Kong: Skull Island

"I thought you were crazy."

"I wish I was."

In 1973, Bill Randa (Goodman), the head of government organization Monarch, wants to lead an expedition to a newly discovered island, called Skull Island.  He and geologist Houston Brooks (Hawkins) convince a senator to fund the expedition with a military escort.  Randa leads the expedition, and brings Brooks and biologist San Lin (Tian).  They are joined by a team of scientists from Landstat, led by Victor Nieves (Ortiz).  Randa hires British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad (Hiddleston) as a tracker for the expedition and photographer Mason Weaver (Larson).  Their military escort is U.S. Army helicopter squadron the Sky Devils, led by Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Jackson).

When they arrive on the island, the scientists setup on the ground while the Sky Devils drop special seismic charges for Brooks to map out the island.  They are interrupted by a giant ape who attacks the helicopters.  They fight back, but all of the helicopters are destroyed.  Many of the soldiers and scientists are killed and the survivors are divided.  Packard is devastated by the loss of his men and vows revenge.  He leads a team to find Jack Chapman (Kebbel), who is injured and alone.  The other group, led by Conrad, is trying to get to the extraction point in time.  Will anyone survive the island?


We all know the story of King Kong.  It is the story of a gigantic ape who is captivated by a beautiful actress, which ultimately brings his downfall.  The iconic moment is Kong at the top of the Empire State Building swatting at planes, while holding a screaming blonde.  The character debuted in 1933 and has been a part of popular culture since then.

The original story was written Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper.  Cooper co-produced and co-directed the 1933 King Kong film.  This Kong is stop-motion, and the blonde is Fay Wray... Wray was an iconic scream queen and is best known for this film.  The film was remade in 1976, again titled King Kong.  This film is different from the original, with new character names and sends Kong up the World Trade Center.  This was Jessica Lange's film debute, as the screaming blonde.  The film was remade again (and much longer) in 2005.  This King Kong casts Naomi Watts as the screaming blonde (but does much less screaming than her predecessors).

In 2014, Legendary Studios announced plans to create a MonsterVerse, featuring Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra, and other huge monsters (Rodan, King Ghidorah).  They started building a franchise around the group Monarch, as a way to introduce each monster and then bring them together for battle.  The franchise began with 2014's Godzilla, and this film is the second entry.  They next film in the series will return to Godzilla with Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019 and then pit Godzilla and Kong against each other in Godzilla vs. Kong in 2020.

This film is essentially a reboot of the Kong films.  The characters and story are original, and does not involve the iconic Empire State Building scene.  But it does feature homages to the previous Kong films (including the non-origin story films).

The cast is filled with well-known and talented actors... but the acting here is ok.  John C. Reilly is entertaining... and I don't have a problem with Tom Hiddleston, but both have given better performances in other films.  The story is non-existent, just an excuse to destroy stuff and play with CGI effects.  Kong looks good, but there isn't much to this film.  It is a mindless summer flick, and I don't really care about the MonsterVerse or have a desire to see any of the other films (not that I've seen any Godzilla film, or any of the other monsters listed).

Kong: Skull Island (2017) 118 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Starring: Tom Hiddleston as James Conrad
Samuel L. Jackson as Preston Packard
Brie Larson as Mason Weaver
John C. Reilly as Hank Marlow
John Goodman as Bill Randa
Corey Hawkins as Houston Brooks
John Ortiz as Victor Nieves
Jing Tian as San Lin
Toby Kebbel as Jack Chapman
Jason Mitchell as Glenn Mills
Shea Whigham as Earl Cole
Thomas Mann as Reg Slivko