Kong: Skull Island director brutally skewers own movie in Honest Trailer

They call them ‘Honest Trailers’ for a reason – but we’ve never seen one quite so on the nose as this one.

‘Kong: Skull Island’ director Jordan Vogt-Roberts – who not long ago went on a Twitter tirade over a Cinema Sins treatment of his recent giant monster blockbuster – proves that his harshest critic is by far himself, by making a personal appearance in the Honest Trailer above.

Intriguingly, the Honest Trailers commentary insists that Vogt-Roberts’ participation in the video had been planned long before the director’s attack on Cinema Sins – although the publicity from that event will doubtless do wonders for their traffic.

It starts out one of the more positive Honest Trailers, stressing that ‘Kong: Skull Island’ is a “giant monster movie which for once delivers on the monster battles” – a likely slur on 2013’s ‘Pacific Rim’ and 2014’s ‘Godzilla,’ both of which were heavily criticised for de-emphasising the kaiju action everyone paid to see.

But then around the midway point, as holes are gently poked in the film’s logic, it all gets a bit meta as Vogt-Roberts himself interrupts the commentary, sat at a desk covered in ‘Kong: Skull Island’ merchandise, and proceeds to be even more unforgiving.

While stressing, “I love film criticism, it’s an important part of this art form,” Vogt-Roberts then hands over his own commentary script which blasts ‘Kong: Skull Island’ for its “major structural problems,” its overabundance of characters, and its squandering of the cast, including John Goodman, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hiddleston and ‘Room’ Oscar-winner Brie Larson.

The director declares his film “takes some of our best and most talented actors, and gives them nothing even resembling an arc.”

All in all, Vogt-Roberts declares ‘Kong: Skull Island’ to be “way better than it has any right to be,” but stresses, “it is a f***ing monster movie, after all.”

While reviews were mixed, ‘Kong: Skull Island’ is certified fresh at Rotten Tomatoes with a 76% positive critical response, not to mention a 70% audience score. It also earned $566.7 million at the global box office, rating it the 11th highest-earning film of 2017 at the time of writing.

‘Kong: Skull Island’ is available on home entertainment now, and Vogt-Roberts is currently at work on a big screen adaptation of video game ‘Metal Gear Solid’ (to which he has stressed his total commitment, dismissing speculation that he might take over as the new director of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’).

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