Kong: Skull Island

Don't let the title and promotional material fool you: Kong Skull Island is more military commentary and homage to Apocalypse Now than simply _another_ King Kong movie. In that sense it brings something new and fresh to the series, and is also very much a period piece--a period that all too recently seemed to be contemporary history, not the distant and unfamiliar past in which the film takes place. After a prologue set during WWII, the current setting of the film opens in the waning days of the Vietnam War. While plenty of films have explored the war in Vietnam, Kong eschewed using combat…

Thought that Peter Jackson's _King_ _Kong_ movie could have done without the entire first act? Though that the _Godzilla_ movie set in the same universe should have shown their big beastie a whole lot more? Well _Skull Island_ fixes those problems, and replaces them with a whole bunch of new ones! I had a lot of fun though. So it passes into the realm of a positive review by the skin of its octopus-riddled teeth. _Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go._

I really wanted to give this movie a better score but I just could not bring myself to overlook the stupid and crappy story. Okay, let’s start with the bad. The movie is about a group of explorers exploring this Skull Island. No surprise there. They are accompanied by a military detachment. Somewhat okay still, there is a half decent explanation for that. One of the main characters in the movie is Lieutenant Colonel Packard. At first, I quite liked him, especially when he told off the journalist informing her that they did not loose the war, it was abandoned by the politicians. However, from…

Yeah. That was an unconventional encounter. So here we have it, part two of the franchise reinvention of the beloved iconic creatures of cinema lore. After the 2014 redux of Godzilla was something of a tonal misstep, it's unsurprising to find this version of the King Kong legacy going all out blockbuster popcorner, and with that it succeeds - kinda. Plot is wafer thin, bunch of humans from various professions rock up at the uncharted Skull Island, each with differing levels of interest as to what might be there. Of which they quickly find out is a whole heap of trouble - big trouble! It's…