Kong: Skull Island (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
	Actors: Tom Hiddleston (Thor 1-2, The Avengers), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Deep Blue Sea, The Avengers), Brie Larson (21 Jump Street), John C. Reilly (Wreck-It Ralph), John Goodman (The Big Lebowski)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Fantasy, War
	Conditions of visioning: 25.07.2017, in-flight entertainment 10" screen.
Synopsis: Right after the Vietnam War, a group of veterans led by Preston (Jackson) escort a team of geologists to map a mysterious island in the south Pacific that is constantly at the center of a storm.
Review: Because of the presence of King Kong alive on its native island in that movie I thought it was a prequel of Peter Jackson's definitive 2005 King Kong, while it is in fact a prequel to Gareth Edwards 2014 Godzilla !! Or at least it takes place in the same Universe thanks to the presence of a company called Monarch which specializes in the theory of the Hollow Earth and predicts the emergence of giant animals. Then from the first scene taking place during WWII, I could tell it was not going to be an A-grade movie but rather a B one, which is not necessary a bad thing in itself when well done. But after being used to Peter Jackson's realistic giant gorilla and real-life characters, it is hard not to be disappointed by this almost man-in-a-suit standing straight that sets us back to 1978's version of King Kong with Jeff Bridges. I don't know if this was intentional but the story is even as weak as the one in that model. And the characters' motivations are not very convincing, especially the one of Sam Jackson who just wants to kill anything that moves after his traumatic end of the Vietnam war. A special mention to Tom Hiddleston whom I had never seen acting somebody else than Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (starting with Thor) and who nicely embodies an adventurer here. The special effects are decent (even if disappointing in the case of Kong) and the sleak design of the bad beasts that are the MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) remind of their counterparts in Godzilla. The movie may have been fun to watch on a large screen, but the weaknesses in the story spoiled the experience for me: Kong's history, when do his enemies show up with perfect timing, the survival of the local population, Hank's non-adaptation to life here, the annoying tendency of the chopper pilots to fly too close to Kong...
Rating: 3 /10