Kong: Skull Island
For those who are looking for great action sequences featuring larger-than-life monsters, you won’t walk away Kong: Skull Island disappointed. The film prominently showcases the brutal and primal strength of King Kong in thrilling action set pieces.
However, while Kong: Skull Island is a fun and explosive spectacle, its weaknesses lie in the very fundamental elements of storytelling. Namely, the constant shift in tones that makes the film feels like an uneven effort in crowd-pleasing rather than a confident presentation of a director’s singular vision. Many moments in the film felt contrived, as if the filmmakers were checking off a to-do list, not allowing any breathing room for them to organically take place. Its attempt to deal with issues concerning consequences of war is not nearly as profound as the film wants it to be.
The human characters in monsters movies are usually the driving forces behind the stories. With Kong: Skull Island, the writers seem to care so little about them that they are reduced to archetypical, convenient plot devices. At the end, we are rushed into an expedition with a group of hastily assembled individuals whose predicaments have no emotional impacts on us. This is particularly glaring when you have a stellar cast, featuring Academy-Award winner Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Hiddleston.
Along with the 2014 film Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island is set to become a part of a shared cinematic universe, dubbed the MonsterVerse. The two films released so far allowed the audience to get a feel of the lethality of the monsters.
However, it is hard not be skeptical about the future of the MonsterVerse when there is no distinctive flare that gives it the identity and edge that an engrossing franchise needs. With the prevalence of cinematic universes, perhaps studios should bear in mind that each film should first be a good standalone experience instead of merely being a glorified justification for a franchise treatment.
(Originally posted on 11 Mar 2017 @projectunwrapped)
