Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Genres

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Director

Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Countries

USA, China

Cast

Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, John C. Reilly

Storyline

A team of scientists, soldiers and adventurers explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong, and must fight the wildlife which inhabits the island.

Opinion

I was super excited about this film as soon as it was announced. Not only because I love King Kong, but (mainly) because of its cast as well. But there's a thing with films with a great cast, they usually end up being a waste of talents. And "Kong: Skull Island" is no different as it is a flat action/adventure film that is only beautiful to look at.

Just like most of the films of this genre, this film lacks a solid story. I was very excited and intrigued by the different take on the story. Or at least that's how I felt before realising it was just the same old King Kong story only with a different location. I thought it was going to be an origin story, but it's nothing more than a bad reboot filled - I'm not really sure that's the right word - with plot holes and that is terribly paced.

The characters don't make it any better either. There isn't much backstory or character development. Actually, most of the characters are pretty shallow (but politically correct) and some of them are utterly unnecessary. Not to mention the annoying ones, like Samuel L. Jackson's over-the-top villain that is the same character he has been playing in every movie these days. There isn't much the cast can do here. However, the not-so-good human characters allow the mighty Kong to be a way better character. 

Then there's the other stuff, the good stuff. For starters, the soundtrack is a killer. I really liked it and it was the perfect fit for the film this film could have been. Also, like I mentioned above, the film is visually stunning: the CGI is fantastic and the scenery is very beautiful. The action sequences/fight scenes aren't bad either. To be honest, they are quite well done, but they have a big problem, they aren't exciting as action scenes should be.