Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Ken Russell, the sometimes genius who directed the Oscar winning Women In Love, The Devils and Tommy made his first major Hollywood film in 1980. Taken from a novel by Paddy Chayefsky, the writer behind Network, Altered States promised to be a mind blowing piece of science fiction cinema with a hefty budget to match. Russell, the eternal maverick, seemed like a bonkers, fantastic but potentially dangerous choice for Warner Brothers to take a gamble on. This new blu-ray release from HMV allows us to see again if the gamble paid off.

 

In the late 1960s, respected Harvard professor Eddie Jessop is experimenting with sensory isolation chambers to try and unlock hidden states of consciousness. He’s also embarking on a relationship with a respected anthropologist, Emily, and the two marry. But when he combines his experiments with a powerful hallucinatory drug, his body, as well as his mind, start to change.

 

Truly great science fiction usually poses more questions than it ever answers, often about the big questions – what does it mean to be human? why are we here? where did we come from? Think of 2001, of Blade Runner, and of Altered States for, make no mistake about it, Altered States is great science fiction.

 

At its heart, this Jekyll and Hyde story is about obsession. Jessop will stop at nothing to get closer to the answers to life’s big questions, convinced that he can regress his mind through the genetic memories we all share right back to the first moment in time. Talking like real scientists, the pseudo intellectual dialogue could be alienating and annoying but the performances across the board are superb, keeping us on track, convincing us that these people know what they’re talking about even if we don’t. As played by William Hurt, brilliant in his first film role, Jessop is a fascinating character and, despite everything, you fully see why Emily, a great turn from Blair Brown, is as obsessed with him as he is with his quest.

 

At the time the effects caused quite a stir, and they hold up well today, Jessop’s physical transformations becoming more and more abstract. The hallucinatory experiences are brilliantly handled as are the regressions through time and memory. A sequence where Jessop regresses into cosmic energy inside the isolation tank taking in all that’s around him, only to redeemed by his wife reaching into the void to grab him back is tense, mind boggling, beautiful and moving.

 

In other hands, this could have come across as so much overblown hokey nonsense but Russell is brilliant enough to throw all of his excess in the right places and draw us in via a love story. And what a love story – the film’s final line of dialogue being key to what Altered States is really about.

 

Gambling on Russell paid off for WB who had a hit with the film, but it paid off for us too, as Altered States remains one of his best films and a truly original science fiction masterpiece.

 

ALTERED STATES / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: KEN RUSSELL / SCREENPLAY: PADDY CHAYEFSKY / STARRING: WILLIAM HURT, BLAIR BROWN, BOB BALABAN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Written and directed by Matthew Sconce, Altar is one of the latest found footage films to find its way onto DVD. Containing all of the usual horror tropes that have come to be expected from the genre, Altar is a surprisingly efficient low budget affair. With a running time of only 84 minutes, the film feels like a breeze and although the horror elements are few and far between, the strong chemistry between the characters is believable enough to inject some life into proceedings.

So what’s it all about, we hear you shout. Well, stop us if you’ve heard this one before but Altar tells the story of a group of former college friends who get lost whilst driving to a college reunion camp out in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After stopping for the night, they stumble upon something much darker and soon find themselves having to escape the evil they have unleashed. Now, although the storyline doesn’t offer much in terms of originality and the characters may be a few shades away from caricature, there’s something strangely endearing about Altar. The script (for the most part) is tight, the directing is handled effectively and the acting is pretty solid.

 

That’s not to say Altar is without its faults. Having been made on a low budget, there are a few missteps along the way such as the actual altar itself which resembles something that has been made by a high school’s art department. You then have the occasional appearance of a character named Ripper (Michael Wainwright) who looks and sounds as if he’s came straight out of a Scooby-Doo cartoon. With his gravelly voice, blank stare and stiff demeanour, his inclusion into the film has a tendency to take the viewer out of the action.

However it’s the interactions between the main characters that set this movie apart from most low budget horrors. There are no contrived scenarios in which characters suddenly fall out, there are no silly rivalries, it’s just a bunch of characters that all get along…and strangely enough, those were the bits that stood out most.

