Review of Kong: Skull Island (2017) by Barney O — 25 May 2017

WHAT I LIKED: I do certainly hold some love for 'Kong: Skull Island,' as it's a film sprinkled with more quirky and individual elements than you may expect from a blockbuster of this scale. Yes for one, the story is clearly crafted to explore a couple of timely ideas; working as a backdrop for everything that is discussed every now and then by the script to bring its underlying messages to the surface. The joy of that though is that it's done in a way that makes you smile as it's almost flippant and self-aware, and that vibe is something you get from the whole film; a bubbling undertone of something slightly more as director Jordan Vogt-Roberts enjoys teasing and playing with the audience. Luckily on the surface too, he brings plenty more individual charm with the visuals, occasional jokes and the equally suggestive soundtrack.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: With all of that in place, it's exceedingly frustrating that it actually relies more on the standard blockbuster side of things than it does on anything else, as it fails to properly delve into its charming elements and ideas, and crucially forgets about its characters too. Yes despite a great cast, none of them are able to peg a remotely investing character, as they're each given very little exploration, and actually spend the majority of their time talking about how they're going to get off the island. The irony of that is that we know our leads will all be fine, so it's almost biting time, and all the cool stuff consequently feels like an unnecessary diversion. Of course you may not be worried about that if the investment was strong enough, but the fact these weak characters keep going on about it only drives home the feeling all the more.

VERDICT: Whilst there is some quirky, cool and intelligent stuff here; in the end, 'Kong: Skull Island' winds up a pretty average blockbuster with very few engaging elements at all.