Kong: Skull Island

In movies as in life, much of one’s happiness depends on expectations. For example, back in 2005, Peter Jackson released his remake of the 1933 classic, King Kong. Because it was Peter Jackson, the genius who had just successfully helmed one of the most ambitious movie projects in history – The Lord of the Rings trilogy – and because the remake was of one of his most beloved films, one that made him want to make movies in the first place, and because it starred Oscar winner Adrian Brody and because the special effects were by Jackson’s own Oscar winning team at WETA, my expectations were sky high. I went on opening night, and I, like most of the movie-going world, was bitterly disappointed. It had all the hallmarks of a project by a director who had a free hand. It was long, overstuffed and indulgent, and just too precious at times. The sequence of Ann Darrow played by Naomi Watts having a delightfully flirty time in Central Park ice skating with Kong was just too weird. It cleared its two hundred million dollar budget by a few million, and then went on to make more overseas, so it didn’t lose money, but it was widely considered to be a misfire after the success of his Tolkein adaptations. It was largely seen as a failure because of what everyone expected. 

So this brings us to 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Despite its A-list cast featuring Oscar winner Brie Larson along with Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, and the great John Goodman, and despite its obviously world-class special effects, I had no expectations for this movie. Based on things I’d heard from friends and colleagues, I actually expected it to be garbage. The result of these dramatically lowered expectations is that I had a great time at Skull Island, far better than I did at King Kong in 2005. Because I expected nothing, anything good was a pleasant surprise.

It’s a reimagining of the original 1933 film, updating it from the 30s to Viet Nam-era 1970s. The story is not exact but it hits many of the same beats. John Goodman plays the charismatic believer who convinces everyone else to go to the island. Tom Hiddleston is the macho leading man who looks out for Brie Larson, who plays the beauty who tames the beast. As characters, they’re all pretty underdeveloped but that’s okay because sophisticated character evolution is not the point. 

Skull Island’s obvious visual referent is Apocalypse Now. The rich, nightmarish color palate of the night scenes, the showers of sparks, the floodlights reflecting on the surface of the river, and helicopters flying into the hazy inferno of the sun are all literal grabs from the 1979 classic. They’re obvious shouts from the director saying, “Look, ma! I can do Coppola!” The other connection is to Apocalypse Now’s inspiration, Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness. Tom Hiddleston’s character is named Conrad and John C. Reilly’s marooned pilot is named Marlowe, which is the name of the novel’s protagonist. (Reilly’s character is also drawn directly from Dennis Hopper’s crazed photojournalist character in Apocalypse Now, for the record.) So Skull Island is packed with references, allusions, and outright thefts, but it just doesn’t do anything in particular with its stolen treasure. None of these connections add up to anything other than as a possible test to see how many English majors are in the audience. 

Skull Island is about Kong tearing helicopters apart, the miscast action hero Tom Hiddleston using a sword to chop apart carnivorous dino-birds in slow motion, and the underused Brie Larson using dead aim to fire a flare right into a monster’s eye at 500 yards. Kong: Skull Island is pulpy and ridiculous, and I mean that in the best possible sense. Because I expected nothing, every over-the-top stunt, ridiculous line of dialogue, and elaborate Kong-inflicted death was entertaining. My ultra-low expectations were exceeded. If you go this expecting a Film with a capital F, you’ll be disappointed but if you go expecting just a fun Movie, you’ll be well rewarded.