Film Review: Kong : Skull island

Genre: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Cert: 12A

Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Screen writer: (screenplay)  Dan Gilroyand  Max Borenstein , Derek Connolly, (story by) John Gatins  

Starring: Tom Hiddleston , Samuel L. Jackson , Brie Larson , John C. Reilly , John Goodman , Corey Hawkins , John Ortiz , Tian Jing , Toby Kebbell , Jason Mitchell , Shea Whigham , Thomas Mann , Eugene Cordero , Marc Evan Jackson , Will Brittain  

Running time: 1h 58min

Parents advised to read before viewing film as some scene may contain scenes unsuitable for younger viewers.

Sex & Nudity: none

Violence & Gore: Moderate portrayals of violence, with some details, are shown, albeit justified by context.

The film contains many scenes of intense action between the humans and the giant creatures that inhabit the island. These scenes are shown in quick cuts, showing the peril the characters face and their reactions.

Some of the stronger scenes include a prolonged sequence which contains various shots of helicopters being knocked out of the sky by Kong; a brief scene where a man is shown impaled by the leg of a giant insect; a scene where Kong grapples violently with a giant lizard and pulls out its innards; etc.

Such scenes would be more appropriate for a teen audience

Profanity:  The film contains some use of coarse language, including the expletive "f**k".

Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: Drink in bar

Frightening/Intense Scenes: Set in the 1970s, 'Kong: Skull Island' follows a group of explorers who venture onto the mysterious Skull Island, and encounter the deadly inhabitants of the island, including the giant gorilla Kong.

Official MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language

Story: A diverse team of scientists, soldiers and adventurers unites to explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific, as dangerous as it is beautiful. Cut off from everything they know, the team ventures into the domain of the mighty Kong, igniting the ultimate battle between man and nature. As their mission of discovery becomes one of survival, they must fight to escape a primal Eden in which humanity does not belong.

Likes : Kong: Skull Island, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts.  Vogt-Roberts hasn't done a lot when it comes to big screen films,which I’m sure most of you that have seen this film already will know what I'm talking about. We pick up on it throughout the whole film, which I think is pretty clear. Visually, the film is incredible, right down to the visual effect of the storm and the creatures that inhabit the island; believe me, there are moments in this film when you're just staring at the screen thinking, “What the fuck is that”.

What’s great about this is that it’s not just Kong on the island- there are many things that are very dangerous and very big inhabiting it; after all, this is the same island a certain other monster we all know and love came from.

The visual effects on Kong are amazingly done in a way not like the previous look of Kong. Kong is more lean, like a chimpanzee, rather than a gorilla-type Kong which has been used in the past, which works for the film. Of special note is the main event of the film-an epic final battle of monster vs. monster, which is one of the best parts in the film.  bet that the audience would agree the movie is worth watching for that fight scene alone.

The film is amazing visually, which holds up the film entirely in entertainment value, especially the end credit scene that set up the Godzilla sequel- prefect. The cast is a pretty good choice for the film, but is also its greatness weakness, which I will explain later.

The story side is pretty, good just like Godzilla , Kong acts more of a protector than a predator or monster on the island, which is kind of a strange thing when you think about it. Like most beasts, you can never judge a book by its cover until it acts violent toward something it’s protecting.

   

Dislikes : Although the film is amazing and stunningly beautiful in effects with a great casting, my problem lies with the acting. The characters felt too fleshed-out like there wasn't enough charisma given in the screenwriting for them, like something out of a TV series and not a movie.

This was the film’s greatness weakness, which slightly brought the film down- not that it was a complete disaster of a film because, thankfully, the Kong moment make the film better.

Overall : Visually stunning, awesome final showdown with monster vs. monster battle, worth checking out.

Rating: 5 out of 5 for entertainment / 7 out of 10 for concept.