But what about the horror!? Well, we do briefly get a bit of horror towards the end which although effectively done, it’s all too brief and sudden to have any real impact. By the films abrupt finish, you’ll be left wondering what the whole thing was all about. So is Altar worth checking out? Well, not exactly. There are plenty of other good pickings out there to choose from however if you’re truly in dire straits as to what to watch then this movie will certainly do no harm.

ALTAR / CERT: TBA / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: MATTHEW SCONCE / STARRING: STEFANIE ESTES, TIM PARRISH, BRITTANY FALARDEAU / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Back in the days of VHS, one of Dreamscape’s releases on the format had a cover that suggested a knockabout Indiana Jones-style action movie was contained within. In actuality, what you get is a sci-fi flick with some horror and humour mixed in. Released the same year as the original A Nightmare on Elm Street it’s another film about dreams and how they can be invaded and manipulated. Instead of slasher horror what we get here is The Dead Zone by way of Spielberg (if he was working on a seriously reduced budget). Dreamscape wasn’t a hit when it first came out but like many had a second life on home video and this new release offers an opportunity to reappraise another minor cult classic.

 

Dennis Quaid plays Alex, a young man with a psychic gift. For 10 years he’s been using it to his own advantage, both with the ladies and making money through ‘gambling’ (not really that when you know the outcome). Reconnecting with an old mentor in von Sydow, he’s made the classic offer he can’t refuse to become part of a programme that sends people with abilities into the dreams of others. Despite his natural inclination to steer clear of authority, Alex starts to discover he could really do some good with his gift. But ominous warnings from George Wendt’s King-like author, and the sinister machinations of government man Christopher Plummer and his psychotic psychic stooge David Patrick Kelly suggest Alex would do better to get out while he can.

Dreamscape’s relative failure at the box office was a shame, as it’s a strong science fiction thriller with a great concept. Quaid is a born movie star with effortless charisma and his likeable hero is ably supported by the cast, including Kate Capshaw (here allowed to give a performance instead of the extended scream-fit of the same year’s Temple of Doom). Director Ruben keeps things moving along at a brisk pace. Some of the set piece special effects are pretty basic but it lends them a charm now that they would have lacked when it first came out. In these days of conspiracy thrillers and Inception-style big idea films it could really do with a remake. Overall though, it’s a clever little flick that would undoubtedly have benefited from a bigger budget to really let the dream ideas take off, but still entertains.

 

Fans of the film are well-served by this release and should certainly pick this up. There’s an interview with Quaid, a retrospective documentary, a commentary and some other decent extras, as well as a recent scan of the film that generally cleans it up well. Warmly recommended.

 

DREAMSCAPE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JOSEPH RUBEN / SCREENPLAY: DAVID LOUGHERY, CHUCK RUSSELL, JOSEPH RUBEN / STARRING: DENNIS QUAID, MAX VON SYDOW, CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER / RELEASE DATE: 31ST JULY

Computers are an integral part of our lives now, but back in 1984, the year Apple released their first Macintosh, they were much newer and more exotic, with the average consumer not knowing how they worked or what they would soon be able to do. You have to wonder, then, just what people thought of Electric Dreams – now getting its first Blu-ray outing – upon its release that same year.

 

Architect Miles (Von Dohlen) invests in one of these newfangled computer things, and soon has it set up to operate all his appliances, schedule his daily life, and even help with his pet project of designing an earthquake-proof brick. But the computer, named Edgar, has an intelligence of its own and, hearing neighbour Madeline (Madsen) playing her cello, joins in on the music. Madeline believes this to be from Miles and falls for him, but Edgar wants to feel loved too, and a strange love triangle begins…

 

Surprisingly, it’s even madder than it sounds. Some of the subject matter might just scrape by as plausible if rejigged for a modern movie about AI, along the lines of Spike Jonze’s Her, but – and this may be hindsight speaking – it’s downright ludicrous when it’s 1980s technology we’re dealing with. Thankfully, though, the film knows its own silliness, and plays everything with tongue firmly in cheek; Rusty Lemorande’s script is chock-full of gags which play on the daftness of Edgar’s desire for love, not least one very funny scene in which it calls into an agony aunt’s radio show.

