Animal revolt
Bakang Israel | Friday March 24, 2017 15:27
King Kong is the name of the vicious ape monster that brought delightful destruction from action of unusual animal behaviour to theatre soothing the cravings of hardcore thrill seekers.
The last time a creature of this kind was spotted was 12 years ago in 2005 as then director Peter Jackson (Lord of The Rings) exposed such a beast ‘Kong’ and the world loved it, going as far as cashing in a huge $550.5 million and scooping three Oscar awards in the process.
Well King Kong returns this year, under the direction of Jordan Vogt-Roberts and this one is much bigger almost three times the size of Peter Jackson’s ape and is meaner and more menacing. King Kong Skull Island falls in the category of monster films and these types of blockbusters thrive on disaster, revolving around innocent civilians struggling to stay alive in assaults from such animals, it joins other greats like Jurassic World, Godzilla, Dawn Of The Planet of the Apes, Anaconda, Hulk and so forth. In this one fear is still the element of fun as, “A diverse team of scientists, soldiers and venture to explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific, as dangerous as it is beautiful. Cut off from everything they know, the team ventures into the domain of the mighty Kong, igniting the ultimate battle between man and nature. As their mission of discovery becomes one of survival, they must fight to escape a primal Eden in which humanity does not belong”.
Action
This film packs a nasty punch to begin with. Firstly it serves the audience with a tasty sense of nostalgia as it is a sequel to the 2005 blockbuster, so the anticipation was huge. Skull Island joins a rich list of 2017 billed sequels that includes the likes of Logan, Fifty Shades Darker, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, The Fate of The Furious, Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Transformers The Last Knight amongst other hot films.
This Kong epic is also very much delightful because it is star-studded with stars like Tom Hiddleston from movies like (Thor - Ragnarok), Samuel L Jackson (Marvel franchises - Avengers, Captain America), Tian Jing (The Great Wall/Pacific Rim: Uprising) and Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton). It is cool in that regard because it is full of stars which the audience more than associate with. The tried and tested cast in a movie means cohesion in action sequences, and the movie is just that dope loaded with action.
For instance if you are used to the National Geographic Channel’s outrageous animal shows, well, Kong is more like an exaggerated version of those. Revellers were left scintillated by Kong smashing down a helicopter from midair, which was more reminiscent of reflexes of people warding off flies. This eagerly anticipated blockbuster also gets vigour from the boiling levels of the previous film that was packed with ape tranquilised by romance from the attractive looks of Ann (Naomi Watts) plus the vicious dinosaur threats, well this Kong has a few tricks up his sleeves. Apart from that the crafters went all out by creating this fantasy film as the big Gorilla is armed with wrestling skills like those from WWE superstar Roman Reigns, which is pretty awesome, the wrestling ape. As if that is not enough this adventure leaves one lingering on cloud nine because of the artistic cinematography. This is one of the better aspects of this escapades as Jordan Vogt-Roberts and the production team utilised computer generated imagery and special effects to create a colourful and imaginative world of strange animals that make an odd if not frightening addition to the food chain.
It is an amazing experience of 3D. Kong Skull Island is a powerful and witty film because it is not just a brainless action piece but it is also an emotional tale because it takes one through themes of military, fear, survival, nature and empathy.
Amongst all the commotion of gun fire and all other action from non-stop violence, the film gets interesting as the viewers along with the protagonist realise the true essence of antagonist Kong to Skull Island. So amongst the messages of this epic adventure is for us as humans to never disturb the balance of nature. I have a strong sense that this action sci-fi will undoubtedly have slight influence on the upcoming remake of the acclaimed Jumanji slated for December 2017 that will star Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black.
Reception
According to the box office, unlike the previous 2005 Kong film, Skull Island had a production budget of $185 million while the formers had a $207 million budget.
The gigantic ape premiered two weeks back globally and immediately had the world love-struck as it cashed in an amazing $61 million in its opening weekend. Currently the worldwide gross stands at a whooping $262 million. The aim is to surpass the $550.5 million total gross accumulated by Peter Jackson’s Kong directorial.
Top five movies in the world this week
1. Beauty and the Beast
2. Kong: Skull Island
3. Logan
4. Get Out
5. The Shack
Ratings
The experience of Kong is very spontaneous and overwhelming, every tick scored 10/10.
Movie: Kong Skull Island in 3D
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Duration: 2 hours
Age Restriction: 13
Release Date: March 10, 2017
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Main Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Brie Larson, Corey Hawkins