Kong: Skull Island Review

     Kong: Skull Island is officially in theaters and bigger then ever. Directed by Kings of Summer helmer Jordan Vogt-Roberts, this is the next film in Kong and Godzilla shared universe. Although this film greatly differentiates itself from Godzilla (2014) in many ways, they both suffer from some the same flaws including character development and lack of intriguing story. Fortunately though, this movie is saved because of its incredible visuals and spectacular monster brawls.
     The overwhelming positivity of this movie are the monster fights. King Kong is bigger in size then ever (probably getting in shape for Kong vs. Godzilla (2020)). Having the movie take place in Skull Island enhances the film because we see all these different monsters that inhabit the island. Unlike Godzilla, we are introduced to Kong immediately in this movie and that greatly strengthens the movie because it helps audiences to root for him during all of his fights.

     It has monster vs. monster fights and human vs. monster so what more could you ask for? The biggest risk with making a monster centered movie is the visual work that comes with it and luckily this movie pulls it off quite well. Obviously your brain is going to associate the ape as CGI because 100 foot monkeys don't actually exist but there are some incredible sequences that will blow away audiences.
     It's a great movie to shove popcorn down your throat and turn your brain off. Unfortunately for me my expectations were more then that leading up and that's what led to my disappointment in some parts of the film.
     The biggest flaw with this movie is the character development. I understand when seeing a Kong movie you just want a great monster movie and that's perfectly understandable. Unfortunately for me, the marketing for this movie led me to believe that this movie could be so much more than that. This includes a star studded cast with Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, Brie Larson, and Corey Hawkins. All their talent is fairly wasted though because the lack of character exploration. The only real character that is explored is Hank played by John C. Reilly. To me it just felt like a waste of the A-list talent that you had at your disposal.
     The dialogue in this movie is something that should also be noted as a flaw. There are moments when you can tell these stars are trying their best to deliver these lines and it will still make you cringe. It almost feels like a TV science fiction movie. The screenplay was written by Dan Gilroy who is a very talented writer but it seems as though he had a bad day at the office when writing Kong. Some the humor falls flat as well which is really surprising when you at how well Jordan Vogt-Roberts has done with humor in his previous films.
     I would recommend seeing this film in theaters because it suits the big screen very well. Unfortunately for me I built up my expectations too much to think it could be a lot better then just a monster movie in which you shut your brain off.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10