1933 saw the beginning of giant monsters in cinema when King Kong was released theatrically and, nine months later, the film saw a sequel with the lesser known Son of Kong continuing the story. Kong may not have become the giant monster king of sequel like Japan’s Godzilla has become since his debut but Kong has never been forgotten either. 1976 saw the first remake which had its own sequel, King Kong Lives, debuting a decade later and in 2005 Peter Jackson would revisit the film with his adaptation. Today the trend thanks in part to Marvel Studio is to create what has become known as a “shared universe” where a number of films all interconnect in some way and Kong is now aiming for the same premise.
Kong: Skull Island places the story not in the 30’s but instead in 1973. The United States government has a special division known as Monarch who is constantly vigil in seeking out possible new phenomenon. Bill Randa (John Goodman) has recently come across satellite Intel regarding the mysterious Skull Island, long through to be merely a myth. Randa manages to work out an expedition to the island and hires on James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), a retired SAS captain and noted tracker while the government has provided the services of United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) and his men to fly the research team to the island. Photo-journalist Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) also accompanies the team to document what is discovered on Skull Island but the journey is soon met with tragedy.
Shortly after their arrival the team begins detonation of seismic charges on the island which brings out Kong. The massive ape attacks the helicopters, taking many lives of the group in the process and destroying and possibility of flying to the predetermined rendezvous. With the team fragmented and separated they work on trying to regroup. Conrad and his band encounter a tribe living on the island as well as Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly), a World War II pilot who crashed on the island during the war and has bene trying to find a way back home. He’s the “authority” on what lives on the island and informs them that they haven’t merely angered Kong but also managed to awaken something else living beneath the island which poses a more dire threat to not only them but the protector of the island which happens to be Kong.
One of the common misconceptions regarding Kong: Skull Island is that it’s a sequel to the Peter Jackson remake but in reality Skull Island is much more of a reboot. The original film isn’t referenced in any way which makes sense overall as Monarch is seeking out giant monsters. Randa never talks about a giant ape having been in New York City in the 30’s but instead has a rather vague backstory about being aboard a ship which was attacked by something. At this point it’s possible to assume that it could have been Godzilla but that’s not necessary certain. However the film does start to connect the dots as far as the shared universe is concerned by mentioning that Monarch is looking for M.U.T.O.s or Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms, something which was also part of the American Godzilla film.
After successfully getting Kong to appear and having their group devastated, the truth is revealed. Packard learns that in fact the objective was a find Kong. Randa knew there was something on the island but they weren’t quite certain what. There’s also mention of the hollow Earth theory, something which applies to the real world. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept there are those who believe that the Earth itself is hollow which some under the belief that there’s a separate world and even civilization that we have yet to discover. As far as the film however the idea is that there are giant monsters living right below us and, just as Godzilla mentioned, this is their world, not ours and this is discussed by Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins). Another example of what might lurk beneath is seen after the charges bring up what Harlow has come to call Skullcrawlers, massive reptilian beasts who at one point killed Kong’s parents and left him as the only survivor of his kind. The island is also home to a number of other unique evolutionary hybrids like a giant buffalo, a strange tree like mantis, and even a massive spider. The spider itself was something which originally was meant to be in the original King Kong but never made it into the film.
Outside of the monsters, much of Skull Island is essentially a by the book action / survival film like we’ve seen in the past only with giant monsters. It does however set itself apart from the other entries in the monster genre as it’s not creatures bringing about destruction on some well-known location around the world. Skull Island instead wants to try and elaborate on what is forthcoming in this new Monsterverse. Kong himself isn’t necessarily a threat and as we see outside of his first encounter with the expedition team, he’s a relatively peaceful creature who is protecting those who live on the island and consider him to be a god. Kong shows intelligence and even understanding of human nature to some extent. He assist Mason with freeing a trapped buffalo at one point and later shows no signs of aggression with her, apparently understanding what she was trying to accomplish earlier. The film forgoes the proverbial beauty and the beast aspect of the original. This may seem like a huge sway from what most have come to expect about the King Kong but I personally feel it make a little more sense and replacing it with the mere concept of understanding which humans are good and bad it more applicable.
