King Kong is an iconic movie monster which you can also say is a misunderstood heroic beast who has been the subject of at least four movies.   The latest adaptation of KING KONG is KONG: SKULL ISLAND which is the second movie in the giant creature/ monster universe which started with GODZILLA.    It takes elements from some of the previous three KING KONG movies and blends APOCALYPSE NOW into it as it is set in 1973 as Monarch sets an expedition piggybacked on a LSAT mission to explore the legendary Skull Island.  The Monarch team is led by Bill Randa (John Goodman) who hires James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) to guide the expedition with the Sky Devils (a military helicopter squadron) to transport and protect the squadron. Tagging along is a pacifist photojournalist Mason Weaver (Brie Larson).  The expedition soon goes wrong as the dropping of explosive charges causes the giant ape Kong to attack the helicopters and causes worse creatures known as Skullcrawlers to be awakened again.   It is a race to get to the other side of the island with the help of a crazy World War 2 pilot (John C. Reilly) who has been stranded on Skull Island since 1944.  Meanwhile, Lt. Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) wants revenge against Kong for killing so many of his men.

 

KONG: SKULL ISLAND is a fresh reboot of the King Kong character while using some loose elements to tie it into the GODZILLA movie that came out in 2014.  It is a popcorn movie where action scenes and visual effects are king (and so are the various creatures from Skullcrawlers to flying dinosaurs to Kong).   Character development is minimal, but I don’t think people come to see a movie like this to expect tons of character development anyway.   Make sure to stay around through all the credits for the bonus scene at the end.  It will be very rewarding to fans of the Godzilla movies.    You want to see big action scenes and enjoy the big blockbuster popcorn excitement.   Too bad that the cast from this one can’t show up in a future GODZILLA (which is set in present day) or KING KONG movie since they set KONG: SKULL ISLAND in 1973.  

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Six deleted scenes

 

The MONARCH FILES 2.0 is a combo of film clips and sketches with narrations from the characters to show reports on what happened in the movie

Featurettes:

CREATING A KING- a two part look at the rebirth and re-creation of the iconic monster

REALIZING AN ICON-

SUMMONING A GOD-

 

ON LOCATION: VIETNAM- a behind-the-scenes look at making the movie in Vietnam

TOM HIDDLESTON: THE INTREPID TRAVELER- Tom Hiddleston gives a tour of the locations in the movie

THROUGH THE LENS: BRIE LARSON’S PHOTOGRAPHY- a look at the photos Brie took while she was making the movie.  She learned how to be a photographer to get into the mindset of here character.

 

Feature audio commentary with the director

 

A code to download and stream a digital HD copy of KONG: SKULL ISLAND and the movie in standard definition on DVD

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  KONG: SKULL ISLAND is an entertaining popcorn movie, but the characters are paper thin with John C. Reilly giving much needed energy with his comedic relief role.   The action is great and the extras are good (and yet I wish Warner Bros didn’t have a location featurette as a Target exclusive).

 

This review is © 8-7-2017 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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