 

But it’s Steve Barron’s direction that really makes Electric Dreams, well, unique. It was Barron’s first feature film, but he’d directed over a hundred music videos, most famously Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. He applies that aesthetic sensibility to the movie, shooting it as, for the most part, a ninety-minute music video; sweeping close-ups of computer parts intercut with shots of Miles looking forlorn and moody, edited to the blaring sounds of ‘80s synthpop. The result is a visually and aurally cluttered film, in an enjoyably cheesy way, but the scenes that develop Miles and Madeline’s relationship are less competently handled; Barron’s stylistic focus means that the characters, like those in a music video, never step out from being 2D archetypes into rounded people we can believe in.

 

Nevertheless, Electric Dreams is like no other movie you’ve seen; it’s simultaneously the most ‘80s film ever and weirdly ahead of its time. It’s also completely, utterly ridiculous – it must have seemed so at the time, and it seems even more so today. But that’s part of the fun – love or hate Electric Dreams, you’ll never be bored by it.

 

Extras: Interviews

ELECTRIC DREAMS / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: STEVE BARRON / SCREENPLAY: RUSTY LEMORANDE / STARRING: LENNY VON DOHLEN, VIRGINIA MADSEN, MAXWELL CAULFIED, BUD CORT / RELEASE DATE: JULY 31ST

Following on from their first 12-hour trailer marathon, Umbrella have returned to the vault and found 12 hours more.  Anyone assuming the cupboard was getting a bit bare can think again because, by our reckoning, this new 4-disc set trumps the first for scope and sheer chutzpah.

 

There are 307 mini masterpieces here, arranged into sub-sections according to genre. Some of these categories made us laugh out loud; ‘DON’T!’, for example, heralds a compilation of every sleazy slasher that started with ‘Don’t!’ (turns out there were quite a few). It all kicks off with a section called ‘Giallo A-Go-Go’ featuring 61 Italian slashers of a twisty deportment. Watching these is great fun, because no matter how artful the individual movies themselves may have been (and this batch includes Mario Bava’s peerless Blood and Black Lace and Argento’s entire ‘70s output), the trailers are all beamed in from the planet schlock. This consistency of tone is underscored by a recurring use of very 1970s ITC-style reverse negative graphics designed to disguise the bloodiest scenes. And my, what a lot of them starred Suzy Kendall.

 

We also get a return to the world of zombie trailers because, let’s face it, you can never have too many. There’s a bloody sack-load of them here although real connoisseurs will pine for the uncut ‘Make Them Die Slowly!’ version of the Cannibal Ferox trailer where that bloke got the top of his head sliced off like a hard-boiled egg. Then there’s a motley clutch of shameless Exorcist rip-offs which, if we’re honest, boggled our mind because, well, there’s just so many of them and they all look the same. Plus many hours more of the slashers, dodgy creature features and Corman-eque space flicks that didn’t make the first volume.

 

We’ve saved the best until last: ‘British Blood and Bosoms’ is a majestic canter through that incredibly fertile era of British exploitation cinema when the like of Susan George, Robin Askwith and a surprisingly alluring Michele Dotrice starred on rotation in a wave of creepy low-budget horror thrillers like And Soon the Darkness, Fright, Blood on Satan’s Claw, Corruption and Tower of Evil. Even better, ‘The Hard Naked Truth’ lassos a joyously bizarre collection of skin flick trailers with an emphasis on the more ‘out there’ offerings like 2069: A Sex Odyssey, Wham Bam Thank You Spaceman and Let Me Die a Woman.

Drive-In Delirium: The Offspring, Vol. 2 is an epic ride through some of the most enthrallingly obscure movies ever made. Keep a notepad handy because you’ll be hunting many of them down afterwards. If you’re lucky, you may even find your new favourite film ever.

