Kong: Skull Island (2017)

[Benjamin Haines]

The X-Men movies have always had pretty harsh second-weekend drops, even the successful ones for some reason. The lightest was X2's -53.2% drop, which was steep back in 2003 but is actually pretty average for a tentpole today, and that would give Logan $41.3m after its $88.4m opening. The opposite extreme would be the -69% drop for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which would bring Logan to $27.4m for the weekend, but it's going to do a lot better than that. If it holds up as well as Deadpool (-57.4%), then Logan would make $37.6m this weekend.

It really doesn't matter whether or not Kong: Skull Island tops Logan, though. The weekend box office ranking is fun trivia but how the individual titles perform on their own terms is what really matters. A $40m-$45m debut for Kong would be a solid result no matter how much Logan makes this weekend.

It's funny how the release order for Logan and Kong is a reversal from when Godzilla opened the week before X-Men: Days of Future Past.

[lhb412]

Giant footprints popping up all over LA. Kong must be seeing the town.

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2017 ... s-angeles/

[mrbluehair]

Speculation.....why does fandom become the harshest critic of the very thing they follow. Godzilla, Star Wars etc....as movies draw near so many go into panic mode, almost believing that the movie has to be the biggest box office winner in order to succeed. Kong will do well, it won't break any records and that's fine. Have a strong run, make the target profit, move on to the next movie.

Gone are the days of when people learned about a movie from word of mouth exclusively, maybe a reviewer (only a handful in the past) and perhaps, if the movie is a big hit from the news. Now with discussions, hundreds of "reviewers" who post a blog or youtube video and non stop entertainment we spiral into self loathing.

Go watch the movie, enjoy it or not, discuss with others after and be critical if you want. This overanalyzation of every freaking thing gets tiresome, which is why I have taken breaks from places like this which I still enjoy but have to take in smaller doses to avoid damaging my screen by errant punches.

I remember being on here when there was NOTHING but the existing catalog to discuss, now we have a whole new batch of movies headed our way and it's like watching chicken little on an endless loop.

HAVE FUN PEOPLE!!!!

[mrbluehair]

BTW, it has probably been mentioned, but Samuel L. Jackson has the best resume of anyone....

Most Quinten Tarentino films...Check
Star Wars Universe.... Check
Marvel Universe..... Check
Monsterverse..... Check

That's one bad muthaf*%ka....

[Henry88]

[lhb412]

[GFan]

Skull Island was AWESOME!!! Kong's end fight was just epic!! And the post-credits teaser had me squealing with delight!

Totally seeing this again...

[lhb412]

Man, Jack Driscoll killed one Skullcrawler back and '33 and now they're back for revenge!

[Mac]

I can't stress how dopey this film is with its Vietnam allusions. The soundtrack plays such deep cuts as FORTUNATE SON!

Not trying to be overly-negative, so I will say that I really liked the mean death sequences. Wish it could maintain a consistent LOST WORLD-tone, but it veers into Marvel mode too often (All the jokes in the trailer play terribly, Shea Whigham is the low-key MVP though), it's just such a schizophrenic film.

Also, the skull-crawlers barely register any-type of presence. They even give them a trite origin to give them some thematic weight.

[Henry88]

‘Kong: Skull Island’ Conquering ‘Logan’ For Top Spot At B.O. With $53M – Midday Update
http://deadline.com/2017/03/kong-skull- ... 202040377/

‘Kong: Skull Island’ Pounds Out $12M In Two Offshore Days – International Box Office
http://deadline.com/2017/03/kong-skull- ... 202040085/

[lhb412]

^Cool!

Did y'all hear about how the big Kong prop at the Vietnamese premier

[Henry88]

[lhb412]

It's like fighting a flamethrower!

[Henry88]

EXCLUSIVE: 'Kong: Skull Island' Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts on Godzilla's Non-Cameo and the MonsterVerse
http://www.etonline.com/movies/212563_e ... sterverse/

[Jinzo Ningen]

LOVED this movie! Best Kong film since KKE and easily falls in behind the '33 original as best US adaption.

The jokes were lame for the most part, but the action & adventure just kept pulling you along. Not knowing/being able to accurately predict who lives/dies was a very pleasant surprise. Epic monster fights, with the end scene being about perfect in respect to both the choreography and the cinematography. And it was fantastic to see most of the monster action in broad daylight instead of the cheapjack tactic to stage everything at night or screened by fog/smoke - or both. Kudos to the F/X team! Everything looked good and yet I still had that childlike sense of wonder just gawking at the whole thing. Kong was a great character who was scary yet sympathetic, too. Good interaction with the humans even though he's so much bigger than previous versions (US). Not an easy task and it came off much more organic and real feeling than G'14 in that respect. Nice. End credits scene w/John Rielly was great and honestly heart-touching. Post credits? Hell yeah! Cannot wait now for G'19. Whew! Going again tomorrow!

