I love the way that if Kermode likes a movie, and Mayo feels compelled to express disagreement, Kermode goes ten miles out of his way to show respect for the opinions of his friend; but if Kermode HATES a move, and Mayo is moved to voice descent, Kermode just shouts him down.

"Apocalypse Now meets The Land that Time Forgot." YES. That's it! The best way I've heard anyone sum up this movie!

I love it when Simon fights back... it's endearing.

@dennett316

7 жыл бұрын

No, but he didn't like it as much as Mark did - citing poor dialogue as the main reason.

@eustacequinlank7418

7 жыл бұрын

Errrummm, watch the video to find out I suppose.

One wonders why they didn't call the movie "Viet Kong"...

@commieRob

4 жыл бұрын

My thought exactly!

@rehanchowdhury368

3 ай бұрын

Because that war was now over.

the best part of 2005 king kong was the disgusting creatures on the island. great idea to just focus a whole film on that aspect

@Iamdanny0

7 жыл бұрын

William I still shudder when I think about those creepy insect things.

@eustacequinlank7418

7 жыл бұрын

I know it's based on something from the original, but the whole 'Insect Pit' scene in Jackson's King Kong must have been inspired by a withdrawal nightmare,, I'm sure of it.

@superkeaton9912

7 жыл бұрын

that whole pit sequence was absolutely fantastic

@gavinday1365

7 жыл бұрын

They cut that scene out of the original as it was too harrowing for audiences in the 30s. The footage was lost in the years afterwards as well so Jackson reshot it for the original b & w DVD.

@raremetaltracks

7 жыл бұрын

I loved the sequence generally, but absolutely hate the bit where Jamie Bell is shooting the wasps off Adrian Brody. The rest of it is nightmarish though. As I recall, there's a part where the camera just sort of pulls away and leaves the poor guys to their fate. Brrrrr.

I'm in the "I enjoyed Kong: Skull Island" side too, Mark! THIS is how giant monster movies should be done, give us more stuff like Pacific Rim and this and less Bayformers.

@Mr72Dolphins

5 жыл бұрын

And it is funny.

@sabineb.5616

4 жыл бұрын

At first I didn't like this newest incarnation of the iconic big hairy ape. I'm a huge fan of Peter Jackson's "King Kong". I think, it's a faulty but overall underrated masterpiece! But "Kong: Skull Island" grew on me! It's never boring, has actually a nice storyline and looks very good! It could've been better if the characters had been better developed - this includes Kong himself - and if the evil lizard creatures had been more plausible. Despite their really cool name the skull crawlers weren't all that convincing. But overall the director did a pretty decent Job with the material he was given!

I love Kermode's face when listening to Mayo's review. It just reminds you that everyone See's things differently.

I watch movies with an autistic boy at 20 years old, who can't talk very well, who when angry punches his fist through the wall of his house. He sometimes thinks of himself as a ape or monkey and will even hoot before the punch. Movies like "Beauty and the Beast" or the new "Planet of the Apes" series really make him happy seeing what he can relate to as the main characters. He really laughed when that one ape in the series says, "I'm a bad ape." He showed more emotion during "Beauty and the Beast" than any other movie he's seen: cried when the beast loses Belle, laughed when the crowd yelled "kill the beast," shook his hands in complete excitement with a huge smile as they descended the stairs to dance, and clapped the whole time during the credits the first time he watched it. "Beauty and the Beast" is his favorite movie. All this to say the Kong in this movie scared the hell out of him when he saw it next to the helicopter and realized how big the ape was in the movie. It was the first ape he did not root for and truly was scared of it.

A surprise...Mark mentioned that there is a character named Conrad, but not that John C. Reilly's character was named Marlowe, after the narrator of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."

Kermode is s great reviewer of movies,always mentions a few interesting movies in his show.

Dead on with the Cannibal Holocaust reference, I said the same thing when I saw it. I was surprised they let that stay for a pg-13 movie it was pretty brutal.