 

DRIVE-IN DELIRIUM: THE OFFSPRING, VOL. 2 / CERT: 18 / DIRECTORS: VARIOUS / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: VARIOUS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Stephanie Rothman is a very interesting filmmaker. An apprentice of Roger Corman, Rothman was writer or director (or both) on a number of films that definitely earn the ‘cult’ descriptive. Rothman worked on one of the versions of Blood Bath, and wrote and directed The Student Nurses and The Velvet Vampire before making Terminal Island. Sadly, industry stigma (and likely more insidious prejudice) would curtail Rothman’s promising career later in the ‘70s before she could shake off that exploitation label. What we’re left with is a set of films that fit into the exploitative genre section but actually have something to say.

In an alternative near future, the death penalty has been abolished and instead murderers (of the first-degree sort) are shipped off to the titular island to spend the remainder of their lives fighting for survival. Our surrogate is Carmen, who is new to the island – which has been open for just under a year – and quickly discovers that the prison is worse than she could have ever thought. Rothman ticks off the exploitation expectations from the outset. Corpses float in the water on her arrival. Approaching the nearest camp, its clear tribal patterns have already emerged. The threat of sexual violence is palpable when one inmate says to another “break her in”. We know things aren’t going to be easy. Tom Selleck shows up early as a supposedly ‘innocent’ doctor, who by now finds his humanity slowly deserting him in a haze of DIY drug abuse.

But there’s more to Terminal Island and Rothman works hard to subvert those expectations. There’s nudity sure, but actually almost as much male as female. The women are the heart of the film – they’re the reason the men do what they do and the driving force behind the movie’s duelling narrative, one that contrasts the violence of this fledgling society with a suggestion that they can choose to be more this time, they can choose to be better. There are still plenty of explosions and shoot-outs, but you can’t fault Rothman for trying to make it more interesting at every turn, finding moments of beauty in the midst of all the violence, and working towards a genuinely hopeful ending. Under the guise of making something that could be sold to cinemas to bring in the punters, there’s a smarter film here.

As for the disc itself, we can commend Umbrella Entertainment for releasing it in the first place whilst at the same time lament the fact it has been dumped, without even a menu screen, onto disc. The poor transfer fits the mood of the film but it’s a shame there are no extras, nothing to try and provide context and some overdue respect to Terminal Island.

TERMINAL ISLAND / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: STEPHANIE ROTHMAN / SCREENPLAY: STEPHANIE ROTHMAN, CHARLES S. SWARTZ, JACK BARRETT / STARRING: PHYLLIS DAVIS, MARTA KRISTEN, ENA HARTMAN, DON MARSHALL, TOM SELLECK / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (AUSTRALIA); UK RELEASE TBA

For eight seasons, a TV movie and one ‘limited event’ series, Jack Bauer – in the increasingly grizzled form of Kiefer Sutherland – was a one-man anti-terrorist army. Over the course of the series he dispatched hundreds of bad guys, tortured terrorists, colleagues and family members alike, brought down corrupt presidents (where are you when we need you?) shot his boss in the head, and saved Los Angeles from being nuked. Twice. (Those pesky terrorists got it the third time, but no one’s perfect).

At the conclusion of the last series, the London-set Live Another Day, Jack was carted off to a Russian prison, possibly permanently. And, with Sutherland electing not to return, the powers-that-be have decided to start over, replacing him with a new character: former army ranger Eric Carter (Corey Hawkins).

When we first meet him, Carter and his wife Nicole (Anna Diop) are living in witness protection – Carter’s former unit having undertaken a successful mission to kill a Bin Laden-style terrorist leader a few years previously.

This being 24, their quiet life lasts approximately five minutes, as terrorists track down and start killing his former colleagues. Are they after revenge or something else? Who revealed their whereabouts to the bad guys? And will Carter get to mutter the immortal “Dammit, Chloe” at any point? (Spoiler, he doesn’t, the wonderful Chloe is amongst the many 24 regulars not returning here).

From then on, it’s essentially business as usual, with Carter being dragged into a conspiracy which may or may not involve his drug dealer brother (Ashley Thomas), his former boss (Miranda Otto), her presidential candidate husband (Jimmy Smits), and various members of CTU (that’s the Counter Terrorist Unit for the uninitiated).

