Kong: Skull Island - Review

Release Date: ​March 10, 2017

Beating a Dead Horse?

The next remake of a classic film. The same premise with a new coat of paint right? Kong: Skull Island is actually more than just a remake but a really well put together film.

The movie’s strength comes from its ability to convey story to the viewer, specifically action. Most action sequences in movies involve a lot of flailing and quick, or deliberately slow, movement. The director breathes life into the movie with an approach not commonly found in movies. Some might mistake his work for cinematography, and it might even be labeled as much, but what is actually going on is Jorn Vogt-Roberts’ (the director) skill set on display. His ability to step into uncharted territory with an emphasis on visual language was the standout of the movie.

The wide camera sweeps and establishing shots were nice, but you can tell when something special happens. There are a couple points in the movie when the camera goes into a first person perspective and it's not jarring. Then there is the attention to detail of color and how that plays into diversifying the movie. Within the first 10 minutes, I knew that Jordan Vogt-Roberts was a great choice for the movie. He brought so much flavor to the movie that I don't think it could have been done in any other way. The movie is not perfect, even though there is still more to praise.

The acting on display was actually pretty good for what the actors had to work with. The emotion was felt, especially by Samuel Jackson as a standout. Where the movie does come up short, is the script. The script is the main hindrance to the movie. The action is cool, the CG is nice, and visual language has no peer. But the script actually lets the audience down. Kong: Skull Island seemed to want a couple more layers to it but doesn't go all the way. It's the surface level story telling that allows you to turn off your brain. I would not want to group this new amazing director with Michael Bay of all people. Transformers is a franchise that is the perfect comparison to this movie. You can turn off your brain and watch some cool things happen.

Overall I really like Kong: Skull Island. It was fun and the visuals were great. Just as a clarifier, the visual language was great and is not the same thing as cinematography. Where A Cure for Wellness's cinematography was fantastic, the way the movie was shot does not provide the audience with information. Kong: Skull Island does do this which makes it like comparing oranges to apples. It's a good movie with two well-written characters and everyone else is kinda useless.

                                                     8.25/10
                       Kong is King Around Here