Thoughts on ‘Kong: Skull Island’ (2017)

After the Vietnam War in a remote South Pacific island, a team of explorers attempted to discover the island’s geology by dropping bombs. The island’s resident, a giant ape named Kong, halted their exploration. Is Kong a menace to the world to be stopped at all costs? Is this just the beginning?

Thoughts:

As with the previous movie I watched, I came in blind. I did not bother to do some digging on what this movie is about other than this is a remake of the classic King Kong movies. So, I will discuss it as it is.

As a science fiction fan, I expected science to be at least plausible. Well, it is not. The “science” presented here is Hollow Earth, which is, eh? I wanted to know why Kong got so big and why he was on an island surrounded by electrical storms. But no scientific “explanation” was given, so I considered this fantasy instead.

I did not sympathize with any human characters, except for World War 2 pilot Hank Marlow, played by John C. Reilly, who was stranded on the island. His story was resolved in a mid-credits extra scene. The cast includes Tom Hiddleston playing the tracker James Conrad and Brie Larson playing photojournalist Mason Weaver. Their backstories did not resonate with me. Also, Samuel L. Jackson plays Lt. Preston Packard, the movie’s explorers’ military escort leader. He is so obsessed with war that he is an annoying character. The other characters, sad to say, are not memorable to me.

The movie’s star is, of course, Kong, the giant ape. I haven’t seen the other recent big monster movies to make a comparison. I must rectify that. I liked how it was animated, especially the fight scenes like Kong against the humans in helicopters and against other giant creatures. As always, Kong is fascinated with a female human and saves Brie Larson’s character at one point in this movie.

The plot is light, so it is a good movie to pass the time. I was informed that I should watch extra end-credit scenes. In this bonus scene, it was presented that this movie and Godzilla (2014) may be set in a “cinematic universe” ala Marvel.

In short:

Quote:

“This planet doesn’t belong to us. Ancient species owned this earth long before humanity. I spent 30 years trying to prove the truth: monsters exist.” – Bill Randa (John Goodman)

As of posting time, Kong: Skull Island is still showing in Philippine cinemas.

: https://promdigeek.blog/2017/03/13/thoughts-on-kong-skull-island-2017/