And that’s where we hit Legacy’s big problem. The sense of familiarity here is both an asset and its greatest weakness. The casting of a new lead was the show’s chance to shake up the formula; instead they’ve fallen into it. We’ve seen all this before, and better. The show’s done Islamic terrorists many times (too many in fact), we’ve had sleeper cells, moles in CTU and surprise reveals aplenty – a key one here is even lifted practically verbatim from day one.

Typical of the show’s problems is its treatment of the one returning character. When we last saw Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) at the end of day seven, the former CTU agent was on his way to jail, having turned bad and killed a hell of a lot of people. Here he’s back and operating as a mercenary, running shady black ops, with next to no mention as to how he’s free again. Not only is it doing a disservice to a fan-favourite character, but it feels like producers are essentially playing 24 bingo – throwing in all the elements fans like and hoping it gels.

As anyone who saw him as Dr. Dre in the excellent Straight Outta Compton will attest, Corey Hawkins is a force to be reckoned with, and he does a great job at making Carter a relatable character in amongst the constant gun fights and explosions. But, ultimately, Carter’s no Jack. Kiefer Sutherland’s grounded performance was what enabled us to buy into the increasingly ridiculous plotlines. And with Carter and Legacy not returning for a second season (Fox have cancelled it), you suspect they’re currently offering Sutherland pretty much anything he wants to strap on his Jack pack once more (not a euphemism by the way).

24 fans know that the quality has always been patchy. For every season that hits the heights of day three or five, there’s a day four of six lurking round the corner. Legacy unfortunately falls into the latter category. Ironically, for a numerically-titled show, Legacy is very much 24 by the numbers. Dammit.

Special features: Deleted scenes / 24: The legacy lives on featurette

24: LEGACY / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: VARIOUS / WRITTEN BY: MANNY COTO & EVAN KATZ (CREATORS) / STARRING: COREY HAWKINS, MIRANDA OTTO, ANNA DIOP / RELEASE DATE: 24TH JULY

When the Power Rangers film was announced it’s safe to say that many had some preconceptions about its quality, given that it was on the long line of recent franchises that are getting modern reboots. But the question is – how does it hold up?

 

In short, it’s fantastic. Reminiscent very much of The Breakfast Club – if it was a fantasy modern remake about the Power Rangers, that is – the film is an outstanding balance of story and action while making you genuinely care about each character and their journey. It really is a joy to watch everything unfold.

 

Its story is brilliantly character-driven – there’s plenty of well-shot action sequences to get your teeth into, but the fact that you actually care about the characters means that Power Rangers is more than just enjoyable – it’s heartwarming, tear-jerking, and at times, a true emotional rollercoaster as the Power Rangers grow and battle together. You may not expect a film like Power Rangers to couple a fantastic story and action with an emotional punch, but boy, does it deliver, and deliver incredibly well, so much so that they’ll definitely be tears at certain points and twists in the story.

 

Each and every actor also does an excellent job of making their characters come alive on screen – their complexities and issues are explored and given incredible depth by all, but particularly Becky G as Trini, the yellow ranger, and RJ Cyler, the blue ranger. However every ranger – Naomi Scott, (pink ranger) Ludi Lin (black ranger) and Dacre Montgomery (red ranger) are all incredible in their respective roles and very much deliver performances that balance the emotive, action-packed and humorous scenes throughout the film, while making you care about each of their characters, as well as the Power Rangers as a group.

 

Elizabeth Banks is also a great villain – pulling off an atmospheric, and at times a genuinely frightening performance that also packs a punch and helps to carry the big fight at the end of the film just as much as the Power Rangers themselves. Together, their performances mean that the final battle of the film is truly tense and nail-biting.

 

Not only is the film fantastic – but it also contains some of the best product placement we think we’ve ever seen in a film. Witty and funny, hats off to the creative team that have thought and crafted something so clever out of mere product placement. You’ll definitely be craving Krispy Kreme after this. That alone just sums up Power Rangers as a film – witty, fun and humorous, that really goes the extra mile to entertain you and tell a heartwarming story that is worthy of a re-watch.

