I like how differently people reacted at the movie: some found the simple characters and more focus on the effects and monster battles as part of the campy fun in kaiju movies, others were bothered by it. I suppose I'll go into this movie with low expectations and will probably be fine with it, but I hope that for the Godzilla sequel they make human characters that feel more interesting to follow.
I enjoyed the heck outta this film. It was the type of film I was hoping I'd see. I even posted a review on my channel. I also did a post credits scene too.
I think the difference in tone actually fits when you think about how these two monsters are portrayed. Kong is a ape king, a beast close enough to humans, and down to earth enough to be able to acknowledge that humans exist and empathize with them. Godzilla is, as the name implies, a god, a being so far above us and beyond our level that he doesn't even seem to acknowledge that we exist. (That and Godzilla was the first time this world saw these monsters, so it feels a bit more fitting to try to keep the grandeur of that event, while this was a more contained, single encounter with no grand changes to the world outside afterwords.)
I finally saw this film, so came back in time 4 years to see what you guys thought of it. I suspect the character names Marlow and Conrad were a nod toward, "Heart of Darkness."
J K Simmons was originally going to play the Samuel L. Jackson role but he was replaced. Michael Keaton was also supposed to be in this movie but he was replaced with John C. Reilly.
The reason why the girl from The Great Wall is in this is to appeal more in China. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets more to do in the Chinese cut if the film.
I can't believe I'm saying this but I think Samuel L. Jackson's character might be the most complex character in the film. In order to explain myself, I have to give you guys a history lesson so brace yourself. According to A People's History of the United States, politicians were shocked and terrified that they had lost a war to a tiny country. Some politicians were afraid that the U.S. might appear weak and loose its status/influence as the world's super power. When a group of sailors where taken hostage by the Cambodian government, president Ford used it as an excuse to remind the world how powerful the U.S. is. The Cambodian government had agreed to release the hostages and the president knew this but ordered the attack regardless. The attack would've put the hostages lives in danger but it was considered a necessary risk. Rescuing the hostages was never a concern or at the very least, a secondary objective. The U.S. needed to prove it was still a powerful nation and Cambodia became a perfect target. I think Jackson's obsession with Kong is suppose to be a metaphor for the attack on Cambodia. When he is ordered to return home, he looks like he had just seen a ghost. Later in the movie he says "we didn't lose the war, we abandoned it". Ford wanted to send troops after North Vietnam invaded the South but couldn't get approval from Congress. (This happened in 1975, after the majority of troops had been withdrawn. The movie takes place in 1973 when the troops were beginning to be withdrawn.) During the Ted Offensive (1968), General West Mooreland wanted more troops but Nixon feared more troops would "Americanize" the war even further and lead to more unrest at home. Given how concerned politicians were about the protest, I wouldn't be surprised if most of them felt the same way as Jackson's character.
yadayada 95 Sort of. We named Freddy after Sarah's great uncle despite the obvious horror connection and decided that was too much fun to avoid it. We may continue the trend if we have a third one.
Geekvolution That's cool. I'd have to assume Michael would be the obvious and easiest choice, but obviously that's up to you lol. Thank you very much for responding by the way.
FilmMasterAdam's review: "Kong: Skull Island... Wow, what a pile of shit! Yet, somehow, still better than Godzilla (2014). King Kong vs Godzilla sounds nice but if these two films are any indication, that movie's gonna fucking suck too. This shit is just depressing."
Godzilla 2014 was a boring pretentious slog that never fully committed to its schlocky b movie origins and instead replaced it with a boring story that thinks it's grander and deeper than it really is. This film honestly isn't much better in the story and character department, but at least it knows what it is and doesn't try to elevate itself above being a schlocky b movie.
I like how differently people reacted at the movie: some found the simple characters and more focus on the effects and monster battles as part of the campy fun in kaiju movies, others were bothered by it.
I suppose I'll go into this movie with low expectations and will probably be fine with it, but I hope that for the Godzilla sequel they make human characters that feel more interesting to follow.
I was expecting a fun popcorn movie and that's what I got. It's beautiful too. Such a colorful and vibrant movie.
I enjoyed the heck outta this film. It was the type of film I was hoping I'd see. I even posted a review on my channel. I also did a post credits scene too.
I really liked Godzilla 2014 and I liked this even a little bit more, really exited about this "MonsterVerse"
Captain Logan's board is the best thing ever
Kong does have a rogues gallery: Gorosauras, Oodako, V-Rex, Mechani-Kong, Godzilla, and now Ramarak and the rest of the Skullcrawlers.