Just back from watching it. I have to say I really enjoyed it. It didn't feel like 118mins, that's for sure. Things I loved: -Some of the cinematography was brilliant, especially: --The shot of Kong silhouetted against the sun with the choppers approaching. Very Apocalypse Now and would make an awesome wallpaper, too. --When the skull of Kong's parents becomes engulfed in flames from the flamethrower guy flung there. That was another great shot which the slo-mo effect helped capture perfectly. --When Kong had the big Skullcrawler's jaws in his hands I really was expecting them to pay homage to how Kong has killed other threats in previous films by ripping it akimbo from the jaw BUT they pulled a fast one and didn't do it. Made me give a wry smile because I am 100% sure that is exactly what the director was going for. --The incredibly implausible scene with John Goodman's character's flashbulb going off inside the Skullcrawler should have been laughable but boy did it make for great tension! The use of that with the steam/fumes from the vents really worked. -The music was always going to be good simply because of the era and all the callbacks to previous Vietnam war movies. The sound effects during tense scenes was brilliant too. -The action scenes were all very good. I really enjoyed Conrad slicing and dicing those flying toothbirds. -The different giant creatures we saw were brilliantly realised. I especially loved the giant water buffalo which was first taken as a hill and some submerged falen trees. I also really liked the stick insect that Chapman disturbed. There wasn't anything I really hated about the movie, to be honest. People will point out that the storyline, acting, and such were sub-par but at least the director didn't waste screen time on that stuff. He basically got us into the action efficiently with each character a mere sketch to give us something to hold onto because the real stars were the creatures and the island which were wonderfully realised and very very nice to look at. The whole look and style of them worked really well together and made it feel like a real ecology. Except for the giant octopus thing. That felt a bit out of place. I'd give it a strong 8/10. I would recommend this to anyone who likes palm trees being lobbed through the air by a giant gorilla to spear helicopters.

Bang on about Hiddleston. He just isn't leading man material.

Just saw it on HBO...Had so much fun...great review by Kermode!

Cannot wait to see it tonight.

I agree the impaling was a nod to the famous shot from cannibal holocaust. I rather enjoyed this movie and am looking forward to the sequel in which kong will no doubt be even bigger. :)

Saw it today with the Little Son, agree with Mark definitely enjoyed it more than I expected!

Agree with Simon on this one

I love how Mark starts the review with 'yeah, so basically...'

I really enjoyed it, just good fun, And all the better for it.

I thought john c Reilly was the best thing about that movie, also he's a nice counterpoint to the nam guys. My biggest issue was that they didn't know what to do with Brie Larson's character.

totally agree with Kermode. Don't forget the Oldboy octopus ref too...

Found the bits with Kong and the creatures on the Island to be by far the best things about the film and parts of it looks incredible, unfortunately there's a lot of flat jokes and bad dialogue between characters in the meantime.

Paranoid! 'Paranoia' Sheeesh!

Even King Kong knew not to try it on with Brie Larson.

Simon was spot-on.

I actually loved John C Rielly's character. I thought his Billy Bones like insane castaway shtick was amusing. This was a solid B grade movie made on a blockbuster movie budget. Not everything in it worked for me, but if you go in with the right expectation of what you are getting and you actually fondly remember those old Doug McClure films, you are going to be entertained.

My fave part was when the bloody skull landed , displaying it's owner's dog tags (face up and angled towards the protagonist). Not a shot wasted in pushing the plot along and we were done in a tight 2 hours. Take note Peter longwinded Jackson!

yes, I've seen a nod to "Old Boy" when Kong eats the octopuss !!!!

y'know everytime we get a potential monster summer hit here lately it gets scrutinized, nitpicked,tore up practically before it hits the theaters give it a chance!Dang!!!

@Thy_Boss

3 жыл бұрын

Critic embargoes are what happen to _bad_ movies, my man

even oldboy is referenced in kong skull island, mark aint wrong

mayos comments, spot on! nailed it :)

The 1st teaser trailer for this film was awesome. The 2nd trailer had a shift in tone, which I hoped the film wouldn't be. I have yet to watch the film.

I enjoyed it, too. A lot. Hiddleston is not leading man material, though - no charisma, no charm. Didn't buy him as a leader/action guy. Miscast. Brie was damsel in distress - no more, no less. John C Reilly was decent comic relief. Sam Jackson was doing Sam Jackson! Some genuinely great set pieces - the action was handled extremely well. Good time at the movies!

