Kong: Skull Island

Kong: Skull Island is a film I questioned whether we even needed upon its announcement given it's only just over a decade ago since we had Peter Jackson's King Kong but something about the marketing for this really caught my interest. Maybe it was starry cast, the strong visuals or that the seemingly abandoned adventure genre would be picked-up once more, but would this be just another studio action flick remake?

The warning signs were visible given TV director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, had never tackled a project as big as this with so many moving pieces. This would then make it easy for the producers to push him around bending the film to their liking taking away any creative decisions but, while that may have likely happened here or there, Kong: Skull Island exceeded my expectations. It's not perfect but Vogt-Roberts shows us that maybe he isn't a bad choice if the rumours of him directing Metal Gear Solid are true.

Set in the early 1970s at the end of the Vietnam war, John Goodman manages to organise a team to go in search of the mysterious Skull Island with help from the military, led by a bitter Samuel L. Jackson. Here, he hopes to find the mysterious beast that sunk his ship during World War II and discover what else lurks on the island, but naturally things don't go to plan when Kong makes a spectacular entrance. From here, the adventure begins and it's an exciting ride but the first issue lands with the fact that I can set the scene without mentioning the two 'lead' characters played by Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson.

The two are good on the whole but are whittled down to such basic archetypes and are made all the more forgettable thanks to Toby Kebbell's impressive motion-capture work as Kong. I wouldn't say it hits the same heights as Andy Serkis once did but is still entertaining to watch nonetheless. Back on the human side, Goodman, Jackson, Shea Whingham and John C. Reilly are all great and the film might have benefited with a stronger focus towards them. Their actions help to influence the story whereas the other two literally go along for the ride.

But the action and adventure is what Kong: Skull Island is all about and it's entertaining from start to finish. What's more, Zack Snyder's cinematographer adds a strong visual punch that captures the events clearly in a way similar to Mad Max: Fury Road. However, there a points where the story makes some odd choices including moments where characters are killed off abruptly as if to reduce the head-count by the end. It's a shame as it takes away from the film's otherwise solid pacing.

In the end, Kong: Skull Island does enough right to make this easy to recommend to anyone in search of some escapism even if it won't stick around in your memory long after watching.