Review of Kong: Skull Island (2017) by Garry A — 27 Jul 2017

Wow. This is what happens when you hand your generic, big blockbuster, action-adventure movie, to a 'proper' film director - he elevates it to something special. Jordan Vogt-Roberts has managed that here in two key ways.

Firstly, the film looks stunning. From the cinematography, be it framing, composition, camera movement, or even shifting of the colour grading; there is not a single scene that doesn't have at least one wow-moment in there. It is seriously one of the best looking action films of this ilk, I have ever seen. Period. No hyperbole!

Secondly, the action sequences. Kong: Skull Island is like the very opposite of what you might expect from an action flick, in that you can actually follow the flow of the scenes, as they are allowed to play through without quick cuts and over-editing. The film has enough confidence in it's CGI and the choreography of it's fight scenes, that it doesn't need multiple cuts every other second, to feign dynamism. The scenes pack emotional and physical impact, through the camera movements and sound effects alone, coupled with copious use of slow-mo and other under cranking of the film's frame-rate.

It's a wonderful thing.