Kong: Skull Island is the second movie of planned Monsterverse franchise because every movie has to be a franchise now. Unlike other would be movie franchises, this one isn’t half bad.
I love Godzilla, both the American reboot and the monster. It was because of that love that I saw Kong: Skull Island, since at some point in the future, they’re supposed to duke it out in a glorious fight for the ages. I probably shouldn’t have gone in with that mindset because these two movies couldn’t be more different.
Whereas Godzilla was a dark and gritty monster movie set in the modern day, Kong: Skull Island is a movie set in the 70s or at least, a version of the 70s that’s been greatly exaggerated to the point of near parody. This film is more of an adventure film right down to a handsome, rugged man who must save their lives while trapped on the island. I say man because I honestly don’t know any of their names.
There are multiple characters throughout this film but they’re all very shallow characters. What you see is what you get from these people. You never learn anything deeper about them because you’re not really supposed to. There’s just a group of people trapped on an island with a giant ape. And I was perfectly okay with that.
This movie does not take itself seriously at all, it is simply a movie meant to entertain the audience, which is exactly what monster movies were supposed to do. Sure, there is always room to tell a deep and meaningful movie, but I’m not gonna fault a monster movie for being stupid. This film is stupid but in the fun perfect way. It’s a film that knows what it’s trying to do and it does it very well. And I had a good time with it.
Tim Lilly 