Oversized Kong overshadows top cast

The problem is that while Kong is certainly a commanding presence, his gigantic proportions make him far more of a special effect than the audienceengaging character of the past.

Review

Kong: Skull Island (M) Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts Starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson 118 mins as Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston, the humans quickly become secondary to the headlining primate. And the problem is that while Kong is certainly a commanding presence, his gigantic proportions (he’s fourtimes the size of Jackson’s incarnation, presumably so his impending ‘‘Monsterverse’’ battle with Godzilla in 2020 is more evenly matched) make him far more of a special effect than the audience-engaging character of the past.

That’s not to say that Skull Island is without its charms. There are some nice nods to Apocalypse Now and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in both the storyline and character names, while Vogt-Roberts conjures up some clever match shots and does a nice job in evoking the period setting via both soundtrack choices and political backdrop (although the

Tremors, Madagascar 2, Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson play second fiddle to the eponymous great ape in Kong: Skull Island.