Here is the premise: A team of scientists, soldiers and adventurers unites to explore an uncharted island in the Pacific. Cut off from everything they know, the team ventures into the domain of the mighty Kong. As their mission becomes one of survival, they must fight to escape a primal Eden.
King Kong remakes pop up every few years, and most of the time they are just okay; they droll on too long with weak special effects and they pale in comparison to the original. While this remake still is not the classic I grew up loving, it comes the closest thus far to the iconic film.
While all the actors did a bang up job, once John C. Reilly shows up, he outshines everyone else; he is funny, sentimental, an larger than life. I also loved John Goodman and Samuel L. Jackson as always, both have some pretty good lines and they have fun with their characters.
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts does a great job bringing the big ape to the screen through CGI, he looks real and the details are phenomenal, I am torn between the CGI and the old fashioned animatronics and huge props. Maybe each one has its place in Hollywood and the Kong films, the CGI did leave me a bit in awe as did the older version did as a child.
All in all, a great movie to see on the big screen, Hollywood magic is still alive and well. ย ย
Russell Lockhart