Franchises: The MonsterVerse. Kong: Skull Island (2017)

When I watched Peter Jackson's King Kong on DVD with my aunt, she asked me at the end if I thought there would ever be another Kong movie and I honestly didn't think so. Granted, I also thought for a long time that 1986's King Kong Lives would be the Eighth Wonder's last hurrah, but I felt that Jackson got everything you could possibly get out of the concept with his movie, making another totally asinine. And, for about ten years, it seemed like I was right. Then, in mid-to-late 2014, I first heard news of a film called Skull Island that was being developed as something of a prequel. The idea didn't really spur my imagination, as a prequel to the classic King Kong story, be it the Peter Jackson film or even the 1933 original, felt pointless. Obviously, I would have still seen it, regardless, but I wasn't all that enthused about it. But then, when I heard Legendary Pictures had moved it from Universal to Warner Bros., it made me stop and go, "Hmm." Knowing they had the rights to Godzilla and were developing at least two sequels to the 2014 movie, I had a sneaking suspicion this was going to lead to the long-awaited rematch between the two kings. And, of course, I was right, as they announced in October of 2015 that they were developing the "MonsterVerse," featuring Godzilla and Kong as their two stars and that, after Skull Island, which was being reconfigured as introduction for Kong in this universe, and the first sequel to Godzilla 2014, it would culminate in Godzilla vs. Kong. My jaw about hit the floor. Not only was my childhood dream of respectful, big budget Hollywood blockbusters featuring Godzilla and other monsters from the Toho films coming true, but we were finally going to get to see Godzilla and King Kong go head to head for the first time since 1962. It was the perfect vindication for my lifelong kaiju fandom. In fact, I was so excited for the upcoming bout between Godzilla and Kong that, while I was definitely up for Skull Island, that movie, at the time, felt like little more than an appetizer before the main course.

As the movie's release date approached in March of 2017, I celebrated the way I usually do whenever a big franchise movie is coming: I reviewed all of the previous King Kong movies. During that time, I started seeing images and heard of the cast, and when trailers and TV spots began popping up, I became genuinely excited for the movie itself. I was especially interested to hear that the movie was set in the 1970's and had many a tie to the Vietnam War, which is not the usual context for a Kong movie and made me think they were trying to do something of a tribute to the 1976 King Kong, which I appreciated. Then, the movie comes out, I see a lot of positive reviews for it, and I finally see it a week after its release, as I'm approaching the tail end of my review of the Peter Jackson movie. When I came out of it, I only had two words: "Hell, yeah!" This movie was an absolute blast from start to finish. It was very well-made, wonderfully shot, had some great characters, incredible visual effects, and was ridiculously entertaining in its action scenes. It greatly made up for the relative disappointment I had over Godzilla several years before, showing how to properly do a fun, fast-paced, epic monster movie, and it also gave Kong a much needed new lease on life, proving he no longer needed to be forever tied to the movie he originated from. Honestly, aside from a few of the lead characters being rather underdeveloped, I have no problems with this movie. Some may say it's a shallow action movie but I think it's just a popcorn flick that knows what it is and what it needs to do and doesn't waste a second in doing so.

In 1944, as World War II rages in the South Pacific, two fighter pilots, an American and a Japanese, parachute down onto a tropical island after a dogfight. There, the two of them continue their conflict, only for it to be cut short when a gigantic ape makes it presence known to them. Nearly three decades later, in 1973, as the Vietnam War is officially ended and American troops begin pulling out, Bill Randa, a senior official for Monarch, a secretive government organization that searches for proof of the existence of giant creatures, approaches Senator Willis about setting up an expedition to Skull Island, a mythical land that has now been proven to exist thanks to satellite photographs. Though he's incredulous, Willis is convinced by Randa to allow him and his team to piggyback off an expedition that's already being sent there by Landsat. Needing a military escort, Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard, commander of the Sky Devils squadron, is recruited for the job, as is James Conrad, an ex-SAS captain, who's hired as the expedition's tracker, and Mason Weaver, an anti-war photographer and journalist. Arriving at the island, the team manages to cut through the permanent, hurricane-like storm that surrounds it and begin dropping seismic charges in order to map out its geology. Almost immediately, they're attacked by the gigantic ape, Kong, who manages to down all of the choppers, killing a number of the troops and stranding the survivors. The team, separated into two groups, one led by Conrad and the other by Packard, must now try to make their way to the rendezvous point on the island's north end, only having a short window of time to escape through the storm. During their trek, Conrad's team meets the Iwi natives that live on the island, as well as AAF Lieutenant Hank Marlow, the American pilot who was stranded there in 1944. Marlow tells them that Kong is king of the island and a god to the Iwis, protecting the ecosystem from a race of monstrous reptilians called "Skullcrawlers," which have been stirred up by the seismic charges. However, the Skullcrawlers are now not Kong's only enemy. Despite the urgency to get off the island as as soon as possible, Packard is determined to kill Kong out of revenge for the men he's lost, and will not let anyone, or anything, stand in his way.