Packard though is the polar opposite of Mason. He and his unit were close to returning back to the United States from Vietnam and now that a giant ape has killed a number of his men, he’s looking for revenge to some extent. While he does bring up a rather valid point about what’s on the island, that being that no one should have to see or know about what is there, his apparent desire to avenge his fallen men seems to have possibly clouded his vision. These creatures have lived undetected by mankind for centuries.
To begin trying everything together, make certain to not overlook the post-credit sequence. This goes back to Monarch once again and shows a brief video about what they known possibly could be lurking on the planet. There are images drawing depicting Godzilla as well as three other monsters from the Japanese series; Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidora, all of whom have been confirmed as appearing in the upcoming Godzilla sequel. As it stands currently the rumor is that following that film the next plan is to have Godzilla square off against Kong, something which hasn’t happened since the 1962 Toho film. As a longtime fan of Godzilla I feel the more important question is just how much of the franchise was Legendary Films able to acquire in their deal with Toho? They now have three of the more iconic monsters slated to appear but what about others like Kumonga or Kamacuras, both of which would make sense if you want to add in a real world connection, or oddities like Hedorah and Biollante and what about the possibility of negotiations with Kadokawa to pick up a monster that people have long claimed fought Godzilla but never did; Gamera?
One thing that I think parents have come to understand is that children enjoy giant monsters. My daughter, who recently turned five a few months ago, has been enthralled with the Toho Godzilla movies since she was around three. She begged me to watch Jurassic World and she in fact enjoyed it quite a bit so when Kong arrived on our doorstep for review she immediately wanted to see it. I was a bit reluctant due to the PG-13 rating on it but when ahead and allowed it. Parents who might have the same concerns over the rating should know that, as you might expect, there are a number of scenes with giant monsters, some of which are a bit graphic in nature. Skull Island also does have a bit of profanity and I had to tell my daughter a few times to not say certain words but it’s not too profanity laden. For most it’s just going to depend on what you think your little one can handle and I know that for me, my daughter is pretty good with some things and does seem to have a grasp on what she should and shouldn’t say. We’ve also had a number of talks on visual effects so although there may be something that frightens her, she also understands that it’s not real.
Kong: Skull Island does a good job at visually bringing the monsters to life. At this point in cinematic history I think that we’re past a movie having terrible computer visuals, at least when there’s a big budget behind a movie. Skull Island has some great monsters besides just Kong although there were a few I would have enjoyed seeing get more screen time. Kong himself is done via motion capture and not by Andy Serkis but instead two actors; Terry Notary and Toby Kebbell. One complaint I have with the film however is that much like what was seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Skull Island has a couple of moments where it feels the need to pay tribute to the Francis Coppola classic Apocalypse Now, most notable the famous helicopters in the sunset scene. I don’t mind directors wanting to make references or honoring others in the industry but from my point of view, that’s a very famous scene and I feel trying to replicate it simply does a dishonor to Coppola. It’s a scene that’s best remembered from the film it was in, not as something that others want to imitate.
The blu-ray includes commentary with director Jordan Vogt-Roberts but that’s merely the start of what the release has to offer. Creating a King delves into the creation of this version of Kong and looks back at the past versions as well. As Kong: Skull Island is making an effort to create the new “Mosnterverse” it’s not a surprise that there’s some additional Monarch films included on the disc as well. The Intrepid Traveler takes us to some of the filming locations, something which is explored a little further in On Location: Vietnam. Brie Larson’s character of Mason in the film is a photojournalist but she’s not running around with an empty camera. Through the Lens is a collection of photos that she’d taken while the film was in production. Lastly the disc has deleted scenes but the blu-ray also comes with a DVD copy of the film as well as the code for a digital copy.
Again, Kong: Skull Island isn’t a sequel but rather a reboot of one of cinemas iconic giant monsters. It’s a decent action film and certainly gives its main star, Kong, quite a bit more screen time than what we saw from Godzilla in the American version from a couple of years ago. It’s going to be interesting however to see just how the Monsterverse itself manages to play out and what can be done to keep it interesting without risking it becoming too mundane. Godzilla may have been the starting point for this new shared universe and Kong: Skull Island is the next piece in the puzzle which fits in quite nicely.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.