Kong: Skull Island

Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island gives us the latest incarnation of the giant ape King Kong, who debuted eponymously in Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s classic 1933 film, which has been remade several times, including Peter Jackson's version in 2005. Produced by three of the same people who produced Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014), it’s not hard to predict what the filmmakers have planned for this film’s legacy.

Taking place in the 1970s, rather than the 1930s or present day, as U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam, government official Bill Randa (John Goodman) and his geologist friend (and hollow-earther) Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) get the go-ahead to lead an expedition to the mysterious Skull Island. With a military escort lead by the bitter Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), having hired former air force captain James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) as a tracker, and photojournalist Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), the team fly through a perpetual lightning storm surrounding the island (at which point they should all be fried inside their metal helicopters) to the island and find themselves stranded with not only a gigantic ape but also a slew of other deadly creatures.

While Hiddleston sounds the same as most of his other films, his physical performance and appearance takes his formal accent and makes him look like a learned pessimistic survivor. Jackson portrays a dark, intense personality, in which he utilises a motionless stare which one can infer great vengeful brooding. Larson plays the “anti-war” photographer with a confident demeanor and is our female lead that Kong supposedly has an infatuation for. However, this film significantly downplays the (interspecies) romantic subplot of the original story, which is one of the most iconic things about King Kong. Come to think of it, removing Kong’s attraction to the female lead brings into question why she has the ability to calm Kong down.

Later in the film enters Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly), a lietanant who has been stranded on the island since World War II. Reilly’s acting style basically makes him a good fit for this role, a respectable “funny one” character, with whom the script can be lightly but surely funny. The writers’ and editor’s attempts at humour doesn’t work particularly well in its general execution or with the tone of the film. For some reason Samuel L. Jackson quotes his catchphrase from Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993): “Hold on to your butts.” The humour that does work with characters other than Hank comes from the semi-naturalistic performances as they relate to portrayals of the characters.

There seems to be a deliberate subtext to this film. At least three times in the scene where the humans reach the island there is a close-up of a Richard Nixon bobblehead in the foreground. The humans drop bombs, or ‘seismic charges’, and Kong responds in the best way he knows. Basically the film is comparing the discovery of Skull Island to the Americans coming over to Vietnam in the 1960s – even though Nixon sought to withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam during his time in office, he did approve Operation Menu, a covert bombing campaign on North Vietnam that had been set up by former President Lyndon B. Johnson.

On the subject of writing, there is something bothersome that quite a few films in the last few years, at least those involving monsters, suffer from. After a vicious retaliation from Kong, the team’s first encounter with the beast, James, Mason and most of the others have their wits about them and are preparing their next move, but one of the soldiers is frantic:

“Are we not gonna talk about what just happened?”

You know, just because you point out that movie characters are unrealistically desensitised to first contact with monsters doesn’t excuse the fact that your script suffers from that same flaw. Imagine you came across an upright-walking gorilla the size of a mountain that, but a few minutes prior, killed your military escort. You would not be okay! You would be terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought! At least take a moment to catch your breath and try to process the existence of a GIANT FREAKING APE! Writers should also stop having characters refer to the monster as “that thing” after their first encounter – it has become clichéd.

On the island there are several giant monsters, which are wonderfully designed and some horrifyingly voracious. But none compare to the big bruiser himself: Kong. This version of Kong is absolutely massive. Having brown fur, using trees as weapons, and even a fight with a certain giant animal, the film definitely draws influence from the Toho version of King Kong that appeared in Ishirō Honda’s King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). Kong’s action scenes are explosively violent and even intense at times. These fights have points in them that leave lasting consequences for not only the human characters but also Kong himself. In terms of choreography one would think that these battles would be a little clumsy, but in fact they’re some of the best thought-out scenes of the entire picture, getting downright creative with how the titanic fights play out.

Unfortunately despite this amazing action, one has to look at the character too. The big problem is that Kong isn’t especially well characterised in this film. Of course, the audience is expecting a giant ape to smash things, but again, the film downplays Kong’s romantic interest in the female lead to the point of nonexistence. So, what else is there? Sure, we’re given info on Kong’s backstory, but there’s not much to imply Kong’s thinking towards, say, the other members of his species being dead, of being alone in the world. At least in previous versions there was a focus on Kong’s emotions other than survival. Is Kong protecting the animals and natives of the island on purpose, and if so why?

The human-monster fight scenes are quite lavishly violent too and use tension well. That’s not so say there aren’t some stupid moments. Take for example the time several canisters of toxic gas explode, prompting only one character to put on a gas mask and fight his way through the green fog, only to take it off before he’s even gotten clear of the gas. The inhuman antagonists of the film are the two-legged serpentine Skullcrawlers, eating their prey whole. And consider, these monsters have teeth – several jagged rows in fact – yet they swallow their prey whole and regurgitate the remains, which means they digest their victims alive. These creatures are nefarious because they want to be! It’s chilling. Despite being massive beasts, Kong and the Skullcrawlers are shown to be quite intelligent, in their own non-verbal, aggressive ways.

Legendary Pictures has announced plans for a Godzilla vs. Kong to be released in 2020 – apparently it is unrelated to Toho’s King Kong vs. Godzilla, even though it is so obviously a remake of that film. That’s the reason why Kong: Skull Island makes as many nods to that film as it does. Aside from the poor attempts at humour, the writing isn’t all that bad, however it underutilises some of its characters to the point where they almost don’t need to be there, like San Lin (Jing Tian) and her barebones romantic subplot with Houston. The actors’ deliveries help the script sound better, and there are quite a few human moments. The environments are spectacular, and the film doesn’t feel the need to oversaturate the colours to make the place look nice despite the horrific creatures there. This film also gets probably one of the most important aspects of the film right; whereas Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla suffered from a tragic lack of Godzilla, Kong’s presence in this film is gloriously satisfying! Imperfectly written, but well acted, visually stunning, and a rush of jaw-dropping carnage! See this and you’ll be utterly excited for the King Kong vs. Godzilla remake.