 

Power Rangers is a perfect mixture of action, drama, fantasy and fun in a coming-of-age movie that defies any expectations. A genuinely enjoyable, and well-done film that is a true delight to watch.

 

POWER RANGERS / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: DEAN ISRAELITE / SCREENPLAY: JOHN GATINS / STARRING: DACRE MONTGOMERY, BECKY G, RJ CYLER, NAOMI SCOTT, LUDI LIN, ELIZABETH BANKS, BRYAN CRANSTON / RELEASE DATE: 31ST JULY

Arrow Video fans certainly have much to get excited about at present. The imminent release of a brand-new 4K restoration of John Carpenter’s classic remake of The Thing is one reason. Another is the new July 2017 Arrow Blu-Ray re-issue of Richard Franklin’s 1983 sequel Psycho II.

 

At first glance, it was always a tall order and major challenge to see whether anyone could match Hitchcock’s 1960 chiller; whether it could be consistent with the original’s level of shock and surprise after such a long hiatus, whilst bringing it in line with the Halloween / Friday The 13th crowd. Happily, even thirty-four years after its theatrical debut, Psycho II transcends expectations and is one of the classic exceptions to the rule of diminishing returns in sequels.

 

Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is deemed fit for society twenty-two years after the dark and tragic events of the original film by a local court, despite the objections of Lila Loomis (Vera Miles) – the sister of Janet Leigh’s character in the original – who has mounted a petition to stop him from being released. He goes back to his motel and house and takes a job at a local diner, where he meets waitress Mary (Meg Tilly). His doctor. Bill Raymond (Robert Loggia) helps him adjust as best he can, whilst advising the local sheriff to keep an eye on him.

 

However, it isn’t long before the past starts to play with his mind-set, with notes being left under phones in the house and on the order wheel at the diner. His motel has other issues, with the present manager, Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz) making a more open policy on guests to increasing resentment and objections…..

 

Tom Holland’s script keeps a compact and playful leash on both the characters and the audience – and all the key motifs that defined the original film are there, right down to the film opening with the immortal shower scene, a key set-up for what is to follow.

 

In his sleeve notes for the soundtrack to Halloween, John Carpenter stated that Psycho was ‘the film that inspired Halloween’ and it is a logical progression that Dean Cundey should be the person to have laid the canvas on director Franklin’s film. Like The Fog, Psycho II is richly and beautifully shot, adding to the air of unease. Perkins was never going to escape his role as Bates, a fact Hitchcock lovingly stated when he claimed he ruined Perkins’ career through Psycho. Jerry Goldsmith’s music is faultless, one of several great scores he did throughout the 1980s, and done around the same time he was nominated for another Oscar for his work on Roger Spottiswoode’s Under Fire (highly recommended if you can get hold of the CD).

 

After you’ve enjoyed the film, you can look forward to a host of special features on the disc, including writer Tom Holland’s audio commentary, archive interviews and press kit material and – if you are lucky enough to buy the film on its first release – a collector’s booklet with new writing on the film and a reprint of the Psycho II chapter from Richard Franklin’s unpublished biography.

 

All in all, Arrow Video have a gold-plated winner with Psycho II.

PSYCHO II / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: RICHARD FRANKLIN / SCREENPLAY: TOM HOLLAND / STARRING: ANTHONY PERKINS, VERA MILES, MEG TILLY, ROBERT LOGGIA, DENNIS FRANZ / RELEASE DATE: 31ST JULY

84 years ago a legend was born as a massive stop-motion animated ape climbed The Empire State Building – just as he would later ascend pop culture – swatting planes away and grasping Fay Wray in his monkey mitts. Since then the cinematic legend of one of cinema’s longest reigning monsters has grown and grown, with remakes by John Guillermin and Peter Jackson, some iffy sequels and even a crossover with Toho’s Godzilla back in 1962. However, in the case of this newly rebooted incarnation of Kong, that ‘60s mash-up is the most salient point here, as, after starting with a strong roar in Gareth Edwards’ (admittedly polarising) Godzilla in 2014, Legendary Pictures continues their budding MonsterVerse with Kong: Skull Island. So, ahead of Michael Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong (2020), is this trip to Skull Island as monstrously enjoyable as hoped. Indeed it is.