I think the difference in tone actually fits when you think about how these two monsters are portrayed. Kong is a ape king, a beast close enough to humans, and down to earth enough to be able to acknowledge that humans exist and empathize with them. Godzilla is, as the name implies, a god, a being so far above us and beyond our level that he doesn't even seem to acknowledge that we exist. (That and Godzilla was the first time this world saw these monsters, so it feels a bit more fitting to try to keep the grandeur of that event, while this was a more contained, single encounter with no grand changes to the world outside afterwords.)
King Kong did in fact fight Godzilla back in 1963's "King Kong vs Godzilla".
He also fought a robot Kong and Dr Who in King Kong Escapes.
I finally saw this film, so came back in time 4 years to see what you guys thought of it.
I suspect the character names Marlow and Conrad were a nod toward, "Heart of Darkness."
I really loved it, I got it was the best King Kong movie imho.
J K Simmons was originally going to play the Samuel L. Jackson role but he was replaced. Michael Keaton was also supposed to be in this movie but he was replaced with John C. Reilly.
Considering how different this film is to Godzilla (2014), do you think the eventual crossover will turn out well?
Well, it happened before and it made a ton of money then.
Did you see the end credit scene?
Takes place in the 70's? The Jeff Bridges remake already did that. How would you compare this with the 05 remake?
I had the same exact problem with Age of Ultron that Cap has with this film in terms of the humor.
The reason why the girl from The Great Wall is in this is to appeal more in China. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets more to do in the Chinese cut if the film.
Off topic, does Eric still write fiction? And whatever happened to that comic book you were working on a few years back, Cap?
Considering it's budget, Skull Island is actually a disappointment domestically, but it will most likely do well overseas.
I can't believe I'm saying this but I think Samuel L. Jackson's character might be the most complex character in the film. In order to explain myself, I have to give you guys a history lesson so brace yourself.
According to A People's History of the United States, politicians were shocked and terrified that they had lost a war to a tiny country. Some politicians were afraid that the U.S. might appear weak and loose its status/influence as the world's super power. When a group of sailors where taken hostage by the Cambodian government, president Ford used it as an excuse to remind the world how powerful the U.S. is. The Cambodian government had agreed to release the hostages and the president knew this but ordered the attack regardless. The attack would've put the hostages lives in danger but it was considered a necessary risk. Rescuing the hostages was never a concern or at the very least, a secondary objective. The U.S. needed to prove it was still a powerful nation and Cambodia became a perfect target.
I think Jackson's obsession with Kong is suppose to be a metaphor for the attack on Cambodia. When he is ordered to return home, he looks like he had just seen a ghost. Later in the movie he says "we didn't lose the war, we abandoned it".
Ford wanted to send troops after North Vietnam invaded the South but couldn't get approval from Congress. (This happened in 1975, after the majority of troops had been withdrawn. The movie takes place in 1973 when the troops were beginning to be withdrawn.) During the Ted Offensive (1968), General West Mooreland wanted more troops but Nixon feared more troops would "Americanize" the war even further and lead to more unrest at home. Given how concerned politicians were about the protest, I wouldn't be surprised if most of them felt the same way as Jackson's character.
You mentioned Freddy vs Jason Cap, not to pry into your personal life but is that just a coincidence with your son's names?
yadayada 95 Sort of. We named Freddy after Sarah's great uncle despite the obvious horror connection and decided that was too much fun to avoid it. We may continue the trend if we have a third one.
Geekvolution That's cool. I'd have to assume Michael would be the obvious and easiest choice, but obviously that's up to you lol. Thank you very much for responding by the way.
FilmMasterAdam's review: "Kong: Skull Island... Wow, what a pile of shit! Yet, somehow, still
better than Godzilla (2014). King Kong vs Godzilla sounds nice but if
these two films are any indication, that movie's gonna fucking suck too.
This shit is just depressing."
Godzilla 2014 was a boring pretentious slog that never fully committed to its schlocky b movie origins and instead replaced it with a boring story that thinks it's grander and deeper than it really is. This film honestly isn't much better in the story and character department, but at least it knows what it is and doesn't try to elevate itself above being a schlocky b movie.
I can hear your kid running around upstairs
4:45 when you understand they don't know what they are talking about... So sad!
I didn't like godzilla (2014) at all, but I still trust their opinion on this one
I thought this movie was pretty bad. If you're interested, I wrote a pretty lengthy review here:
letterboxd.com/connernielsen/film/kong-skull-island/