King Kong (1933) (Movie Review)

     Throughout the whole month, I’ve reviewed every single theatrical movie that revolved around the giant ape King Kong. It should come as no surprise that I chose to close things out with the original masterpiece that started it all. To refer the 1933 “King Kong” classic as the greatest entry in his cinematic franchise would be a gross understatement … because “King Kong” truly is one of the great motion picture classics ever made. Back in the early 1930’s, film in general was still in its infancy, and even sound movies were very rare. This was the achievement that pioneered the whole special effects industry, and proved that cinema is a medium best suited for fantasy, adventure, imagination, and escapist thrills. I always viewed movies as a means to see things that could never exist in real life, and this right here was the film that kicked down the door, and inspired generations of filmmakers. Now, I’ve truthfully never looked back on “King Kong” as one of my personal favorite movies or anything like that, but it is a movie that I’ve always respected, and have certainly enjoyed on repeat viewings. Actually, for a guy that loves big summer blockbusters, big special effects and big action, I’m always surprised that 1933’s “King Kong” remains just as entertaining an experience as it is. There’s never a boring moment, as the buildup in the opening is strong, and everything else is just an exciting adventure that never once lets down.

   The excitement begins with an ambitious filmmaker named Carl Denham, who’s dead set on delivering out-of-this-world excitement to viewers. Once he comes into possession of a map to an uncharted island, he decides it would be the perfect spot to shoot a winning motion picture. Into his midst walks a penniless young woman named Ann Darrow, who’s just looking for a direction in life. Taken by her beauty, Carl encourages her to be an actress, and subsequently take the lead role of his movie. The journey is soon underway, but the mysterious Skull Island might be more dangerous then they realized. It’s the home of carnivorous dinosaurs, aggressive natives, and a giant gorilla named King Kong, who’s viewed as the lord of the land. The natives see the beautiful Ann as a perfect sacrifice for their figurative ape God, and thus she’s captured and presented as an offering. Upon their first meeting, Kong takes a curious liking to her, and takes Ann as some sort of prize. The remaining team set out to rescue her, and battle waves of ferocious dinosaurs along the way. To make matters worse, Carl Denham now realizes that his picture is in ruins, and looks to Kong as a new means of making a big hit attraction.

   On the surface, this may seem like a basic set-up for an adventure movie on a mysterious island, but it’s also, in its own right … a tragic romance. 

In fact, “King Kong” could be viewed as one of the first classic film versions of “Beauty and the Beast”, which is sited all throughout the movie. We have a beautiful woman taken away by a monster, not because it’s evil, but because it’s longing for a companion in a lonely and savage world. The girl in return can sympathize with the monster, but she can’t give him her love in return. In the end, it’s the beast’s desperation to have this girl that leads him to his unfortunate, yet inescapable demise. Further remakes of “King Kong” would deepen the connection between woman and beast, and in my view, they were far goofier as a result. This movie keeps it very simple, and truthfully, I think it works better when I can just sympathies with a monster acting on some kind of internal instinct, rather than a cringe romantic connection between a woman and a giant gorilla. Fay Wray is all around very likable as our female lead Ann, and she’s a key component to why the film works. She’s nothing deeper than a pretty damsel, but brings the role to life in a way that makes us care for her. There’s also subtlety in the performance, where through certain looks, she knows Kong has feelings, and she regrets that she can’t convey anything back to him. Robert Armstrong is also very charismatic as Carl Denham, and personally is my favorite character in the movie. He so easily could have been the one-note greedy business man, and while his actions are obviously questionable, you can tell there’s still a good man underneath the thrill obsessed filmmaker.    

   While King Kong in general will always be regarded as one of the all-time greatest giant movie monsters, there’s a lot more to him than just another giant monster. From the technical side, King Kong is brought to life masterfully through stop motion effects, as well as full scale animatronic hands, feet and a giant robotic face for close-up shots. While he’s never exactly looked real, Kong always felt very alive, largely thanks to select facial expressions, and an animalistic behavior. You can tell Kong is a creature motivated by feelings, but he lacks the intellect to know right from wrong, which in turn makes him all the more unpredictable, and potentially dangerous. It also makes us feel more sympathetic toured him whenever he gets himself into trouble. Thematically, this version of King Kong remains the darkest, as it’s mostly focused on the situation of being either trapped or pursued by a relentless creature that can’t control its emotions.