@KingKong19100

4 жыл бұрын

Agree on Hiddleston, but Brie was NOT a damsel in distress! As a matter of fact, she was most definitely the opposite, what with never once being in distress needing rescue.

Completely agree with simon on this one

Kong: Skull Island. The best part is that in case you forget Kong's address it's written on the poster.

Didn't believe I was ever going to say that, but I'm siding with Mayo on this. Visually stunning with rollercoaster fun, but underneath the big budget a very silly script and awful directorial decisions.

*Black Sabbath "Paranoid"

I think Mark Kermode does have a soft spot for independent filmmakers doing big action movies. He's much more forgiving if the director had its roots in indie filmmakers or gone through the Roger Corman film school work ethic. It's like Kermode has more sympathy for them when they deal with the studio making a big studio movie and have to deal with compromises. He has their previous indie work in mind when he critiques their new film and looks for directorial tropes in them.

best beast introduction since T Rex, Jurrassic Park

Saw this on telly just before Christmas. Expected to be fiddling with my tablet all the way through and ended up quite enjoying it. Way better than the bloated Jack Black atrocity. The only thing I didn't like too much was the lizard creatures; they were a bit too alien and didn't look like they'd evolved from anything we've ever seen on Earth. But for the rest, a definitely pleasant surprise.

Just seen it, and I like that Mark gets the Land that Time Forgot vibe, goofy fun. Tom Hiddleston is the new Doug McClure , shame there were no caveman.

Mark likes it, nuff said

I'm sure his other films are great. This one has heinous dialogue and is like a sort of lazy Viet...Kong get it? parable,, which I'd normally love. Maybe the sub-Aliens references and "why are all ten helicopters flying directly into the ape?" disbelief suspension fails kinda ruined the good things. Agree with Mayo the script is a crippler. I think you're right about the Cannibal holocaust nod! Agree John C Reilly's character shifted the tone into almost Hotshots territory. The tone was all over the place! Some likeable elements for sure clumsily combined. Kind of an outdated style of post-irony, feels like a mid-90s Lake Placid era level of referencing. Fun monster fights. Amazing cast spouting cringers throughout!

I'm almost at the hour mark & it just doesn't seem to be all that! Yeah special effects are really good but I actually enjoyed Peter Jackson's Kong movie to this!

I thought that was a reference to the post of the Cannibal Holocaust too

They probably didn't add that whole sequence just to reference cannibal holocaust but you can't deny the visual for sure. Im just glad they didn't add the kong falls for "jane" plot point.

'Kong: Skull Island' is a typical action flick. The bits that link the action scenes are pretty terrible and the plot is ludicrous, but the action scenes are fantastic; especially the Kong vs helicopters scene, which includes some of the best judged editing I think I've seen. My advice would be to turn off the grey matter and go for the ride. 3/5

This film was completely goofy, but it was a thrilling spectacle. If you watched the trailer and thought it looked fun as hell, I think you'll enjoy the movie quite a bit. It's mostly self aware of how silly it is, and the human characters are actually decent enough to carry the film.

I liked that those who lived on the island understood Kong's role & it was the foolish intruders who misunderstood him. Did enjoy the movie, as it is Kong's movie. I got bored in Godzilla when it took so long before you saw a wide shot, also liked the drawings of Kong.

A very fun movie, 7/10.

John C. of Riley Skull Island.

Saw the movie yesterday and I have to say my views were pretty much the same as what Mayo says. Had a lot of fun, the Kong and action sequences were great. But, I did also feel the script, on the most part, was on the weak side and I also felt that, as soon as John C. Reilly showed up, it just felt like a completely different film to me. Movie score: 6/10

When Kong eats the octopus it's Cthulhu!

I wonder what Kermode will think of Vogt-Roberts' Metal Gear Solid film.

Lads you're reading this film all wrong, the whole film undercuts the tropes this genre of film generally uses for building blocks, it addresses throughout the notion of the conflict between Hollywood and Indie sensibilities (look back at Brie Larson's camera sections.) Can't wait to see it again.

