Kong: Skull Island (2017) --- "Vietnam Soldiers Travel To A Mysterious Island And Discover A Giant Ape."

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Plot Summary 

A diverse team of scientists, soldiers, and adventurers unite to explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific, as dangerous as it is beautiful. Cut off from everything they know, the team ventures into the domain of the mighty Kong, igniting the ultimate battle between man and nature. As their mission of discovery becomes one of survival, they must fight to escape a primal Eden in which humanity does not belong. (1)

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Review 

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Hello Movie Buffs!

     Kong: Skull Island is a greatly entertaining monster movie that was well-directed, well-written and well-acted, a film full of ideas from start to finish. Its action set- pieces are utterly impressive, the CGI is fantastic, and the story is genuinely interesting throughout; something that I did not expect going in.

     This is by far the greatest achievement in film for a Kong centered movie. The biggest issue
with Godzilla was that there just wasn't enough Godzilla but fortunately Skull Island rectifies that exact problem and makes Kong as big a character in the film as any of the humans. He is frequently appearing on screen at regular intervals and plays a genuine role in the story.

     The story is one aspect of the film that surprised me most. Kong: Skull Island is a fast- paced and absolutely jam-packed action movie that actually gets better and better as it moves along. Although this story does not follow the classic storyline that made both the 1933 and 2005 films, Skull Island does a fantastic job at bringing the character to a different time period, thus making a new and exciting storyline. Above all, setting the film during the end of the Vietnam War was original and made for a fascinating new viewpoint; we see through the lens of the anti-Vietnam War sentiment of the 1970s. This created an impressive layer of depth to the story and portrays Kong as a more interesting and emotionally resonant stand alone character.

     The characters have some very layered and interesting back stories. Samuel L. Jackson's character - a stubborn, war-mongering colonel taken from the Vietnam War he loved fighting in - is hugely interesting to watch, which at times added a far darker and more serious edge to the story. There is a whole host of other characters that bring some impressive depth to the story, making the film's large ensemble cast work well throughout the mo film.

     As stated before, Kong: Skull Island is a very exciting monster movie that's full of action throughout, and this is due to three reasons. One it is the amazing visual parallels drawn with Vietnam War films, such as Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and Full Metal Jacket. Two is the stunning CGI that allows Kong to tower over the screen in comparison to the humans. And three is creating an alarming, genuinely terrifying, and worthy enemy for Kong, aside from the humans of course.

     On another note, while Kong: Skull Island is top-quality, it still isn't entirely perfect. For one, while the film is brimming with ideas and interesting characters throughout, it does cause the film to be viewed as a little crowded at times. The lack of a main character amidst the huge ensemble cast means it's definitely not as streamlined as I would have liked. Another is the parallels with Vietnam, and although this is unique and great to see in a movie it can be a little overbearing at times. Now, this does die down, later on, it was a predictable a first.

     Overall, Kong: Skull Island, is an impressively quick and innovative film but it does go a little too far with everything it does. With an enormous main cast and a story that's so jam-packed, I felt like things could have been carried out a little smoother than the finished product. Perhaps if there was more of a lead character to the story then it would have worked better. Now some say the leads were Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson, or John Goodman and Samuel L. Jackson, but in retrospect the lead was never actually stated and if it was, well I guess I missed. My suggestion, it’s  more of a blockbuster meant to fill seats and not exactly meant to win awards, take it for what it is.

"This planet doesn't belong to us. Ancient species owned this earth long before mankind. I spent 30 years trying to prove the truth: monsters exist."

- Bill Randa

Final Vote

Worth Seeing:  3.8 of 5 stars
Worth Buying:  3 of 5 stars

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Movies Similar

Battleship (2012)

Godzilla (2014)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park: Lost World (1997)

Jurassic Park 3 (2001)

Jurassic World (2015)

King Kong (1933)

King Kong (2005)

Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Pacific Rim (2013)

Seventh Son (2014)

Cast & Crew 

Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts.

 

Writing Credits: (Screenplay) Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connolly. 

(Story by) John Gatins.

 

Produced by 

     Debbi Bossi              ---    associate producer

     Edward Cheng         ---    executive producer

     Jennifer Conroy      ---    co-producer

     Alex Garcia              ---    producer

     Jon Jashni               ---    producer

     Eric McLeod            ---    executive producer

     Mary Parent            ---    producer

     Tom C. Peitzman    ---    co-producer

     Nicholas Simon      ---    line producer: Vietnam

     Thomas Tull            ---    producer

 

Cast:

Tom Hiddleston --- James Conrad

Samuel L. Jackson --- Preston Packard

Brie Larson --- Mason Weaver

John C. Reilly --- Hank Marlow

John Goodman --- Bill Randa

Corey Hawkins --- Houston Brooks

John Ortiz --- Victor Nieves

Tian Jing --- San

Toby Kebbell --- Jack Chapman / Kong

Jason Mitchell --- Mills

Shea Whigham --- Cole

Thomas Mann --- Slivko

Eugene Cordero --- Reles

Marc Evan Jackson --- Landsat Steve

Will Brittain --- Young Marlow / Marlow's Son

Miyavi --- Gunpei Ikari

Richard Jenkins --- Senator Willis

Allyn Rachel --- Secretary O'Brien

Robert Taylor --- Athena Captain

James M. Connor --- General Ward (voice)

Thomas Middleditch --- Jerry (voice)

Beth Kennedy --- Marlow's Wife

Terry Notary --- Kong