   Actually, the whole tone of the movie is a delicate balance between exciting adventure and grim horror. While it’s easy to brand this movie under the category of adventure-fantasy, lets also acknowledge its status as a horror movie, and one of the best of the whole decade. Sure, it doesn’t have the same Gothic look and tone that’s typically associated with the horror genera, but it still fits the category in other respects. For instance, Kong in this film is far more savage, and violent. The scene in which he terrorizes the native’s village was considered very disturbing for its time, especially the close-up shots of him putting people in his mouth. There’s also a scene in which Kong kills at least twenty team members crossing over a gorge on a log, which was considered a gruesomely high body count for the time. 

Even the effects were so new, and intense that warning signs were placed outside the theater stating that if you have any kind of heart condition, you shouldn’t watch this movie. While this film obviously won’t be scaring any modern-day viewers, it was never the less an intense experience for an early decade of movie goers. Also, this movie contains more screaming then most typical slasher films. This especially applies to Fay Wray’s bloodcurdling screams, which are some of the most famous of the whole genera. It’s also worth noting that giant movie monsters didn’t become common place until the 1950’s. Thus, King Kong was frequently roped in with the only other popular monsters of the time … namely “Dracula” and “Frankenstein”.

   The black and white look also helps give the jungle setting a very ominous and foreboding atmosphere. On that note, for an old B&W movie, it still looks gorgeous to this day. The map painted backgrounds are epic spectacles, and the jungle setting is very submersive. 

Part of the appeal comes from knowing that most of the environment was built by hand, and the detail on display is stunning. The whole film is shot with a sense of awe and wonder, and even select camera movements were quite innovative for the time. Now, back in 1925, there was a silent picture titled “The Lost World”, which featured stop motion Dinosaurs that were created by one Willis O’ Brien. The creature effects in that film were extraordinary accomplishments, but it’s here in “King Kong” where Willis O’ Brien's creature effects really shine. Just like Kong, all the Dinosaurs featured in the film are stop-motion, and every encounter with them is down-right thrilling. My favorite scene of all is Kong’s battle with the T-Rex. This was the first truly classic monster battle ever captured on film, and it still holds up as an exciting sequence, with a memorable finishing movie of Kong breaking its jaw. Now, ever sense the very first Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton was found and assembled, it’s had a distinguished reputation as one of the most famous carnivores of all time. So to see the legendary T-Rex back in his prime of fame, get bested by this giant ape, it really helped put the spot light on Kong as a force to be reckoned with.         

   Once we segue into the third act, the movie takes on a new identity as we switch from an island adventure, to monster on the loose in a big city. Once again, the details on display are outstanding. For instance, when Kong attacks the train, you can look closely and see stop-motion people crawling out the windows. It’s still an exciting spectacle all these years later, with detailed models, and an elevated sense of urgency that never lets down. This is also when all the most effective horror moments come into play, most notably the scenes with Kong’s big hands reaching into apartment rooms, and grabbing helpless female victims. The iconic climax on the roof of the Empire State Building needs no comment. It’s one of the most influential, and imitated action sequences in film history. Looking back, it’s really cool to see all the camera tricks and versatile energy on display. It’s also quite tragic seeing Kong get gunned down by the plains, and it closes the film on a high note.  

   In more ways than one, “King Kong” was ahead of its time, especially considering that giant monster movies weren’t common place yet, and horror was just coming into form with the more Gothic creatures. 

There’s also one noticeable difference between Kong and his two compatriots … while “Dracula” was an important starting point for sound horror, it’s also been surpassed by the arguably superior 1958 "Dracula" remake. The same applies for “Frankenstein”, which despite being another big stepping stone for the genera, was also upstaged by its superior 1935 sequel “The Bride of Frankenstein”. “King Kong” however remains the unsurpassed masterpiece that none of its follow-up films could measure up to. In my view, if you have a burning desire to pursue film-making, then do yourself a favor and watch this movie. Even if it doesn’t fit into your wheelhouse of monster movies, it’s such an important technical marvel to look back on and admire. It’s also an important achievement in original imagination, as there was no real source material to base this on. With a timeless story of beauty and beast, ground breaking visuals, and innovative filming … “King Kong” maybe nearing 100 years, but it’s still an engaging experience, and one of the great motion picture classics.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1933 Horror/Fantasy classic “King Kong” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!          

