Kong: Skull Island

It's been just over 10 years since Hollywood gave us a King Kong movie, and considering the film industry's recent lack of creativity, a reboot was long overdue.

Over the weekend, I checked out Kong: Skull Island on the recommendation of a friend, and what can I say? The movie was 90% (or more) action/special effects and about 10% plot and character development (and that's being generous). 

To sum up: Basically, this explorer, played by John Goodman, finds a satellite image of an unexplored island and convinces the government to send a team to check it out. The team is accompanied by an Army platoon, led by an aging Samuel L. Jackson in an embarrassing attempt to recapture his action hero glory days. Arriving at the island, the team is greeted by a ginormous gorilla (the infamous Kong of the title) who is majorly P.O.ed at the invasion. Kong launches into Hulk-Smash mode and destroys most of the helicopters flown by the explorers. The few survivors spend the rest of the movie dodging giant island inhabitants, running from these weird dinosaur-lizard monsters who apparently live underground, and trying to get off the island alive and with all their limbs still attached. Jackson's character develops a vendetta against Kong and decides he must be destroyed, but...well, that part's actually pretty anticlimactic. Before the credits roll, there is much gunfire, a gratuitous amount of explosions, and a lot of unimportant side characters get blown up and/or squished and/or eaten. I'm sure far too much was spent on this movie that, quite honestly, was kind of boring.

The best part of the film didn't even happen on screen. Rather, it happened when my Siamese, Luna, was passing by the TV on her way to the food dish while Kong (on screen) was rage-roaring at the incoming helicopters. She stopped mid-stride and glared at the screen as if to say, "Are you growling at ME? I don't think so!"....before continuing on her mission, nose in the air and quite visablly annoyed. 

My final verdict: Skip this one. Or just wait a few more years. I'm sure there will be another reboot that's even worse. --AJB