It doesn’t feel that long ago since Peter Jackson brought a King Kong movie to us in 2005. Personally I thought the movie got lame when they went to New York and dicked around there for a bit. Actually I have the same complaint about Jurrasic Park II. Those end urban finales always lacked the excitement and adventure of the early scenes when they’re exploring a mysterious island.
But hold on, before I talk about the new Kong movie I need to talk about one other movie that didn’t quite nail it.
Do you remember that one helicopter scene in Godzilla with all the clouds and excitement and awesome cinematography? Everyone agreed that part in the trailer was the best bit, It was why I went to Godzilla really. It turns out that was also the only good bit in the whole film.
It seems like Kong: Skull Island took the notes from Godzilla, and then made every scene as cool as that one cool sequence. What you get is an amazingly styley film where everything is awesome all of the time.
And THEN they took what happened in the last King Kong movie, and keep the entire thing on the island, with plenty of awesome surprises and set pieces that the trailer left out. I could spoil it for you with screen grabs of what’s in store but instead I’m just going to fill this post with pictures of Brie Larson instead.
The movie is saturated in yellows, reds, blues and purples that seep through the film and give off a nostalgic yet modern vibe which meshes perfectly with the Vietnam era music.
The film itself acts as sort of an illustration of how we perceive the militaries opinion on the Vietnam war, jingoism and bravado trumping all else. It encapsulates it nicely.
Matt, our resident professional with an opinion was smitten by how the little scrabbling humans did. “It sometimes felt like all the main characters were in a million dollar competition to see who could be the most badass.”
What I’m trying to say is. This is a fucking dope film that you should go see if you’re in the mood for a fun time. There’s even a bunch of laughs to be had along the way!
