Kings of Summer director Jordan Vogt-Roberts finally follows up his impressive 2013 coming of age debut film with something completely different.
The sporadically entertaining creature feature Kong Skull Island.
Set at the tail end of the Vietnam war which finds a group of scientists and military personnel travelling to a remote South Pacific island believing that they are on a geology expedition but are in reality on the hunt for proof of monsters. I doubt it would be a spoiler to say that they find exactly what they are looking for and more.

The film is at its best when it's exploring just that, resulting in some effective creature design and some exciting set pieces. Though the film peaks a little early when a multiple helicopter ride to the island is rudely and violently interrupted by the titular beast.
The 70s Vietnam setting is also well used and gives this a strong and different feel from most modern blockbusters. Which is helped no end by cinematographer Larry Fong's solid work.
Though the film does overdo the nods to Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness a little. From the shots of helicopters flying over jungles to a 70s rock soundtrack to John C Reilly's comic riff on Colonel Kurtz, as a US WW2 fighter pilot who's been stranded on the island for 30 years (named Marlow after the central character in Joseph Conrad's novel), to a boat trip up a river, the film's debt to Coppola's classic is hard to ignore. The film also throws in a bit of Hell in the Pacific too, so though it goes out of its way to offer something different from previous Kong movies, it still pilfers from other war movies to tell its story.

Where the film falters quite noticeably and disappointingly however, is in regard to its plot and characters.
A basic 'getting from A to B' plot is overpopulated with thinly sketched characters that its impossible to get emotionally involved with. Frankly they could probably cut out Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson's characters and you'd barely notice. If you asked me to describe their characters beyond guide/mercenary and war photographer I'd struggle to be honest. The fact that Hiddleston's character is called Conrad is about as deep as he gets. Several other excellent actors including John Goodman, Samuel L Jackson, Shea Whigham, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell and Thomas Mann do their best to breathe life into these one dimensional characters but with only moderate success. John C Reilly gets the closest to offering up a slightly more rounded character but then his mostly broad comic performance also feels like it's been lifted from a totally different movie anyway. Even Kong himself is a more straightforward creation, lacking the emotional weight of previous incarnations, despite the mocap efforts of Terry Notary and Toby Kebbell. Like Andy Serkis in King Kong, Kebbell plays a human character as well as Kong, but his Koba in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a much more interesting role than either.

For all its impressive CGI, striking visuals and effective set pieces, a wafer thin plot and one dimensional characters mean that Kong Skull Island never quite rises above the level of competent B movie. It certainly has enough fun moments to make it worth watching but it could have been so much more.

For those willing to stick around right to the very end, there is a post credits scene that hints at the possibility of more monsters to come. If they can come up with a better plot and characters we actually care about it may be worth looking forward to.
Damn. I missed the post credit scene because I urgently needed the loo. Grr
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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#6 Post by elladacas » Sat Mar 11, 2017 12:10 am

Damn!!! Gutted to hear that it wasn't all that and a bag of chips

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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#7 Post by McG » Sun Mar 12, 2017 6:23 pm

Local football derby today in Glasgow so thought this might be a good time to see Kong: Skull Island. Good choice!
I didn't have very high expectations but did rather enjoy it. At times I felt quite tense about what was coming next even though I didn't actually care about any of the characters. Film has a 12A rating but I would not take children to see this film as it's quite graphic in many parts
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with many folk ripped to bits by monsters or squashed under foot with some resulting blood splatter
One thing I did think was strange though very convenient
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the monsters really attacked one at time. It helped them that they only had to tackle one Monster at at time

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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#8 Post by yogi » Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:37 pm

What was the post credits scene?
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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#9 Post by kevinknapman » Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:03 pm

yogi wrote:What was the post credits scene?
Spoiler
Show
The Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson characters are in an interrogation room facing a one way mirror and the surviving Monarch scientists enter the room and tell them there are many more monsters out there. They are then shown photos and cave drawings that depict Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan. The film then ends with the familiar roar of Godzilla. This presumably acts as a set up for the forthcoming Godzilla: King of Monsters.
Though the film actually spoils this reveal in the end credits immediately before with a reference to the use of the Toho Co. characters
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Re: Kong: Skull Island

#10 Post by yogi » Sun Mar 12, 2017 9:18 pm

kevinknapman wrote:
yogi wrote:What was the post credits scene?
Spoiler
Show
The Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson characters are in an interrogation room facing a one way mirror and the surviving Monarch scientists enter the room and tell them there are many more monsters out there. They are then shown photos and cave drawings that depict Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan. The film then ends with the familiar roar of Godzilla. This presumably acts as a set up for the forthcoming Godzilla: King of Monsters.
Though the film actually spoils this reveal in the end credits immediately before with a reference to the use of the Toho Co. characters
Thank you for that.

And a good review as always, sporadically entertaining B movie about sums up my reaction to the film
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