Kong: Skull Island

The war in Vietnam has just ended, and a group of soldiers are instructed to accompany scientists to investigate a strange island and what happens in it. So we have the explorer played by Tom Hiddleston, the scientists that are John Goodman, Corey Hawkins (24 Legacy) and Tian Jing-I assume that he is also a scientist, because he only talks to them-and the military where we find actors like Thomas Mann ( Me, him and Raquel) Toby Kebbell (Ben-Hur) and Samuel L. Jackson himself, as well as having the photojournalist played by Brie Larson.

Upon arriving at the Skull Island, the first sequence of action is brutal. While at Godzilla we take time to see and contemplate the kaiju, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts presents the king in all his splendor, destroying what is in his way and in broad daylight. There is no mercy for the humans who have come to invade the island.

All creatures that appear in the film are solidly built, impose against the size of humans and the vast majority are a threat at all times. The CGI surprises and enters this section of productions that combine people with "animals" in the same painting as An Extraordinary Adventure (Ang Lee, 2012) and The Jungle Book (John Favreau, 2016).

But while Kong and the creatures are the main dish of history, the human factor was neglected almost in its entirety. Tom Hiddleston is an actor who has shown great charisma and chemistry on the screen, with the audience, but this does not save him from playing a character that lacks an interesting narrative arc. The scientists (Goodman, Hawkins and Jing) were the pretext to take us to the island, but otherwise they are totally replaceable. The conflict of the military Toby Kebbell is to try to write him more than "Dear Bobby" in a letter to his son but, incredible as it may seem, was one of the deepest stories in the film.

Those who steal the film - within the human department - were John C. Reily and Samuel L. Jackson. While the first one offers a nice comic relief (which towards the end rather becomes a family drama), Jackson gives his character nuances and a madness close to what would be a character of Revelation now, without a doubt the most striking of the plot.

Brie Larson, meanwhile, leaves much to be desired with his character Mason Weaver (in interview with the director, he pointed out that it was a clear reference to Sigourney Weaver and his character in Alien). The problem with the journalist photographer lies not only in the poor interpretation of Larson, but he did not have much material to work on, in addition the direction and editing make it annoying every moment he takes out his camera. Yes, we understand that this is their profession, but when it came to taking pictures, the filmmakers decided that it was a good time to explore the seventies soundtrack and offer sequences similar to a tourist montage. "Come and see the Skull Island, more magical than ever."

Within this universe of kaijus that created Legendary Pictures with Warner Bros., Kong: The Skull Island is until now the most entertaining film, although having as reference only Godzilla (Gareth Edwards, 2014), the task was not very complicated to say . And yes, wait until the end to see one of the most exciting post-credits sequences ... and it has nothing to do with superheroes, but with giant creatures, the real kings of the planet.

VIDEO

As expected of the Blu-ray (also the digital edition included free in your purchase), the quality 1080p7AVC MPEG-4 with aspect 2.40: 1 is simply spectacular, even exceeding what seen on the big screen with great contrasts and a color palette and filters that provide more clearly that touch of the 70s that wanted to capture the director originally, and that somehow was lost in the large format. The digital effects and CG of Larry Fong (constant dumbbell Zack Snyder) look realistic and detailed, especially in the scenes with the huge ape.

5/5

AUDIO

The Calavera Island album boasts both the amazing Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (curious that is not 7.1 as Atmos). It should be noted the excellent sound equalization in a tape full of action, cries of humans and beasts, explosions ... everything is clear and perfect!

4.5 / 5

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

It is a wonder. From daily video with Tom Hiddleston from Hawaii and Australia to a beautiful selection of photos by Brie Larson, a look at the Monarch organization (yes, Godzilla's) with a flick to Gamera, deleted scenes, commentary from the director and behind the scenes, The movie's 118 experience expands to almost 3 hours of content. And if you still do not jump from DVD to Blu-ray format, you'll love to know that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment included ALL the extras on DVD as well. The sleeve with texture to cover the box of the disc we loved also.

CONCLUSION

The reception of the critics and moviegoers to Kong: The Skull Island was divided -although on a personal basis, I was entertained and I was happy in my seat to see it- and despite that, I reaped more than $ 560 million dollars in the world box office before the $ 185 million dollars of budget. Tell your friends - skeptics and enthusiasts of the tape - that Kong is worth his enormous weight in gold in the Blu-ray version, with visuals, audio and extras even superior to what they saw in cinemas.

Believe me: it is worth the experience at home, because it raises the final presentation of the film, and prepares us for the future encounter against the King of the Kaiju: Godzilla.