FilmSnobReviews

Title: Kong: Skull Island
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John C, Reilly
Runtime:1 hr 58 mins

What It Is: When a crack scientific team travels the previously uncharted titular island the team led by Bill Randa (John Goodman) and Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins). To round out their team they have tracker James Conrad (Hiddleston) and Photographer Mason Weaver (Larson) along with a crack military team led by Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson). When they arrive they get a lot more than they bargained for. Mysterious lizards and a native tribe that worships the great ape that runs the show.

What We Think: Not a great film, but it is a damn fun time at the movies. First off the script is the film’s biggest flaw. Some of it comes off as painfully pedestrian. I loved the CGI it looked legit. Kong looked great and there can be no doubt that the artists behind him nailed it. Some of the character work was a bit wonky and that, I think was due to the script. It was wonderfully shot but a bit sloppy in the chair. Vogt-Roberts, whose known for Kings of Summer didn’t make the film feel like anything outside of big studio schlock.

Our Grade: C+, An enjoyable film but one that younger kids may find either too scary or a bit boring. That’s a definitive pacing issue. I’ll recommend this strictly on the basis that you understand that the film is what it is. A giant monster destroys some things. Don’t expect the wheel to get reinvented, but just stuff your face and have an amazing time watching this thing. I look forward to more from both Hiddleston and Larson, particularly Larson who’ll soon be given a role in the big money MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Captain Marvel.