Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Kong: Skull Island Review














Kong: Skull Island


Release Date: 9th March 2017 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
Legendary Entertainment
Tencent Pictures (presents)

Distribution
Roadshow Films


Genre: Action/Adventure/
Fantasy

Rating: M

Runtime: 118 minutes


Budget: $185,000,000

Box Office Gross: $566,652,812 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary 
During the 1970s, a ragtag team of explorers travelled deep into an unknown but beautiful remote island called Skull Island in the Indian Ocean.

However, they soon learn that the island holds a treacherous secret - it is the home of a giant, prehistoric ape known as King Kong, who possesses immense strength and semi-human intelligence.


Cast
Tom Hiddleston - James Conrad
Samuel L. Jackson - Preston Packard
John Goodman - Bill Randa
Brie Larson - Mason Weaver
Tian Jing - San
John Ortiz - Victor Nieves
Terry Notary - Kong
John C. Reilly - Hank Marlow
Toby Kebbell - Jack Chapman/Kong
Jason Mitchell - Mills
Shea Whigham - Cole
Thomas Mann - Slivko
Eugene Cordero - Reles
Marc Evan Jackson - Landsat Steve
Will Brittain - Young Marlow/
Marlow's Son
Miyavi - Gunpei Ikari
Richard Jenkins - Senator
Willis
Allyn Rachel - Secretary O'Brien
Corey Hawkins - Houston Brooks
Robert Taylor - Athena Captain
James M. Connor - Gen. Ward (Voice)
Thomas Middleditch - Jerry (Voice)
Brady Novak - Base Guard
Peter Karinen - Chinook Pilot
Brian Sacca - Chinook Co-Pilot
Joshua Funk - Seismic Soldier
Daniel F. Malone - Boat Captain
Glenn 'Kiwi' Hall - Boat Captain
Garreth Hadfield - Crew Chief
Shannon Brimelow - Kamikaze
Pilot
Jon Quested - Dead Pilot
Korey Williams - Sunglasses
Pilot
Dat Phan - Bar Thug
Cynthy Wu - Thug's Girlfriend
Beth Kennedy - Marlow's Wife
Bryan Chojnowski - Chicago
Taxi Driver

