We’ve had many iterations of both Godzilla and King Kong, but the movies made in recent years are the ones that have stuck.
Kong Himself / Picture Credit: Legendary Entertainment
Since Godzilla came out in 2014 every movie related to the massive monster has been part of one connected universe. This includes Godzilla sequel Godzilla: King of the Monsters released in 2019, and of course, Kong: Skull Island which came out in 2017.
Out of these three films, and despite Godzilla’s films being worthy choices for the Film of the Week, Kong’s movie stands but a little higher above the rest.
Kong: Skull Island follows a group of people gathered by Bill Randa (John Goodman) and his associate Brooks (Corey Hawkins) as they plan to go to uncharted territory – Skull Island.
Randa spends a small portion of the movie getting everyone he needs on board this mission, including tracker James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), anti-war photographer Mason Weaver (Brie Laraon), and a group of army men, including Preston Packard (Samuel L Jackson), who were just about to head home.
The film spends little time on this which is actually great, because who wants to watch a bunch of people talk about a scary island without seeing the scary island, right?
They have the crew and they have the plan to get onto Skull Island. So, they head right into the storm that shrouds the island and as hidden it from view all these years.
Once through the storm after a very rocky ride in the helicopters, the team marvel at the wonder that is Skull Island. There are birds, beautiful mountains and stunning views. So, what do they do? They drop bombs onto the undisturbed island in order to get geographical readings…
Everyone (except a few) seem pleased with the mission so far and are amazed by the readings they’re collecting. However, there is someone who really isn’t happy about this, and that’s Kong.
First, we see a large tree go through the front of a helicopter, and as soon as it does, the music stops. The chopper goes down, and then, we see Kong.
After we witness the gargantuan ape, we see Kong destroy every single chopper coming at him with no mercy – but somehow a strong talent for keeping the main cast alive after the attack.
The music, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, fits perfectly with this scene as the blades of the choppers in slow motion spin within the beat of the song.
This scene is perhaps the most visually stunning part of the movie. This, along with the silence that falls upon us as we see Kong standing tall against the bright orange sun as helicopters fly towards him, safe to say the reveal of Kong is simply outstanding.
After the attack, the team are split up into different groups. They all must make it to the north side of the island within the next three days or they will miss the extraction and be left on Skull Island.
The group with Weaver and Conrad stumble upon a community of people living on the island, and also find Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly). Marlow was marooned on the island in 1944 and has been there for 28 years.
He tells the group of how Kong is not what they should be afraid of, as what he calls Skull-crawlers are the real threat, and Kong is like a God on the island as he protects these people from them.
The rest of the movie is clear cut more or less, the groups find their way to the north and prepare to go home – all except Packard. He takes it upon himself to try and kill Kong, as the beast killed his men.
Needless to say Kong wins this fight, with a little help from Conrad, Weaver, and the men Packard took with him to kill Kong, as they decide that Kong should live.
What makes this movie stand out from the others in the Monsterverse, is not only the brilliant cast, clear cut yet highly entertaining story, or the beautiful ending that sees Marlow head home and see his wife and meet his son, it is the pure excellence of the cinematography.
The scene in which Marlow tells the group about Kong and the history of the island, we see painted rocks that, at a certain angle, depict a picture relating to the story Marlow is telling and it really is beautiful.
While the Godzilla movies are stunning too and have some amazing moments, Kong: Skull Island just has that little bit extra. We see Kong for a lot of the movie, compared to Godzilla’s movies where we hardly see him at all except for maybe fight scenes.
Kong is for sure the star of the show in this film, as we see him in and out of battle, for example in the scene which he sits in the lake and drinks some water, and has a look at his wounds. We don’t really get this with Godzilla’s films, as good as they are.
Kong is not only a monstrous monkey, but he is also a being. He has feelings and a caring nature, and reacts to the things that happen to him which makes characters like Packard more of the villain – which can be seen as an homage to the previous films where Kong was simply a beast caught in a cage by mankind.
This film, if you were to watch any of the films in this universe, is the one to pick. Stunning cast, acting, cinematography – brilliant. It’s more than just a monster movie.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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