Four stars. Rated PG-13, and a bit generously, for intense fantasy violence and action, and fleeting strong profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 3.10.17
Every generation has its Tarzan,
its Three Musketeers, its Sherlock Holmes.
And its King Kong.
Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and Weaver (Brie Larson) discover — quite unexpectedly — that Kong isn't the only massive creature to worry about, on Skull Island. |
Kong: Skull Island is a
rip-snortin’ monster movie in the old-fashioned mold: a thrill-a-minute B
adventure that boasts A-level action and special effects. Sure, the script — by
John Gatins, Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly — is formulaic and
familiar, but it delivers on all counts; you really couldn’t expect more from
this sort of roller coaster ride.
And, as befits 21st century
sensibilities, we also get a gentle reminder of the importance of bio-diversity
and species management, and the crucial role played by a top predator. Rather
heady stuff for an exhilarating monster flick, and certainly welcome.
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and
editor Richard Pearson waste little time; they hit the ground running with a
clever prologue, and then — after introducing the primary characters just long
enough so we can bond — drop everybody into utter chaos.
Mention also must be made of the
slick title credits sequence: always a good sign. (I’ve long believed that a
director who insists on clever credits, will pay equal attention to all other
aspects of his film.)
The action is set in 1973 in
Southeast Asia, as the Vietnam war is winding down, leaving dedicated soldiers
such as Lt. Col. Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) somewhat adrift. Irritated
by having been pulled out of a war that he views as “abandoned,” Packard — who
commands a helicopter military unit — is delighted to receive one last mission:
to escort a team of scientists who wish to chart a hitherto-undiscovered South
Pacific landmass glimpsed by NASA’s orbiting Landsat 1.
Packard’s loyal, battle-hardened
and tough-as-they-come “sky devils” include Chapman (Toby Kebbell), Mills
(Jason Mitchell), Cole (Shea Whigham), Slivko (Thomas Mann) and Reles (Eugene
Cordero).
They’re the most visible of
several dozen soldiers, but we don’t get to know any of the others. Which, yes,
is suggestive...
The Landsat team is headed by
scientist Bill Randa (John Goodman), who has lost most of his credibility after
20 years’ worth of thus far fruitless concerns over what might have been
spawned by the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll. An expedition to what has been
dubbed “Skull Island” is his last chance for redemption.
Randa’s scientific team includes
Yale University geologist Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins), author of a controversial
paper on the so-called “hollow Earth” theory; biologist San (Tian Jing); and
nervous survey team leader Victor Nieves (John Ortiz).
But Randa is no fool; he suspects
they’ll also need somebody with ground-level tracking experience that Packard
and his men don’t possess. Enter Capt. James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), a former
SAS black ops officer trained in the art of locating and extracting soldiers
lost in jungles and war-torn terrain.
Word of this clandestine
expedition reaches award-winning war photo-journalist Mason Weaver (Brie
Larson), who smells a story; she therefore attaches herself to the mission. After
enduring one crack about her gender — this is, after all, 1973 — things go awry
rapidly enough, and she conducts herself bravely enough, that nobody has cause
to mock her again.
The brief first act is basically
an extended “suiting up” sequence, as these various factions and individuals
assemble and stuff their gear onto the freighter commissioned to transport them
to Skull Island. Randa and his team burble enthusiastically about what they
might find; Packard’s men crack wise about this trivial babysitting assignment.
Poor fools, we think, with a
knowing smile. We know what’s coming. The movie poster already revealed that
much.
Only Conrad is wary, as befits
his nature. And Weaver, perceiving Conrad as the group’s most prudent member,
takes her cue from his caution.
And then ... well, the island
recce doesn’t go quite as expected.
Although what follows is told in
broad strokes, with little subtlety, the storyline pays tribute to a few key
predecessors. The science/military dynamic is right out of Aliens, with Randa
failing to be entirely candid with Packard going in, and the latter
understandably annoyed when the truth surfaces. More notably, Jackson’s
approach to his role is straight out of Herman Melville: Inwardly seething over
D.C.’s handling of the Vietnam fracas, Packard transforms into an obsessed Ahab
pursuing a massive beast, determined to win this time.
Jackson delivers more emotional
gravitas than we’d expect in such a film, as the spit-and-polish Packard slides
into monomania.
Younger Kong acolytes may not
realize that the original 1933 classic featured much more than a massive
simian. Skull Island was introduced as a uniquely isolated and enclosed
eco-system, boasting a wealth of oversized beasties. This new film honors that
legacy, upping the ante by way of Stephen King’s The Mist, which concealed
its own nightmarish monstrosities.
The results are unexpected,
occasionally amusing, and often terrifying. (On a few occasions, the PG-13
rating feels generous.) You’ll not get spoilers here, but let’s just say
there’s a reason this new Kong is considerably larger than those featured in
his earlier big-screen escapades.
Hiddleston is solid as the jaded
but resourceful Conrad; he doesn’t showboat the role, inspiring instead by a
persuasive, quiet calm that is wholly at odds with the frantic disbelief
expressed by a few of his comrades. (“Are we not gonna talk about this?” shouts
poor Slivko, youngest of Packard’s men. He has a point.)
Larson, no doubt seeking a juicy
follow-up after her Academy Award win for Room, definitely enjoys herself
here. Weaver is a terrific character, full of spirit; she also behaves as we’d
expect a photojournalist to look and act. She doesn’t merely observe people or
a situation; her eyes always seems to frame them, as if composing a shot.
And, yes, as befits the key woman
in a Kong epic, her “relationship” with the title character gets a bit, ah,
closer than most.
Mann is equally memorable as the
excitable Slivko: quite a switch from the thoughtful, sensitive performance he
gave as the star of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Whigham also stands out
as the pragmatic Cole: something of a father figure to his fellow soldiers, and
therefore inclined toward protective instincts.
Jing, currently on view — and
granted a much better role — in The Great Wall, is completely wasted here.
Perhaps it’s no surprise, given the size of the cast, that a few roles remain
under-developed, but poor San is entirely superfluous.
John C. Reilly pops up unexpectedly,
after which he comes close to stealing the show ... if only from his two-legged
co-stars. He certainly gets all the best one-liners.
The tech credits are top-notch.
Production designer Stefan Dechant clearly had fun with the island’s various
regions, most particularly a rather unusual “burial ground.” Visual effects
supervisors Stephen Rosenbaum and Jeff White were kept busy, with everything
from Kong on down to some nasty-looking insects.
All these elements are
choreographed for maximum excitement by Vogt-Roberts, whose only previous
big-screen credit was 2013’s charming coming-of-age saga, The Kings of Summer. I dunno how Vogt-Roberts so quickly gained the skill to ride herd over
such a huge endeavor, but he deserves high-fives for adapting so quickly.
This newest Kong is guaranteed
to please genre fans, and it’s a welcome antidote from a winter that, for the
past several weeks, has been particularly weak, movie-wise.
Oh, and be sure to hang around
through all of the credits: You’ll be rewarded with a nice surprise.
2 comments:
I enjoy your reviews, very thorough.
Thanks for the kind words. "Thorough" always sounds better than "long-winded." :-)
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