[klen7]

I agree with Jinzo aside from the humor working for me. Expecially Shea Whigham's character.

Kong Skull Island - Good fun. Probably wouldn't rank it above G14 or PR, but still an A movie for me.

When the Mrs and I discussed it afterwords we came to the conclusion that all the things we didn't care for were all part of one excessively over the top scene in the second act.
We both liked the skullcrawlers and the Vietnam setting

Looking forward to giving it another viewing on bluray. Id rank it below 33 but above the other American Kongs, not sure how I'd rank it against the Toho films yet.

[jellydonut25]

I'm sure I'll expand more in the weeks/months to come but I loved it, despite some pretty huge flaws, including one scene that was so much dumber and had such lesser effects work than the rest of the movie it nearly felt pulled from the cutting room floor in order to get a little more running time. The effects were not good, the worst of Legendary's three kaiju films thus far, but about on-par with Jurassic World. It's a fun time though and the movie's a little more clever than I'd expected with some well done homages and good quips.

4/5.
Easily the second best American Kong film.

[Mac]

[Benjamin Haines]

Kong: Skull Island is a rollicking good time. I really like this ground-up revamp of Kong as a character, retaining his core qualities while offering a brand new approach. He behaves like King Kong and he even resembles the 1933 version, standing upright and capturing the classic silhouette. At the same time, this Kong is too busy dealing with the many beasts of Skull Island on a daily basis to have any interspecies interest in women offered by the native islanders, not even when Brie Larson walks out from behind their wall and ends up standing right in front of Kong. The story of how these outsiders end up on the island and what happens when they encounter Kong is totally different from the '33 film and any subsequent remake, even different from the two Toho takes in the '60s. This is exactly the kind of fresh reimagining Kong needed.

I'm glad I avoided the last trailer before seeing the movie. I've checked it out since and while it's not as spoilery as I thought it would be in terms of character fates, it definitely gives away a ton of action beats and money shots.
The characters in this movie are done well for the most part. I think the characters here are kind of the opposite of those in G'14, for better and for worse. The dialogue in Skull Island is constant and fast-paced so these characters always have plenty to say, thus the actors are able to do a lot more to imbue them with personality and really bring them to life. On the flip side, while G'14 had many patiently paced exposition scenes early in the film to shed a lot of light on how the characters lived and really put the audience in their shoes, Skull Island's rhythmically fast pace doesn't afford these characters the same luxury. They're still fleshed out enough to be relatable, though, and it's on the island where they really get to shine. The whole cast brings their A-game.

There's no shortage of memorable monster action in this movie. I could have done without the handful of Zack Snyder-esque stop/start action beats but otherwise the cinematography and action choreography is glorious. The special effects were kind of a mixed bag. Kong and the Skullcrawlers mostly looked terrific but some of the other CGI monsters looked closer to those in The Lord of the Rings or other early-2000s films, which is to say some impressively detailed and animated graphics that still stick out as not physically being an element of the shot. Some wobbly CGI isn't going to stop me from enjoying a movie but the special effects here definitely don't stack up to those in G'14 or (especially) Pacific Rim.

Flaws and all, I really liked Kong: Skull Island. Can't wait to see it again.

The movie opened to on Friday with only $3.7m of that coming from Thursday night screenings. It's all but guaranteed to top $50m for the weekend now. Glad to see the movie breaking out past projections. My theater was about one-third full and the audience seemed to respond well to it.

[Gojira-2000]

[DannyBeane]

I'd definitely watch a Rodan film. I hope he doesn't die in GKOTM.

[Gargantuan Gargantua]

Thought it was fun. Felt the monster scenes lacked some of the punch G'14 had but meh, it is what is.

I also like how

[Benjamin Haines]

[Outkaster]

I agree with some of your points. The guys over on www.kongisking.net are ripping it apart. I don't think it was supposed to be anything more than one it is. Us being long time Kong fans will tend to be more critical but as I said on another thread......take it for what's worth. There were nods to the 76 movie, the 50 caliber gun on the ships deck that he walks by...the same ones that shot him down off the trade towers, part of the shape of Kong's face also. There was a nod to the 33 movie in some of Kong's features also. There was even a nod to the 2005 movie with the skeletons. The octopus is referencing the Japaneses version. I just had a hard time believing that end fight scene would go the way it did. Those skull crawlers couldn't be as intelligent as an ape.

[Gwangi]