Susan Granger’s review of “Kong: Skull Island” (Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures)
Ever since 1933, the huge gorilla-like creature named Kong has been a cinema icon, and this new action-packed sci-fi adventure evokes legendary monster movies of bygone years with a fresh perspective.
In 1973, just after the United States withdrew from the Vietnam War, Earth-mapping satellite photos revealed a long-hidden landmass in the South Pacific, known as Skull Island, surrounded by a perpetual storm system.
That prompts investigator Bill Randa (John Goodman) to initiate an exploratory expedition, muttering, “There will never be a more screwed-up time in Washington” – a line which immediately elicits audience laughter.
To guide his team of scientists (China’s Tian Jing, Corey Hawkins), Randa hires black-ops survivalist James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston). They’re joined by Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), a plucky “anti-war” photo-journalist, and given a military escort, headed by embittered Lt. Col. Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) with his intrepid squadron.
After dropping bombs to shake up the island’s seismic core, they discover prehistoric beasts that boggle the imagination, particularly the wrath of gigantic Kong as he swats helicopters out of the sky.
Those who survive meet up with grizzled Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly), a W.W.II pilot who was shot down in 1944, and embark on a perilous trek through primeval jungle terrain.
Scripted by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly from John Gatins’ pulpy story, it’s filled with allusions to Joseph Conrad’s novella “Heart of Darkness” and Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation “Apocalypse Now.”
Competently directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (“The Kings of Summer”), it’s enhanced by an assortment of menacing CGI beasts created by Industrial Light & Magic, particularly Tony Kebbell’s authentic facial-capture Kong performance which surpasses Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake that won the VFX Oscar.
This Kong is a 100-foot tall gorilla/man hybrid, walking upright and roaring mightily before munching the tentacles of a huge octopus and battling the massive Skullcrawler lizard.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Kong: Skull Island” is a spectacular 7. It’s a fun-filled creature-feature, concluding with a post-credit franchise promotion.