One of the directors considered for the film, suggested by none other than Peter Jackson himself, was Guillermo del Toro, given his good relationship with Legendary Pictures, having done Pacific Rim and Crimson Peak for them. Another candidate was Joe Cornish, a friend and collaborator of Edgar Wright's who directed Attack the Block, but they ultimately went with Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who'd started out directing episodes of several web series and then went on to do a short film and episodes of television shows like Comedy Central's Mash-Up, HBO's Funny or Die Presents, MTV's Death Valley, and FX's You're the Worst. His feature film debut was the 2013 film, The Kings of Summer, an independently-made coming-of-age story, after which he directed the standup comedy film, Nick Offerman: American Ham, and a 2015 TV movie called Cocked, before being hired for Kong: Skull Island. In talking about his influences for making the film, Vogt-Roberts came up with a very varied list, including war movies like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, the South Korean monster movie The Host, anime classics like Neon Genesis Evangelion and the films of Hayao Miyazaki, and even Pokemon! Unlike Gareth Edwards, who went straight from Godzilla to another major blockbuster, Rogue One, Vogt-Roberts has been taking his time in his feature followup to Skull Island. At this time, he's doing a movie adaptation of the video game, Metal Gear Solid.

In many ways, Kong: Skull Island feels like a reaction to the criticisms leveled against Godzilla 2014, including the cast of characters. Whereas in that film, you were mainly stuck with the rather dull and wooden Ford Brody, here you have an ensemble cast of very interesting and noteworthy characters... for the most part. The two ostensible leads, Tom Hiddleston's James Conrad and Brie Larson's Mason Weaver, while not terrible or badly acted whatsoever, are pretty shallow for the most

part. Conrad, who served as a captain in the British Special Air Service in the Vietnam War, is introduced effortlessly fending off some thugs who pick a fight with him in a club in Saigon and is said to be really good at what he does, having rescued twelve downed pilots the year before. But he's also shown to be rather disillusioned and cynical, asking for an exorbitant amount of money to agree to be the expedition to Skull Island's tracker, and is suspicious about the team's real reason for dropping seismic charges. Once they get to the island and become stranded following the attack by Kong, Conrad becomes the de facto leader of his group, interested only in finding the others and escaping the island. Not much for Hiddleston to play with, despite his inherent charisma, an initial character beat about his still looking for something despite the war's end, and a story he tells about his father disappearing while fighting in World War II, but he makes for a functional enough lead and has some really awesome moments during the movie's latter half. Mason Weaver, however, has virtually nothing to her other than being an anti-war photographer and photojournalist, the former of which makes Col. Packard not too fond of her, as he blames people like her for causing the war to lose support back home. Like Conrad, she's also suspicious of the use of seismic charges in the expedition, but once they're stranded, she's really just along for the ride, taking pictures here and there, notably of the Iwis when they meet up with and get to know them. Her and Conrad's biggest significance to the plot is that, after everything Marlowe tells them about him, they have their own face to face encounter with Kong and see he's not an evil destructive monster, thus spurring them to help him, both against Packard and the giant Skullcrawler. Like Conrad, Weaver has some standout moments during the movie's third act, and while it's not the usual infatuation, Weaver does form something of a bond with Kong, so much so that he goes out of his way to save her when she's nearly killed during the final battle and keeps the Skullcrawler from eating her.

