My friend Max Allan Collins walked out of Kong: Skull Island after 50 minutes. I stayed and had a good time. To quote Binx Bolling in Walker Percy's The Moviegoer, “The fact is I am quite happy in a movie, even a bad movie." Not that I thought this was a bad movie, just not a very good one if you're looking for a good script or depth of character. If you're looking for some spectacular action, though, you'll find you're in the right place.
At the end of the Vietnam conflict, John Goodman leads an expedition to Skull Island to prove that what he saw there in 1946 was real. He has a military escort led by Samuel L. Jackson. Both groups offer lots of diversity and hastily sketched characters. Tom Hiddleston is the guide, and Brie Larson is the photographer. They look great but are pretty much ciphers. John C. Reilly is the American who's been trapped on the island since WWII. He steals the movie, except for Kong, who's an awesome presence.
The movie takes a while to get started, but then it delivers the goods: action, CGI monsters, human conflicts, and Kong. Did I mention that Kong was awesome? I went on "3D Discount Day." I got my money's worth.
8 comments:
I enjoyed KONG: SKULL ISLAND, too. It's a fun thrill ride without much depth. Hey, what more can you ask of a popcorn movie in March?
I agree. Reilly has annoyed me at times, but here he was perfect. Kong was great!
Yes. One does not go to a movie with "King Kong" in the title for logic or depth of character (although to be fair, it wouldn't have taken much to improve this one considerably on both counts). And it beats the hell out of the 1976 de Laurentiis abomination. I really enjoyed it.
It's worth a look. There's lots to see. But some dumb characters.
I can sympathize with Al. It took monumental stupidity to set up the stranded-on-the-island premise, and to stay there longer than necessary was just as dumb. Yes, the action was good and the CGI stunning, but there's more to a movie than that.
I had fun. I love that instead of waiting 45 minutes to see King, you get him in the first 90 seconds. then you wait 45 minutes for the return.
I did others a service by lowering the bar.
It's still awful. Kong himself is way too big, and had zero personality. Reilly seems to be a sticking point -- some think he made the movie. For us, he was the last straw -- suddenly we were in a Disney movie circa '64.
I can't disagree. Still had fun, though. There is no movie bar too low for me. Well, that's not true, but . . . .
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