Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.04.2017, Síða 41

The Apes of Wrath
Spotting the references in ‘Kong: Skull Island’
Words: Valur Gunnarsson Photo: Art Bicnick
If, like me, you felt the only thing
missing from ‘Apocalypse Now’
was a big-ass monkey, well, my
friend, we are in luck. The ape has
arrived. But ‘Kong: Skull Island’,
which is now in theatres, is not
just a scene-by-scene retelling of
Francis Ford Coppola’s epic. It is a
veritable smorgasbord of cinematic
references.
This is only Jordan Vogt-Rob-
erts’s second film, after the en-
joyable but slight ‘The Kings of
Summer’. But he manages the
transition to the big leagues bet-
ter than Gareth Edwards did with
‘Godzilla’ (though Ga-
reth made good with
‘Rogue One’). Given an
almost unlimited bud-
get, Jordan takes us on
a journey through his
cinematic upbringing.
As an aperitif, he
starts us off with a
dash of ‘Hell in the Pa-
cific’ (meets Kong), be-
fore transporting us to
Watergate-era Wash-
ington. Yes, things
have never been so
crazy there, which sounds like a
reference to the present day. Like
Kong, Hillary Clinton may be a
monster, but without her we are
all prey to far worse ones.
Finally, we are in the jungles
of Vietnam (and the Vietnam-like
Skull Island), and full-on ‘Apoca-
lypse’ fury. Like in that film, the
most stunning setpiece is a heli-
copter battle early on, and no, King
Kong don’t surf either. Before too
long, we’re sailing down a river
into (or rather out of) the heart of
darkness. Inevitably, characters
carry reference names like Mar-
low and Conrad. Kong, then, is the
crazed Captain Kurtz who does
what he has to in an impossible
war. There are even short-lived wa-
ter buffalo.
But we also get a semi-plausible
Kong backstory, which draws on
both ‘Pacific Rim’ and Jules Verne.
These tend to be unnecessary, but
here it is relatively well-handled.
Less so are the characters. Brie
Larson and Tom Hiddleston are eye
candy but devoid of personality.
Even Kong, who is known to have
a Trump-like interest in young
blondes, seems unimpressed. We
get no Kong on ice here. Perhaps
a big hairy guy grabbing a girl and
making off with her is no longer
palatable in the present age.
The only human character who
seems, well, human,
is John C. Reilly, who
makes a Dennis Hop-
per-like entrance to
liven things up. Sam
Jackson is his usual
bad self as a deranged
Vietnam vet. I am
sure some fan theory
will suggest that all
the monsters on the
island exist purely in
his mind.
It is in the period set-
ting that the genius of
‘Skull Island’ lies. And the film-
makers never tire of reminding
us that this was the best period
in popular music history (Bowie
and Iggy). There is even a “Run
Through the Jungle” thrown in for
old times’ sake.
We haven’t really seen a proper
Vietnam film since ‘Casualties
of War’ in 1989, before American
war trauma was transported to
the Middle East. But Vietnam is
making a comeback in action-ad-
ventures such as ‘Watchmen’, ‘X-
Men: Days of Future Past’, ‘Rogue
One’ and now here. It makes for
one hell of a backdrop. Now with
added monkey.
SHARE: gpv.is/kong05
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41The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 05 — 2017
“Perhaps a
big hairy guy
grabbing a
girl and mak-
ing off with
her is no lon-
ger palatable
in the present
age.”