Out in the Jungle

Good morning Consumers, This is Please Consume, the film newsletter that loves movies more than Woody Allen loves stepdaughters.

With Godzilla Minus One coming to theaters and the recent release of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters we knew we couldn’t go without covering the kaiju genre (or big monsters for the uninformed). So without further ado let’s jump into it.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Written by Caleb Madden

The Kaiju genre of movies has been around for a long, long time. And one of the oldest Kaijus (that is distinctly American) is King Kong. 

Now I am the first to admit that the history of the King Kong character is rough. However, very recently in the “Monsterverse” film series our friend King Kong got a reboot that rips. So today I want to talk about Kong: Skull Island.

Out in the Jungle

Normally I love to talk about a movie’s characters. How the actors, directors, and writers make a compelling and interesting watching experience. However, this movie’s characters suck. I’m sorry I hate to speak ill of a movie at all but the characters in this thing are like thin wisps of an idea of a character.

So instead of discussing what I don’t like about this movie I want to discuss what I LOVE about this movie. THE GIANT GORILLA!

What a big world

Kong: Skull Island is the second entry into the Monster Cinematic Universe (or the MCU). And just like the other MCU it is a film set in the past (think Captain America: The First Avenger). The movie follows a group consisting of an elite Army Squad and a group of “scientists” from the in-universe monster organization MONARCH. This rag tag group of folks takes a trip to a place called SKULL ISLAND (absolutely rad name for a place) to do some research on the “inhabitants” of this island.

Que the giant and super dope monsters! That’s right this movie is full of insane and awesome creatures. Sure, the characters suck but at least most of them die in horrible fashion at the hands of a rad mutant creature. There are too many monsters to talk about all of them, but the point here is that what makes this movie awesome is the majestic and massive creatures that walk around. 

And all of this is made even more awesome by the action sequences that involve these giant monsters. One of my favorite scenes in the movie comes when a group of soldiers and researchers get attack by a giant octopus/squid monster (DOPE!) And then Kong comes along and EATS the giant squid thing. We get to watch as the still living and moving tentacles get slurped up like a bowl of ramen. I love this.

Lights, camera, Gorilla?

What really makes this movie pop is the quality of the film making and effects. This movie isn’t a Terrence Malick film, but it does look so good for a wide release blockbuster. Every monster in this film looks so dang good, especially Kong who looks like a real-life giant gorilla. The color grading and framing feel warm and modern while also throwing back to films like Apocalypse Now. Overall it just looks so dang good. 

This movie really is a blast to watch if you get past the boring to bad story line and characters and just enjoy watching a giant gorilla absolutely kick ass it is a great watch. I highly encourage you to check it out if you haven’t seen it.

Today’s Scene