King Kong Lives (1986) (Movie Review)

  While the title of the movie is “King Kong Lives”, this is when the franchise died, and stayed dead for nearly twenty years. With a perfect round 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Siskel and Ebert giving the film their lowest possible grade, it’s safe to say that this is the weakest venture in King Kong’s movie line up. Actually, that doesn’t even begin to cover it, as this film has all but disappeared. It’s challenging to find on digital, home video releases are limited, TV stations rarely air it … it’s basically become a ghost-movie in a mega franchise, and it’s only through the advent of the internet that it’s been preserved. This 1986 Kong film was the long-delayed sequel to the 1976 “King Kong” remake, and had John Guillermin return as director. Is there any merit to the film, or is it best left forgotten and buried … it’s really not a hard question.

   The movie begins with a lengthy recap of the ending of the last movie, in which Kong was gunned down by helicopters, had more bloody holes then swiss-chess, and fell from the very top of the World Trade Center. As the title would suggest, he survived all that, and the movie picks up with him in a coma under the watchful eye of a band of scientists. It’s ludicrous enough that Kong pulled though all that, but what’s even more baffling is the money and resources these people are putting into keeping Kong alive. 

They have him hooked to all these life support machines, which are draining power, and there’s an expensive operation in which Kong’s heart has to be replaced with a giant ape sized artificial heart. Despite all their efforts, he’s lost too much blood and needs a transfusion. As if right on que, another giant ape is discovered … which by the way is a hilarious reveal, as it’s clearly just a fake robot ape hand moving through the brush. Anyway, this new ape is captured and brought in for the transfusion, but there’s a catch. This ape is a female … yeah, a lady Kong, or Queen Kong. This gets the ape King very excited, and the second he gets the chance, he escapes the facility, rescues female Kong, and the two escape into the wilderness. Somehow after all the funding, time and resources dedicated to keeping Kong alive, this escape alone is all it takes to provoke the military to hunt them down and kill them both. Oh, and the troops are being led by an obnoxious bad guy … what more would you expect.

   As one can tell by the synopsis, the plot is ridiculous, nonsensical, and we still haven’t gotten to the biggest problems with this movie. The human characters are all disposable, and the villains are ridiculous. It is however worth noting that our female lead named Dr. Amy Franklin is played by Linda Hamilton … the same talent who played Sarah Connor in "The Terminator" film series. While her presence is welcome, she’s unfortunately given nothing to work with, as she’s the one female lead in this franchise that doesn’t make any kind of personal connection with King Kong. It’s also one of those cases where the actors seem to know they’re in a one-note production, and couldn’t possibly bring any life to the film. Honestly, beyond the week characters, and the hamstrung plot … this film is just … plain … boring … boring … BORING!!! Now rubber suited monster movies are an acquired taste, and I’m one of those guys who once in a while can have a lot of fun with cheesy genera monster movies. This film unfortunately just drags itself around, and doesn’t generate a sense of excitement or adventure. There’s also a noticeable lack of monster brawls, which is a staple of the franchise. Part of the excitement of going into a King Kong movie is seeing him throw down with dinosaurs or other monsters, but not here.

  Kong himself is less interesting, as I always viewed him as a tragic figure who can never get together with a girl he developed feelings for, but this time … all is well with his convenient giant female ape companion. I’ll give the movie some credit for attempting visual storytelling, as there’s lengthy scenes with no dialog or human characters, and it’s just these two apes communicating through body language. Yes, the effort is appreciated, but it will not be rewarded in the long run, as it’s still really boring to watch a relationship between two obvious actors in gorilla costumes. There’s also something cringe about the presentation of this, as possible good ideas on paper just look silly on screen. I honestly don’t think I’ve seen anything more ridiculous in a monster movie then this one image of King Kong walking off into the distance with female Kong in his arms ... it’s so silly. The costumes themselves are decent enough, and I do love seeing practical effects, so there’s something to savor from the visuals before this style all but disappeared. There are at least some surprisingly violent moments that stand out as cool little nuggets. There’s a scene when he chases two bad guys in a cannon, he bites one of their heads right off, and the other guy gets it worse as Kong snaps the guy in half … it’s kind of brutal.