Spot on review!!! Loved the movie, loved the Vietnam angle, loved Kong, loved the villagers paint job. The weakest part of the film for me was the two leads. Tom and the chick. They were both gorgeous and boring. They weren't acting, they were action movie posing. They were just there to fill the modern Hollywood beautiful quota. Meanwhile, in the background, the solid character actors were killing it. Loved the grizzled sergeant.

I thought the Cannibal Holocaust thing as well, Mark. You're not alone.

The film maybe slow to begin with & unfocused, however the film’s well acted, well directed, stylish & is overall an enjoyable reboot. (77%) (4/5 stars) (positive)

#VietKong Me, Kong Delta.

@eugenetighe945

7 жыл бұрын

David Nicholson ahahahaha!

Why did people miss the "Cloverfield" references? They are everywhere. The humour was great.

The script was bad, yes, but Mayo gets at a deeper problem here when he brings up Reilly: the movie had big problems with tone. The editing seemed interested in matching up shots in interesting ways but solely for tonally mismatched sight gags. Which characters' lives mattered and which didn't seemed like a game of 52 pickup.

Unlike 80% of the rest of the audience, stayed in my seat RIGHT to the end. There's an extra scene after the end credits, that's all I'll say.

Simon mayo is absolutely right here. Kermode has a dog in the fight!

After watching the movie, I don't understand Simon saying '...why isn't he wearing a shirt?'. He had a shirt on the whole movie...

I loved that one shot of Kong sat on the beach at night, looking up at the northern lights. Beautiful and subtle, and says more about the monster's inner life than any number of 'romance' scenes from the King Kong movies. And I watched the Peter Jackson King Kong a few days after, and though it's much more even and consistent it's also incredibly, bafflingly boring. Skull Island has more life and personality and charm to it, even if its troughs are lower.

Mark should do..(if he hasn't) a top ten film list of films which he walked away very disappointed..ad he thought it be better than he watched..

Black Sabbath - Paranoid *

black sabbath paranoid is what you mean.

Their relationship is like a therapist and patient. Mayo listens patiently and gives the occasional steer, eg "No I think that's just you". So why do you feel the need to review films Mark?

Team Simon on this one

Totally agree with the ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ visual reference! Really enjoyed the film too.

@lenah9027

4 жыл бұрын

What was it?

I cannot believe Mark Kermode liked Kong:Skull Island. Personally I thought the acting was poor and the characters were not likeable, story poor, editing poor and an abrupt ending. Not even the monsters in this movie were impressive. King Kong 2005 is a masterpiece compared to Kong:Skull Island.

I am with Simon on this movie. I think the problems with the script are too serious to just skip over. Despite having good CGI and a strong cast, the movie never really got started or went anywhere. No new ideas whatsoever. The only small redeeming bit was the touching final scene involving JC Reilly. And the very last scene setting up future monster movies.

Spider leg. Cannibal holocaust. I thought that was a great shot and i couldnt figure out where I saw it before.

Black Sabbath´s paranoia????? Where were you brung up Mr K ?

@charliedawson6318

4 жыл бұрын

*brought up

@timsplanet2

3 жыл бұрын

I think he was making a joke, Charlie

literally dunno why some are hating on this - thought it was punchy and exceptionally well edited.

The dialogue in skull island was almost batman and robin bad

Why were the soldiers wearing their helmets on Skull Island? No risk of shrapnel. Also, one of the characters just happens to pull out a 50 Cal out of his ass. The movie is fun though.

it wasn't you I said that same thing to my friends about cannibal holocaust!

i thought Tom Hiddlestone was dreadful in this film. To be fair, I don't know if it was his acting or the script just not giving him much to work with, but I hated his screen time

Tom Hiddleston did seem really out of place in this film

Enjoyable, dumb, fairly thrilling fight scenes that aren't to the point of being unnecessary (see every recent comic book film), interestingly placed in history with vague anti-war overtones. For a genre that has been battered to death, this felt at least mildly refreshing with some actually likable characters woven in. To be wanting more than this from a film about a giant gorilla is probably expecting a little too much..?

Agree! A swell to watch the film!