Crew
Director - Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Based on the Character - Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace (Uncredited)
Story - John Gatins
Screenplay - Dan Gilroy,
Max Borenstein and Derek
Connolly
Executive Producer - Edward
Cheng
Executive Producer/Unit
Production Manager - Eric McLeod
Producers - Alex Garcia,
Jon Jashni, Mary Parent
and Thomas Tull
Co-Producer/Production
Supervisor - Jennifer Conroy
Co-Producer/Visual Effects Producer - Tom C. Peitzman
Military Technical Advisor - Harry Humphries
Casting Director - Sarah Finn
Production Designer - Stefan Dechant
Conceptual Design - Mark 'Crash' McCreery
Supervising Art Director - Doug J. Meerdink
Art Directors - John Lord Booth III and
Steve Christensen
Art Director: Australian Unit - Bill Booth
Vehicle Design Coordinator - Ron Mendell
Illustrators - Zachary Berger
and Steve Jung
Set Decorator - Cynthia La Jeunesse
Property Master - Steven B. Melton
Property Master: Los Angeles Unit -
Sean Mannion
Costume Designer - Mary E. Vogt
Makeup Department Head - Bill Corso
Key Makeup Artist - Dennis Liddiard
Director of Photography - Larry Fong
Director of Photography: Nature Unit - Ross Reige
Aerial Director of Photography - David B. Nowell
"A" Camera Operator - P. Scott Sakamoto
"B" Camera Operator - Calum McFarlane
Supervising Location Manager - Ilt Jones
Production Supervisors: Second Unit -
Eric Hedayat and Renee Confair
Unit Production Manager: Australia Crew -
Jennifer Cornwell
First Assistant Director - Richard Graves
First Assistant Director: Second Unit - Nick Satriano
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Spiro Razatos
Second Unit Director (Uncredited)/
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor - Stephen Rosenbaum
Stunt Coordinator - George Cuttle
Stunt Coordinator: Australia Crew - Kyle Gardiner
Stunt Coordinator: Second Unit - Andy Gill
Aerial Coordinator/Pilot - David Paris
Marine Coordinator - Daniel F. Malone
Special Effects Supervisor - Michael Meinardus
Special Effects Supervisor: Australia Crew - Bruce Bright
Visual Effects Supervisor - Jeff White
Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Robert Weaver
and Jeff Capogreco
Additional Visual Effects Supervisor - John Dykstra
Additional Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM -
Jason Smith and Dan Seddon
Visual Effects Executive Producer: ILM - Jill Brooks
Visual Effects Art Director: ILM - Aaron McBride
Animation Supervisor - Scott Benza
Animation Supervisors: ILM - Adrian Millington
and Jance Rubinchik
Compositing Supervisors: ILM - Nelson Sepulveda,
Paolo Acri and Aaron Brown
Creature Supervisors: ILM - Karin Cooper
and Steve Sauers
Creature Model Supervisors: ILM - Lana Lan
and Krishnamurti Costa
Editor - Richard Pearson
Additional Editors - Bob Murawski and
Josh Schaeffer
Second Unit Editor - David Kern
Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer -
Al Nelson
Supervising Sound Editor - Steve Slanec
Sound Designer/Re-Recording Mixer - Pete Horner
Assistant Supervising Sound Editors -
André Fenley and Coya Elliott
Production Sound Mixer: Hawaii Unit - Peter J. Devlin
Dialogue Editor - Brian Chumney
ADR Editors - Bjørn Ole Schroeder
and Cheryl Nardi
Re-Recording Mixers - Tom Myers
and Tom Johnson
Foley Artists - John Roesch and Shelley Roden
Music - Henry Jackman
Additional Music - Halli Cauthery,
Alex Belcher and Stephen Hilton
Music Supervisors - Peter Afterman
and Margaret Yen
Associate Music Supervisor - Alison Litton
Score Mixer - Alan Meyerson


Review
It's been over a year since we last saw the original King of Beasts in Peter Jackson's remake of the 1933 classic. It proved divisive for newcomers and old-timers, as some were biased towards the 2005 version. Now, the character is getting a makeover for the latest iteration of KONG: SKULL ISLAND. He is yet to have a crossover with Godzilla from 2014's monster hit (click here) in their shared cinematic universe. I had missed several opportunities to watch the classic and the previous interpretations when someone insisted I see another film instead. SKULL ISLAND is no longer taking the giant ape from a tropical island to the Big Apple in the 1930s and is now a survival-based adventure film set in the last days of the Vietnam War. It's different to the rest of the Kong films, whereas this one has a vibe of Apocalypse Now while incredibly entertaining with its action and humour.

Tom Hiddleston was remarkable at portraying the Harrison Ford-type figure in the film as it was a sideline from his known villainous portrayal of Loki. More prominent players include Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and John C. Reilly. The latter portrayed a stranded World War II veteran, who was a bit of comic relief. Even Samuel L. Jackson was noted for good publicity when he portrayed a vicious Colonel about to carry a grudge against Kong. For the ape-like titular character, he was nearly as good in motion capture as Andy Serkis had portrayed him in 2005. But he has decided to take another mantle on a similarly ape-themed series of Planet of the Apes.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND is in the thin waters of characterisation and worldbuilding but is a semi-decent film. On a positive note, most people will be thrilled and find this version more enjoyable than Peter Jackson's polarising interpretation. You better go straight to the cinema before it finishes screening.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

2 comments:

  1. Nice review! I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this movie. Not perfect, but so fun! It's funny to me too that Terry Notary and Toby Kebbell were both also in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Knowing how to physically embody an ape is a good skill to have!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I can't believe you have given me this fact of irony.

      Delete