Kong Skull Island 2017 vs King Kong 2005 (Battle of the Kongs)

Kong Skull Island 2017 8 out of 10

I recently got out and saw Kong Skull Island this past weekend and enjoyed it.  I immediately wanted to re-visit  King Kong from 2005 to compare the two films. 

Eras:

They were very different Kong films one is basically an updated remake of the original King Kong and takes place in the 1930's  and the other is a completely different angle on the Kong story and takes place in the 1970's at the end of Vietnam.

The Differences in King Kong himself

Skull Island Kong in the new film is absolutely gigantic.  He seems more like a giant mutated bigfoot and spends much of his time upright. The scene where the helicopters first encounter this Kong is awesome.   The military helicopters are no match for this giant Kong.   Why is this new Kong so oversized?   It is obvious that they are trying to set up a movie universe in which this King Kong can fight Godzilla.   The story focuses on Skull Island basically being a doorway to Hollow Earth which is a land of monsters. Skull Islands creatures aren't dinos, but instead some type of Mysterious underworld beasts.  The 2005  King Kong was more like a giant Gorilla living in a lost continent of oversized beasts. Peter Jackson's Kong is a more likable and humanized Kong. (Thanks to Andy Serkis mo cap performance).  Basically this Kong lives in a land of Dinosaurs.   

The Action

Both movies have some great action sequences.

Skull Island:  Features a great sequence as Kong takes on all the helicopters.    There are some good action sequences as the main characters try to avoid the creatures that live in the Hollow Earth and Kong's battle with this creatures near the end of the film is exactly what you would expect and hope for.   Samuel Jackson is in typical bad ass mode and is out for revenge on Kong for all the fellow military members he has lost which leads to some Michael Bay style explosions.

King Kong 2005:  Features some great action sequences as well.   (Okay so the Dinosaur stampede was a little over the top)  but when Kong squares off against three T-Rex's while protecting the main heroine... that sequence was epic.  And since this Kong follows the original 1933 story we also get Kong loose in New York and the iconic  Empire State Building sequence.

King Kong 2005  9+ out of 10

The Story :

King Kong from 2005 is a loving tribute to the original 1933 film. It has the tone and heart of the original film and the visuals are spectacular.   Kong falls in love with his sacrifice in the form of beautiful Noami Watts and it is eventually his undoing.  It is a Beauty and the Beast story where Kong is basically the misunderstood hero.   My only complaint about the film is the length as it is a long movie.  It starts a little slow taking awhile to develop the characters and get to the Island.  Once at the island it is an amazing film that stands up there with some of the Jurassic Park films.

Kong Skull Island 2017  is a different Kong.    Kong is still basically the misunderstood hero.  After all he is just trying to protect his island and the villagers on it from the creatures below.  Samuel L Jackson happens to invade Kong's Island and pays the price for that.  It is a fun Kong movie and a decent take on the Kong story, but is missing the love story element and the heart that Peter Jackson's Kong was able to recreate.  I think they were more concerned with setting up this giant Kong as a bad ass for future possible films  (vs Godzilla for example)  then telling the best Kong story.    Still a fun watch regardless.

The winner in this battle of Kong's for me in the Peter Jackson version.   Although if the two Kong's themselves actually battled  The much larger(less Gorilla like)  Skull Island Kong would surely win.

Kong Skull Island 2017

King Kong 2005

Listen to our Movie Podcast here

http://www.superfantasticterrific.com/

Follow our Movie Facebook page here

https://www.facebook.com/SuperFantasticTerrificPodcast/?ref=bookmarks

For All Disney/Pixar/Marvel and Star Wars Reviews  go to my Disney Page

https://themouseminute.wordpress.com/author/themouseminute/

10 Cloverfield Lane 2016 5 out of 10 (SPOILERS)

10 Cloverfield Lane  2016  5 out of 10

SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT

10 Cloverfield Lane was a cool concept and the movie itself was interesting,  however it failed for me to a certain degree.   In fact the ending kind of ruined the film for me.  It could have been an 8 out of 10, but I didn't like how it turned out.  It set itself up like an M Night Shyamalan movie that was going to rely completely on a big twist at the end of the movie.  The story is about a woman that after getting hit in a car accident wakes up chained to a bed in a bomb shelter with two men.  Her main captor/rescuer (depending on what you believe) claims that the outside world has come under a chemical attack.   John Goodman does a great job as survivalist Howard that demands respect from the 2 people he has in his shelter.   The woman (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) doesn't believe that the chemical attack is real and desperately wants to escape.  The acting is great --but the issue with the movie is the plot.   You can't have it both ways and the movie does just that.   I think the movie needed to decide one way for another which way it wanted to go.  

The movie should have you guessing whether there has really been a chemical/ alien attack is real or whether Howard is just a crazy killer.  Instead it gives you clues that the attack is real......then gives you evidence that Howard actually kidnapped and killed a missing girl ---then gives you more evidence that the alien attack is real.  It turns out both are true and I feel that is a cop out that took away from the movie for me.  A much better twist would have been to have the other character that was in the bunker turn out to be in on it with Howard or to have it be that Howard was just a strange guy that happened to rescue her.   Instead they make him a killer and .....the alien attack is real.   I feel that the film makers not making a choice to go in one direction or another takes away from the alien attack.   The alien attack being real at the end isn't a surprise....they have already gone out of their way to prove that it was real.  If you want me to suspend my disbelief---you can't have Howard be a killer and there is an alien attack going on at the same time.   It should have been a surprise until the end as to what was really going on.  Instead it just became so unbelievabl

  

Check out the Facebook page here

https://www.facebook.com/SuperFantasticTerrificPodcast/

Check out the Podcast Here

http://www.superfantasticterrific.com/