Fun fact: this movie is actually set in the 1970's and features popular music from the 1970's. In case at any point you forget that it's set in the 1970's, it will remind you every few minutes by it featuring popular music from the 1970's....just like you may have heard in the 1970's.

NEVER. EVER. USE. CALIBRI.

Kermode is getting soft in his old(er) age.

Agree with Simon, I'd have preferred if Tom and Brie weren't in it, and it was a Sam Jackson/John C. Reilly buddy movie.

just watched kong it is soooo terrible but soòoo funny

Kong Skull Island was pretty enjoyable. It’s not deep but it’s not trying to be. The characters are weak and some of the CGI looks kind of bad, but Kong looks great and is in the movie a lot. Certainly not a masterpiece, but hey, kind of fun! Not the best Kong movie of course. Godzilla (2014) was painfully boring. Dark and depressing with ONE interesting character (which they f*ck up) and almost no Godzilla screentime. The trailer was amazing but the movie itself was just such a disappointment.

When he likes the director you'll never hear a reflective review. *cough*Transcendence*cough*

"Why is he not wearing a shirt?" Guy did not see the movie.

Two things got me about this move, 1 where the f"*k did all the helicopters come from, they only had 4 (think) on the ship. 2 why oh why where they using binoculars to find kong, it was the size of a friggin mountain. soz but 4/10.

I thought it was the biggest pile of dog sh..t I'd seen in a long time.

@mantistoboggan5171

3 жыл бұрын

editing was so jarring too!

What was wrong with Hiddleston's acting? Action film pros like Cruise would have been all the same.

@benjaminwakefield9509

7 жыл бұрын

Nothing wrong with his acting. It was more a criticism of him being British in a film that tries to fuse King Kong films with a Vietnam War narrative. Simon thinks it would have made sense to have Vietnam War vet as the lead character, who by necessity would have been American, not British (although I think one or two of us served in Vietnam in a training capacity).

@allerdale1832

7 жыл бұрын

I understand Simon's view on it (which I think is nullified by the fact that Conrad had so much varied experience, hence why they chose him - and then he was also "neutral" so he wasn't all tied up about American affairs), but I saw a good few of comments about Hiddleston's acting down below. Just curious what was so bad about it. I thought he did the best he could with paper thin characterization. I hope it isn't another instance of posh-bashing. That would be completely unmerited.

@benjaminwakefield9509

7 жыл бұрын

Sorry, I assumed you were commenting on the review itself as you hadn't referenced or replied directly to any of the comments below. Personally I think Hiddleston was miscast in this one. I don't mean that as a criticism of his acting ability, he did the best with what he was given, but I just didn't find him very believable in the role. I also don't think Simon's view is nullified as he wasn't criticising the plot device of employing a highly skilled character, just that in a film with strong allusions to the Vietnam war it may have been more relevant to make the character an American vet.

@theredbaronlives9889

7 жыл бұрын

Allerdale < tom hiddleston (loki) was the human character in the film worth a dam,imo he was given little help from vogt-roberts? who is not a good director.Fun movie I enjoyed it ALOT more than godzilla2014.the ending sets up sequels.my guess this movie is going to be a hit.

@allerdale1832

7 жыл бұрын

Oh yes, he was the single actor that made me care as well. Had a lot to do with the small gestures and things he was doing when he wasn't the focus of the frame, which is commendable. I was on the edge of my seat during the gas scene! Vogt-Roberts can only do so much though with a thin script so I don't think it's all his fault. It was a great time nonetheless - saw it again today with friends.

First!

This movie was unmitigated rubbish. Could only watch about 20-30 minutes before my brain started leaking out of one of my ears so thought it best that I stop..

thought it was almost instantly forgettable. reilly was the only bit i cared for, and not enough goodman. editing was awful.

i just finished watching this movie. it is okay movie... very poor char dev. you can see just for the kong action but as a movie its 6/10 t best. i never liked new godzilla too.. really poorly developed human characters. humans in this movie are really annoyingly stupid.

omg never seen such bad acting in a major blockbuster EVER .and for that you have to blame the director.acting truly was cringworthy to the extreme.