“Shared Universe” – one of the buzzwords that came out as a consequence of the superhero trend that Hollywood has latched on to. Ever since Nick Fury sat Tony Stark down and explained the “Avengers Initiative ” to him in a post-credits scene (there’s another of those buzzwords), theater goers have had to plan their bathroom breaks well in advance in order to be able to wait till the credits finish rolling and a short teaser drops that connects the movie to the next in the series, building towards that shared universe.
When 2014’s Godzilla came out, I thought it would be a lazy attempt to cash in on the reboot craze or at best to makeup for Roland Emmerich’s horrendous Godzilla movie from the 90’s. While it made mucho Dinero, and was critically acclaimed I remember being left cold by it. The acting was mostly pedestrian except for the excellent Ken Watanabe and the whole “Get out of the way humans, let the monsters fight” thing was a bit boring. I mean, sure these Kaiju movies are all about sitting back and watching building-sized monsters kick ass, but hey I still need some human agency in my movies. Throwing in the standard toddler going around playing oblivious to whole cities falling around it cliche doesn’t cut it for me.
Kong:Skull Island from the get go looked much more interesting even though I was skeptical about Legendary and WB creating their own Monsterverse around these legendary Kaiju. The trailers were awe-inspiring, the cast very appealing and they even had an Indie director in Jordan Vogt-Roberts who had never made a big budget entertainer, which Hollywood has found of late is a sure shot winning formula (Godzilla’s own Gareth Edwards also had his start the same way and so did Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow, both of whom have graduated to making Star Wars movies).
Anywho, back to the 30,000 pound gorilla in the room. Skull Island doesn’t waste time and gives you a good eyeful of Kong right off the bat and then takes you to 1973 to the final throes of the Vietnam War, where the shadowy organization, Monarch (also seen in Godzilla) is hunting MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) on an uncharted island called, well, Skull Island (d-oh!). Monarch, headed by Randa (John Goodman) convinces the US government to insert them into a land mapping expedition to the area and sends in a Military escort led by Nick Fury himself (Samuel L. Jackson) playing Col.Packard. As the US withdrew gradually from Vietnam, while the rest of his crew look forward to returning home to their families, Packard jumps at the chance for some more action.
And find it he does in the form of the titular ape who shreds through an entire squadron of helicopters like they were so much Swiss cheese in one of the most spectacular setpieces in the movie. The rest of the movie deals with how the survivors band together only to find even worse horrors like a giant Spider, birds that make off with and eat people, savages, monsters from the deep, and worst of all, the evil within us.
Where even someone as accomplished as Peter Jackson chose the much walked road in remaking Kong, Director Vogt-Roberts blazes his own trail with a screenplay that owes more than a little to Apocalypse Now and the book it was based on, Heart of Darkness. Even more notable is the innovation he imbues into the minute-to-minute action. A scene where a camera strobe light is used in a unique way to telegraph a monster attack will have you marveling at the audacity of the director. His is a talent to watch out for – as long as he doesn’t get branded as a visionary after this movie and goes down the Zack Snyder path, that is. 😉
A Kaiju movie doesn’t usually give scope to the actors, but thankfully all the actors here acquit themselves well. Hiddleston as the ex-SAS tracker is understated, Brie Larson anchors the movie around her, Jackson is great as the Kurtz stand-in, John C Reilly is hilarious and poignant, but it’s Shea Wigham in a small role as one of Packard’s grunts who runs away with some of the most quotable lines from the movie.
In order to give full justice to the humongous creatures brought to vivid life by the wizards at ILM and given glorious voice by the Jedi army from Skywalker Sound, make sure to watch the movie in the biggest screen possible.
Sit down, sit back, and watch ’em Roar!
Pro-tip – wait till the end of the credits for an Avengers initiative-like scene that sets up the next couple of movies.
Life, the universe and everything 