Taking a departure from the 1933 classic and many of the romanticised movies that followed, Kong: Skull Island instead pays tribute to the kaiju film and re-imagines Kong through the misty eyes of hellacious war, with influences from Vietnam war flicks…Pacific Rim by way of Apocalypse Now if you like. A military unit, straight out of finishing up in the unsuccessful Vietnam war, are tasked with one last job to escort William Randa (John Goodman) and his fellow Monarch associates, along with former SAS hunter/tracker James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and photojournalist Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) to a mysterious island that holds many secrets. However, once they arrive, they gain the ire of its mountain-sized simian ruler and a deluge of other dangers also surface.

 

In a trend that is clearly visible in this cinematic universe, Jordan Vogt-Roberts is an indie director (his debut was 2013 coming of age Drama The Kings of Summer) that has been allowed space to create his own slant on this pantheon among movie beasts and the results are simply spectacular. After Edwards’ film was sternly told off by audiences for not featuring the title star enough, this film has no such problem, Kong is back in a big (and we mean big) way, in a film that relishes the elements – good and bad – of kaiju movies and at times recalls films like Predator (Henry Jackman’s great score certainly evokes a bit of Silvestri’s jungle set beats) with its constant action and intensity. However the script also allows for some depth in terms of its timely themes (mankind’s mistreatment and misunderstanding of nature and the futility of war), comic touches (John C. Reilly’s show stealing turn as stranded WW2 pilot Hank Marlow) and moments of beauty (a face-to-face between Kong and Conrad & Weaver being especially rather touching), not to mention some neat eschewing of the gender/racial stereotypes that have grown more and more noticeable in the original classic.

 

Admittedly the criticisms of lacking characters hold some water, after all this is a film that prioritises monster mashing over excessive character development but despite some supporting players being used as kaiju collateral damage and Hiddleston’s unusual casting as a very macho hero (he makes a good go of it though, to be fair), this cast of familiar faces deliver the goods. Goodman is always a welcome presence, as we say Hiddleston has his moments and kind of won this reviewer over in his part, Larson is effective in a turn that is pleasingly less sexually-driven and more ethical than the usual Kong series leading lady and Samuel L. Jackson is brilliant as the Moby Dick-esque obsessive character, army veteran Preston Packard, who is as misguided as he is near mad in taking the fight to Kong (who is brought to life with both enthralling special effects and splendid motion-capture by Terry Notary). Though it is indeed Kong’s movie, you will most feel the presence of the aforementioned John C. Reilly on the human side, as he excels in a part that allows for some laughs but more emotion than any of his fellow co-stars and he relishes the opportunity by delivering one of his most fantastic performances.

 

Overall Kong: Skull Island is just a complete blast from start to finish (and that end credits bit gets the blood properly pumping). The effects are superbly rendered, the tone is joyous and Vogt-Roberts uses Larry Fong’s gorgeous cinematography to the maximum to add some visual awe to his passionate, exciting and occasionally violent (some moments really push that 12A rating) take on King Kong. Which well and truly feels like his film and not a producers (a point anchored when looking into the films making)! This writer would easily rank it as one of the 2017’s most enjoyable movies, and certainly one of the most visually absorbing. So sit back, relax and enjoy your visit to Skull Island, though please remain seated for the entire tour, as some of these creative and deadly monsters don’t play nice.

 

Ladies and gentleman, Kong is king once again in a film that blends genres, wears its influences proudly and delivers huge skull crunching action to create an endlessly fun blockbuster. We cannot wait for the next MonsterVerse outing.

Special Features: Monarch Files 2.0 / Featurettes / Deleted Scenes / Director Commentary

KONG: SKULL ISLAND / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: JORDAN VOGT-ROBERTS / SCREENPLAY: DAN GILROY, MAX BORENSTEIN, DEREK CONNOLLY / STARRING: TOM HIDDLESTON, SAMUEL L. JACKSON, BRIE LARSON, JOHN GOODMAN, JOHN C. REILLY / RELEASE DATE: 24TH JULY