   The military eventually catch-up to the pair, capture female Kong once again, and use her as a means to bate King Kong out into an open field for a final showdown. Typically, these battles are set in the city, and we feel the troops have no choice but to take action and fight while also protecting the civilians. This time however, Kong was just peacefully enjoying his freedom with his new mate, so it feels completely needless for the troops to gun him down. Having said that, the climax is the one highlight of the movie, as Kong engages the troops, swats the vehicles, and I love when he picks up the tanks and smashes them into the ground ... it’s fun stuff. Unfortunately, the whole battle is resolved in less than two minutes. Considering how long, boring and drawn-out the film had been, you’d think they’d give us a final battle that’s longer than two minutes. While Kong is successful in beating the army, he unfortunately got showered in pullets, and is slowly dying. The last thing he see's is the birth of little Baby Kong … that’s right, Kong became a dad in this film. You’d think that a movie called “King Kong Lives” would let the mighty ape take a holiday for once and just subtle with his mate and kid, but no … he dies yet again … even though he apparently survived a plummet from the World Trade Center in the last movie.   

   To call this the weakest installment in the “King Kong” franchise is a gross understatement … this movie is an embarrassment, and shouldn’t even be associated with such a high-profile monster. I’ll say this, if your just in a mood for King Kong, and want to see a older, rubber suited film, then “King Kong Lives” just barley provides enough to satisfy. Personally, it’s my least favorite of the series by far, and is largely just a forgettable experience. With goofy villains, a brainless plot, cringe visuals, stock characters, little excitement, a handful of action, and no real justification to exist after a ten-year hiatus … this is the one Kong venture that is very safe to skip.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1986 sequel “King Kong Lives” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love! 

            

 End

King Kong Escapes (1967) (Movie Review)

  1933’s “King Kong” was a mile stone in motion picture history, and fresh off its success, Japan was eager to have its own movie version of the giant ape. So, throughout the 30’s, there were several attempts at Japanese Kong films, but all prints of them have been lost, with the exception of some still publicity photos. Then after the smashing success of 1954’s “Godzilla”, an opportunity finally arose to bring King Kong into Japans giant monster movie franchise. The result was the 1962 crossover “King Kong vs Godzilla”, which was a smash hit, and set the stage for more solo Japanese films staring King Kong. However, despite finally getting Americas giant ape under their banner, only one Kong movie followed in 1967 titled “King Kong Escapes”. This wasn’t a sequel to the previous Godzilla crossover and was instead an adaption of the animated Rankin/Bass TV series titled “The King Kong Show”. It’s certainly a rarity to have a Japanese produced King Kong movie without the inclusion of Godzilla, so let’s see how his final appearance in the East took shape.  

  

  Despite having no continuity to the previous films, the people featured in “King Kong Escapes” still refer to him like Kong’s had a destructive, yet mysterious history. The story revolves around two human villains named Dr. Who and Madame Piranha … ha ha ha, we all chuckle … who are both using a giant robot modeled after Kong’s likeness. 

This Robot Kong has twice the originals strength, but it wasn’t initially built to fight its counterpart and instead is being used to dig up a rare substance called “Element X”, which will give both of our villains the power to rule the world. If this set-up sounds like a really terrible and cheesy James Bond movie, you’re not too far off. The sinister Doctor was actually based on many of Bonds adversaries, namely Dr. No and Blofeld. Although personally, I think this guy would fit right in with the campy villains of the Flash Gordon universe. Madame Piranha by the way is played by Mie Hama, who was fresh off of playing a Bond girl in one of my favorite 007 movies “You Only Live Twice”. The whole film just has this distinct James Bond feel, and there’s several little scenes that could have easily been lifted from any one of his early movies. As for the real King Kong, he’s discovered on a far-off island by a group of Americans on a Naval ship. In typical Kong fashion, the giant ape makes a connection with a beautiful blond girl, who’s a member of the crew. Meanwhile, the Robot Kong fails to dig for the element, and with little options left, the villains capture Kong from his island home, and brainwash him to do their bidding. They also capture the girl as a fail-safe to keep Kong under their control. 

