After the Vietnam war, a team of scientists explores an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong and must fight to escape a primal Eden.After the Vietnam war, a team of scientists explores an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong and must fight to escape a primal Eden.After the Vietnam war, a team of scientists explores an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong and must fight to escape a primal Eden.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 22 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSamuel L. Jackson said on a talk show that throughout filming, he and his co-stars didn't know just how big Kong was supposed to be. Whenever they asked, they got conflicting answers.
- GoofsThe establishing shot of the Athena shows a CH-47 Chinook helicopter on the bow, four UH-1 Hueys amidships, and one CH-53 Sea Stallion on the stern. In the helicopter battle with Kong later, at least 10 Hueys are shown.
- Quotes
Hank Marlow: Hey, what happened with the war? Did we win?
James Conrad: Which one?
Hank Marlow: Uh-huh. That makes sense.
- Crazy creditsSPOILER: There is a scene after the closing credits: Brooks and Lin meet Conrad and Weaver and show them records that indicate other monsters existing on Earth; the monsters seen are Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah and Godzilla. The scene ends with Godzilla's roar. This leads into Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
- ConnectionsFeatured in Film '72: Episode #46.1 (2017)
- SoundtracksTime Has Come Today
Written by Joseph Chambers and Willie Chambers
Performed by The Chambers Brothers
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Featured review
I usually don't comment on massively budgeted blockbusters, but "Kong: Skull Island" is such a joyfully tongue-in-cheek homage to giant monster B-movie cinema that I simply had to make an exception! This is a tremendously over-the-top and silly creature-feature, but the undemanding popcorn-entertainment value is just irresistible. The original King Kong, from 1933 already, is a monumental piece of cinema and still very powerful today. The more recent (2005) and expensive Peter Jackson remake was, at least in my humble opinion, a very boring and overlong romantic drama. "Kong: Skull Island" nicely falls right between these two extremes. By no means, it's great cinema, but at least it provides thrills, chuckles and adrenaline rushes from start to finish. The intro and scene-setting are already incredibly dumb, but oh so fun! We're supposed to believe that there exists a secret government agency (yes, another one) named Monarch, and their area of expertise is searching around the world for monsters and oversize animals. In 1973, The agency's CEO (an energetic John Goodman) benefices from the US-army's retreat out of Vietnam to recover soldiers and assets for a mission to the secretive Skull Island; a place where - and I quote - God left his creation unfinished.
"Kong: Skull Island" certainly doesn't waste any time! The helicopters have barely begun circling over the island, and there already emerges the humongous ape King Kong to slap them out of the sky like tiny ping-pong balls! The few remaining soldiers, led by the frustrated platoon leader Samuel L. Jackson, continue on foot and swear to destroy King Kong, but they soon learn that the island homes lots of other giant and unspeakably evil monstrous creations, and that Kong isn't even such a bad fella. It's a mission impossible to take this film seriously, but with the right mindset (and perhaps a few six-packs of beer) you'll have a great time. Seeing the story takes place in 1973 and has an abundantly clear Vietnam collection, it also somewhat feels like a long-feature "Tour of Duty" movie with a downright awesome 70s soundtrack. The special effects are cheesy and exaggerated, the dialogues are deliciously tacky ("hm, a mushroom...that means there must a river nearby!") and the casting is perfect. I already mentioned John Goodman and Samuel L. Jackson, but there's also John C. Reilly as the bewildered WWII veteran who's been stuck on the island since 1942.
"Kong: Skull Island" certainly doesn't waste any time! The helicopters have barely begun circling over the island, and there already emerges the humongous ape King Kong to slap them out of the sky like tiny ping-pong balls! The few remaining soldiers, led by the frustrated platoon leader Samuel L. Jackson, continue on foot and swear to destroy King Kong, but they soon learn that the island homes lots of other giant and unspeakably evil monstrous creations, and that Kong isn't even such a bad fella. It's a mission impossible to take this film seriously, but with the right mindset (and perhaps a few six-packs of beer) you'll have a great time. Seeing the story takes place in 1973 and has an abundantly clear Vietnam collection, it also somewhat feels like a long-feature "Tour of Duty" movie with a downright awesome 70s soundtrack. The special effects are cheesy and exaggerated, the dialogues are deliciously tacky ("hm, a mushroom...that means there must a river nearby!") and the casting is perfect. I already mentioned John Goodman and Samuel L. Jackson, but there's also John C. Reilly as the bewildered WWII veteran who's been stuck on the island since 1942.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Skull Island
- Filming locations
- Ha Long Bay, Quang Bình Province, Vietnam(aerial shots of Skull Island)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $185,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $168,052,812
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $61,025,472
- Mar 12, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $568,652,812
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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