Kong: All about that ape, ’bout that ape

While we may still be in the final days of winter, make no mistake: It’s summer at the box office.

“Kong: Skull Island” is a classic example of a summer movie: one that begs to be seen on the biggest screen possible, the volume cranked up to wall-rattling levels and with an audience not afraid to make some noise.

And perhaps the most uniquely satisfying aspect is that it’s a monster movie that does not feel the need to coyly tease its audience with its hero, offering shadowy glimpses here and there until basically the third act. To paraphrase Meghan Trainor, “Kong” is all about that ape, ‘bout that ape.

Set during the close of the Vietnam War in 1973, “Kong” opens with Bill Randa (played by John Goodman), who is pleading with government officials to allow him and his crew to explore an uncharted island before funding is cut. He assembles a team that includes an SAS captain (played by Tom Hiddleston), a wartime photographer (Brie Larson), and various others who will serve as monkey kibble for the remainder of the film.

The main conflict, though, emerges with their helicopter pilot (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who is eager to take them to the remote location, as the military life is all he has known, and the war’s ending has left him without a challenge to overcome or an enemy to confront.

This mission provides him with both. For as his cavalry of copters breaks through the massive weather system that surrounds the secretive island, they face the real danger: an angry, massive Kong who views their arrival and bombast as an intrusion and greets them the way humans greet mosquitoes to a picnic.

While the surviving members of the mission manage to scramble together on the island, they are hardly safe, as the environment contains creatures that have been evolving independently and humans are quite low on this food chain.

Those who do occupy the island live in fear, not of Kong, but of another primordial atrocity that crawls and claws with frightening fury.

They are given the name “skullcrawlers” by one of the island inhabitants, Marlow (in a wonderful supporting role from John C. Reilly), a WWII pilot stuck on the island since his plane was shot down over it three decades ago.

Reilly spins crazily over the proceedings like a spider capturing its prey, providing tension-deflating humor when it is most needed. Jackson, on the other hand, brings his glower power to the film and gives the audience plenty of hiss-worthy moments as he makes the entire journey personal and sets out to avenge his fallen soldiers.

“Kong” marks the latest trend in handing over big-budget franchises to indie directors. When it works (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Batman Begins,” “Ant-Man,” “Jurassic World”), the results can have an unexpected burst of energy that perhaps a more seasoned director would not attempt.

Though, when it doesn’t work (the most recent “Fantastic Four,” “The Green Hornet”), it can be disastrous.

Here director Jordan Vogt-Roberts was given the responsibility of carrying the picture after directing “The Kings of Summer,” a small “Stand By Me”- like indie with a budget the size of “Kong’s” catering bill.

He makes some rather smart choices throughout that pay off for the viewer, but most importantly, he opts to not hide the goods from us and lets us soak in all the monster madness early and often.  The leads are all game in roles that are perhaps a little thin for the caliber of the talent (Hiddleston and Larson could have easily been replaced by any number of no-name actors). But we are here for the chest-thumping action, and that is what is delivered to us with a keen eye on crafting stunning visuals amidst the mayhem.

It results in an always-engaging jungle boogie that seems to gracefully nod to the cinematic origins of such creature features without once striking a condescending tone as to why they were so entertaining in the first place. And that’s more than enough to heat up the multiplex to make way for the films of summer.