  Just like in the previous Godzilla crossover, Kong is featured as a rubber suited monster, but man oh man … he looks terrible in this movie. It really looks like a costume on loan from a Halloween costume shop, and he has this silly cartoon expression to go along with it. As for his mechanized opponent Robot Kong, he’s actually a unique rival for the mighty ape. He’s the only original giant antagonist to battle Kong, and he even pre-dates Godzilla’s more famous evil robot counterpart Mechagodzilla by a good six years. Having a giant rival that mired Kong’s appearance was actually a credible idea, and I like how it’s utilized in the film. When Kong see’s his robot duplicate for the first time, it see’s the thing as one of his own, and even tries to be friends ... which obviously doesn’t work out. The effects on display are all in that same cheesy fashion, with obvious model sets and battle vehicles that are clearly remote-control toys. Truthfully, even though it’s ridiculously corny material, there’s still this charm and appeal to the craft that I just can’t shake.

   Lets also take a moment to mention Kong’s other opponent featured in the film, the T-Rex creature called Gorosaurus. 

This was a regular player in Japans giant monster series, and would even appear in the 1969 Godzilla movie titled “Destroy all Monsters”. Heck, that movie even features stock footage of Gorosaurus, which is lifted straight from “King Kong Escapes”. The battle between Kong and Gorosaurus is another delightfully cheesy rubber suited monster fight, and its actually kind of a treat to see Kong battle something else from the Godzilla franchise. Gorosaurus’s signature move is a drop-kick, which he repeatedly uses on Kong. There are also some amusing winks to the original “King Kong” movie, like a shot with the Blond girl in a tree branch, while the monsters battle in the background. Also, just like the original T-Rex, Gorosaurus gets his jaw snapped open, but this is a G rated death by comparison, as it features foam coming out the mouth as opposed to blood. Yet another call back to the first movie is a scene in which Kong battles a giant Sea-Serpent, which is another amusing highlight.

   Rhodes Reason is our main human star, and plays Commander Carl Nelson. For such a campy film, he does a commendable job keeping a straight face, and plays things just serious enough without being a stick in the mud. The character is also very similar to another navel character named Admiral Nelson from the 1961 Sci-Fi “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”. Of course, we can’t have a King Kong movie without an attractive blond girl, and this time it comes in the form of Linda Jo Miller. She’s your typical damsel stereotype, and her performance might just be the worst of any Kong love interest. Even her relation with Kong is the most underdeveloped and rushed, as she has instant control over the giant ape the second she’s rescued. I wasn’t joking either when I stated she has complete control over him, … like, Kong basically obeys every one of her commands.

  In the end, the movie lives up to its title, and we see Kong escape the captivity of the villains. Just like in the last movie, Kong makes his way to Tokyo and goes on a rampage. The one difference between this film and any other Kong movie is that the military actually lays down their fire arms and gives the blond girl a chance to calm him down. Unfortunately, just as the day seems won, Robot Kong appears on the scene, kidnaps the girl and forces Kong into a final battle to the death. While this rubber suited monster brawl isn’t nearly as amusing as Kong’s previous battle with Godzilla, it’s still solid campy fun, and I really like the duality of both the new and familiar on display during this climax. We once again have a finale set on a tall tower, with a blond girl taken away by Kong, but this time we also have Kong coming to the girl’s rescue. It’s probably the only Kong sequel to feature a climax with two Kong’s battling over a girl while on top of a tall building.    

  When all is said and done, “King Kong Escapes” isn’t nearly as memorable as other installments in Kong’s line up, but I have kind of a soft spot for it. There’s definitely a campy charm to the experience, some worthwhile highlights, and it’s something to savor as it’s Kong's final Japanese produced movie. While there were definitely plans for future Japanese Kong movies, his scripts kept getting switched out with Godzilla, and eventually the studio lost the rights for Kong. It was a short lived, but enjoyable goofy collection of rubber suited monster flicks. As for “King Kong Escapes”, while I’ve always found it some-what appealing for its campy charms, it’s also never stuck with me as anything really special either. I’d only recommend it to fans of this genera, because anyone else would probably be either bored or turned off. Not a great film, but just recommendable enough to those of use that enjoy campy monster flicks.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1967 sequel “King Kong Escapes” ... and continue to enjoy the Movies you Love!              

