Review of Kong: Skull Island (2017) by Saintdecky — 11 Mar 2017

Kong: Skull Island is an enjoyable, fun, thrilling movie that by no means has good characters or screenplay.

Acting: The acting is just fine. There are so many actors and characters that most people barely even get to say anything. Some of the lines are kind of phoned-in, but that's also a problem with the script.

Characters: There are way too many characters. The movie attempted to develop each one multiple times by giving them two lines describing their backstory or something significant that happened once. They did little to nothing to develop anyone and just ate up time that could have been spent for action sequences. Halfway through, I just hoped that they didn't focus on the characters and just on the action, and it seems they almost gave up as well. Towards the last 40 minutes, they just kind of give up and don't give anymore background. John C. Reiley's character is really the only one who has any development, and the only one that really feels like a character. Brie Larson's character does little to nothing besides annoyingly take pictures throughout and say exclamations when something happens. I would give an example, but I don't even remember some things she said. And I saw the movie 5 hours ago. That's how forgettable she was I completely forgot some characters existed halfway through the movie. John Goodman just kind of disappears after being in the first 20 minutes. Tom Hiddleston just acts cool and kills stuff when he gets the chance. I think the few minutes they spent trying to develop him should've been spent on him killing stuff, because it was great seeing him in action. Sammy Jackson's character just kind of stares murderously at stuff through fire during the whole movie. There are some characters that literally have a few lines and then just kind of die.

Plot: There are some problems with the movie throughout (example: why didn't they see any of Kong's destruction when they first flew over the island, then they walk around for a few minutes and see footprints and stuff everywhere), and I don't think anyone should've survived the initial helicopter crashes. I admire the fact that they didn't spend 30 minutes building up going to the island; it still took 20 something minutes, but it wasn't boring or anything. The Magnificent Seven is a good example of this. In that movie, they spent nearly half the film just gathering the seven, even though it was next to useless because you know they're going to join. In this movie, you know they're going to go to the island, so they didn't take their time building up to the expedition, they just gave some background information and went. Some things happen very conveniently, that can be expected in a movie like this. I also walked into this movie expecting to be able to predict twists and turns, but I wasn't necessarily able to. This may have been because the movie didn't attempt to throw any curveballs; they just made the movie with no ambition in mind.

Screenplay: Most of the lines are cheesy and not necessarily necessary. Most attempts to develop the characters further fall flat and just end up as a waste of time.

Action: The action was great, fun, and well-shot. It was well-done, and I wanted more by the end. As I said, many of the minutes spent attempting to develop should've been spent on action, as it was the best part. It was smart and engaging, with scenes that were pretty intense. They were nowhere near the most intense scenes I've seen in a movie, but it definitely comes close.

Effects: The effects were absolutely gorgeous. Kong looked great, the skullcrawlers looked scary and awesome, and every other animal looked realistic and convincing. The fights between Kong and the skullcrawlers looked amazing, and didn't feel like I was watching two CGI animals fighting. Another thing I want to bring up are the creatures. The creatures were creative and cool, and I wish there were more of them. Some of the best parts and best scenes were when they discovered a new species and had to fight it off. Even just seeing a new creature was cool and enjoyable. Unfortunately they spent time with the characters, as I've said.

Overall, Kong: Skull Island has bland, bleak characters, but is compensated for with truly amazing effects and great action. Still think 10-15 minutes could have been shaved off, though.