      

Kong: Skull Island (2017) (Movie Review)

(NOTE: This post has been replaced with a review of a 2017 movie, just to keep consistency with all the King Kong movie reviews of the month)

  Shared cinematic universes are all the craze now, but it’s nothing new, as some of them date as far back to 1931 with Universals shared monster verse that began with “Dracula”. Another early shared movie universe was Japan’s giant monster series. It began in the 50’s with “Godzilla”, and continued with countless other giant monsters that all shared the same franchise. Even America’s King Kong became part of Godzilla’s shared monster-verse for a while. Years later in 2014, the giant monster series was rebooted here in America with a new version of “Godzilla”. Following after it’s modest success, the series continued with a new King Kong origin film titled “Kong: Skull Island”. The time seemed right as it’s been twenty-three years sense the last theatrical Kong movie, and as part of this new shared universe, it had the potential to give us something we’ve never really seen from the ape’s previous films. What really got me excited was the title “Skull Island”, suggesting that this will be a different kind of Kong experience then any of the previous remakes, which all mostly copied and paced the original film. 

  This movie begins with an opening credit montage set to stock footage of historical events from the late 60’s through the early 70’s. We then subtle in 1973 as the base point for this adventure, which I like, as it’s a different time period from the original, but still not in our present day. As one would expect, it’s Vietnam, and the movie is shot and scored just like a film from this period. I’m not sure if the filmmakers are trying to make an allegory of Vietnam in general, but it’s crafted like a Vietnam war movie. 

Our venture begins when an American satellite discovers a mysterious island hidden from the rest of the world, and a small team of scientists are most eager to go there and explore the possibilities. In truth, this team is secretly following the activities of giant monsters around the world, and they believe this island might be home for one such beast. The military escort on the other hand are taken by surprise, and once they have their first encounter with a giant ape, they wind up getting stranded along with the scientists. It’s soon discovered that the giant ape is named Kong, and he rules over the island like a King. Unfortunately, the military's sudden arrival and subsequent bombings on the surface have stirred up some rather savage beasts, which Kong has been trying to keep buried under ground. Now the group is divided, as some just want to get off the island safely, while the others go out for revenge against Kong after he killed so many troops in his initial attack. In short, this movie is all about an adventure on an island full of giant monsters, with big action sequences spread throughout, and not much else.

  Unlike the other remakes that tried so hard to recapture the majesty of the original, this film goes for strait forward fun, and … for me it works. The whole film is shot and edited like a stylized music video, with an abundance of slow-motion shots, a collection of popular 70’s tunes, and stylish lighting. Visually, I think this might just be the best-looking Kong film, and it’s cut together with a lot of energy. There are also some noteworthy Anime inspired visuals, which I loved seeing incorporated in this film. 

Sense this remake is based on the original live action Japanese monster series, it only makes sense to include visual callbacks to other Japanese properties like “Princess Mononoke” and “Akira”. Skull island itself is very different from any previous movie, as it trades in Dinosaurs for completely original monsters, and unique creature designs. The effects on display for these monsters is top notch, but it’s the creativity in both their designs, and how they interact with the surrounding environments that make them steel the show. There’s a really cool scene when the troops go walking through a forest of bamboo sticks, and in a clever twist, the sticks are actually the legs of a giant spider. There’s another scene in which a soldier sits on a log, which is actually a giant insect of some sort. My favorite design is the giant water buffalo creature, which is one of the friendlier creatures on the island. Actually, I really love that there’s a collection of both dangerous monsters, and peaceful ones, which allows more variety between the different creature encounters. Even the local island natives had a decent upgrade, as they were more peaceful then any of the previous films, offered our heroes a safe haven, and looked more authentic then most other film versions.

  King Kong has never been more exciting, as he’s taller, stronger and more agile then any of the previous films. The opening battle with the helicopters proves his might, whereas all other previous Kong’s always perished when battling armed flying vehicles. Visually, this film dose more things with Kong that might just be his coolest screen shots sense the very first film. Seeing him stand upright and silhouetted against a rising sun is a sheer spectacle to behold, and perhaps my favorite iconic Kong image from any film in the franchise. The downside is that this Kong isn’t as sympathetic, and the audience can’t really form any kind of special connection with him outside of his cool factor. There are moments in which the human characters will bond with Kong, which are okay, but the emotion conveyed just doesn’t resonate like it did in either of the previous 2005 remake or the original. There’s a moment when our female lead tries to free an animal from collapsed rubble, and Kong admiring her compassion comes over to help. This was meant to be the moment when Kong singles out select humans as friends, but for some reason, I’m just not feeling the proper connection the way I should.

  Brie Larson plays our attractive female lead who connects to Kong, and of all the blond girls who have taken a liking to Kong, she might just be the most obvious peace of eye candy of them all.

Naturally, she spends the whole film running around in a bright white, body hugging tank top, but she also has this incredible talent of staying clean the whole time she’s on this island. Despite running through all these dirty locations, or fighting off savage monsters, she consistently looks like someone ready for a fashion shoot. There’s actually a scene when she gets trapped in a monster’s mouth, Kong pulls her out, she falls into a mucky swamp, and in five minutes time, she’s calmly sitting down, and looks like she just had a normal day at the office. To Brie Larson’s credit, she’s certainly trying to give the best performance with what she’s got to work with, and I'd say she's just likable enough. Tom Hiddleston and John Goodman are likewise great talents, and are both a consistently engaging screen presence, but their characters are very one-note, as they each play the part of tracker or businessman, and that’s it. Samuel L. Jackson plays a military officer dead set on killing Kong out of vengeance for his fallen comrades, but that’s just it. He’s the figurative Captain Ahab, but there’s nothing of nuance beneath the surface. Thankfully Samuel L. Jackson is one of those talents that can make any character performance work in his favor, and he’s very exciting to watch. The absolute best character of the whole movie is a marooned World War II pilot played by John C. Reilly. Basically, he serves as the expositional mouthpiece who fills everyone in on the island backstory, but he also had his own personal human layers, emotional stakes, a witty personality, and John C. Reilly really balanced his quirks with some genuine charm and likability. In general, all the characters are stock cutouts with a single function or quirk, but I have no problems with the cast, and I find myself coasting along just fine with the talent on display. 

   At last we have the Skull Crawlers, which are giant lizard creatures that become the main threat for our hero’s to face. These are the only creature designs that I didn’t really care for, as every other creature looked so unique by comparison, and these just looked like designs pulled right off the shelf. 

While they functioned as deadly obstacles for our heroes to face or for Kong to fight, there was something incredibly generic about their presence, which robbed them of any real excitement whenever they appeared on screen. There is one cool sequence in a smoky waist land, where the team battle these beasts, and it’s an exciting action set-piece. The final showdown between Kong and the lead Skull Crawler is really fun to watch, and features all the cool stuff a giant monster fight has to offer. There’s an awesome un-edited shot following Kong as he fights the creature, while the camera orbits the action, which got me hyped. Also, seeing Kong launch a rusted boat propeller into the monsters back was great. This might just be my favorite Kong vs monster fight of the whole series … at least, up till this point … I’m sure his inevitable rematch with Godzilla will be sensational. My favorite scene of the whole film is a mid-credit sequence in which John C. Reilly’s character returns home and reunites with his family … and even meets his full-grown son, who he’d never met before being stranded. It was a genuinely heart felt scene, and one that surprisingly got me chocked up. Of course, there’s the inevitable teaser that Godzilla and other classic giant Japanize monsters are on the way, which I suppose was exciting to see. Personally, while I’m all for seeing these monsters come together, I just don’t want to see another franchise follow Marvels winning formula beat for beat.

   In the end, no other film in the “King Kong” series could ever be a triumph like that first movie, so with that in mind, I always judge these follow-up Kong movies on the grounds of entertaining B films. In this regard, I find “Kong: Skull Island” to be the most thoroughly entertaining Kong installment, and I really wouldn’t ask anything more from it. The characters may have been paper thin, but the cast held their own just fine. King Kong himself may not have been as sentimental, but he was unmistakably an entertaining presence. The remaining monsters made for passively entertaining creatures, and the battles were a lot of fun. Truthfully, I think this movie was very wise to go for strait forward entertainment, as opposed to trying to recapture the same majesty of the original, unlike every previous remake that tried and failed to do so. I probably won’t be making a tradition of re-watching this film, but for a simple, entertaining waste of time, I felt this film knew exactly what it wanted to be, and I enjoyed it for what it was.

Thanks for reading my review of the 2017 movie “Kong: Skull Island” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!