Samuel L. Jackson's Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard is a character who's pretty simple to understand but is far from one-dimensional and is one of the film's better characters all around. For one, it's Sam Jackson giving his usual commitment and charisma, which is always welcome, and for another, you understand where he's coming from. A heavily decorated veteran, Packard is not at all happy about being forced to withdraw from Vietnam, feeling the fights and struggles he went through were for nothing, and is more than happy to head the military escort for the expedition to Skull Island. He really seems alive again when they reach it and is not undaunted at the prospect of having to fly through the storm around it; in fact, when they're getting tossed around violently by the storm, he reminds his men of the story of Icarus and adds, "But the United States Army is not an irresponsible father. So they gave us wings of white hot, cold-rolled, Pennsylvania steel, gua-ran-teed not to melt." Once they get through to the island and encounter Kong when they drop their seismic charges, Packard is initially just as awed by the sight of him as everyone else. However, that awe turns to anger and hatred when Kong takes down all of the choppers and kills a number of his men. From that point on, Packard has one thing on his mind: find the Sea Stallion transport piloted by his right hand man, Major Chapman, and use the weapons onboard to kill Kong. When his group reunites with Conrad's, he talks him into leading them to Chapman's last known location under the pretense of finding him, and after an encounter with one of the Skullcrawlers reveals that it devoured Chapman, Packard discloses his true intention for finding the chopper. Despite the others' warnings that doing so would allow the Skullcrawlers to run amok, Packard, saying they'll kill them as well, is unmoved, declaring, "This is one war we are not gonna lose!", and shows he's not kidding by violently disarming Marlow when he objects and turning his rifle on Conrad, Weaver, and the others when they argue with him. Again, while what he's doing is wrong and he's clearly losing his mind, his actions are understandable. He's also not without nobility: when he and his men find some notes Chapman left behind for his son, Packard tells them to make sure they make it back to his family. As predicted, his vendetta against Kong only succeeds in getting more people killed, as well as awaken the truly gigantic Skullcrawler, but he remains defiant to the end, attempting to make one last effort to blow Kong up before he's crushed by his enormous fist.

John Goodman is another great actor in the cast, playing Bill Randa, a senior government official who heads Monarch and who, once he learns of satellite imagery that's proven Skull Island to exist, pounces on the opportunity to get government support for an expedition, despite the turmoil Washington is embroiled in over the Vietnam War and particularly because Monarch may soon be disbanded. Having had his own encounter with an enormous creature thirty years before (which may have been Godzilla), when he was the only survivor of a U.S. Navy freighter that was destroyed by it, and also knowing of the Castle Bravo "nuclear tests" that were actually attempts to kill Godzilla, Randa is determined to prove that giant monsters exist and are the true masters of the Earth. He gets his wish when Senator Willis reluctantly agrees to fund the expedition, and he also sees to it that Packard acts as a chaperone military, as well as personally enlists James Conrad as the expedition's tracker. Once they reach the island and Nieves, a Landsat official, gets cold feet upon seeing the storm and wants to call things off, Randa decides to let Packard decide whether or not they should push on, which he, of course, agrees to. Unfortunately for his character, once they get stranded, Randa isn't able to do much other than be along for the ride. He doesn't at all agree with Packard's desire to kill Kong and, also wanting to get home with proof of what they've discovered, tries to talk him out of it, but the colonel doesn't relent. On their way to the crash site, Randa is devoured by a Skullcrawler, although the continuous flash of his camera inside its gullet allows them to keep tabs on it as it moves around them through a thick mist of fumes.

The best human character in the movie, in my opinion, is John C. Reilly as Lieutenant Hank Marlow, whom we see end up stranded on Skull Island following a dogfight during World War II. Following a moment where he and a Japanese pilot continue their skirmish hand-to-hand, only for it to be cut short when they have an encounter with Kong, Marlow is not seen again until around 45 minutes into the movie, when he diffuses a standoff between Conrad's group and the Iwis. Having been stuck on the island for nearly thirty years, he's ecstatic to see people from the outside and graciously welcomes them, breaking the ice between them and the Iwis and telling the group of what he's learned about the island's history, particularly how Kong is both king and god and also about the deadly Skullcrawlers, including the really big one that's feared to rise should Kong ever fall. He tells them that their dropping those seismic charges have stirred up the Skullcrawlers, angering Kong. Having long since accepted his fate, feeling he'll never leave the island, he tries to impress the same thing upon the group, even when Conrad tells him of the rendezvous that will be at the north end in three days, saying they can't get there in that amount of time. But then, he thinks of the Grey Fox, a makeshift boat made from the parts of his and the Japanese pilot's planes, and has the group aid him in finishing it so they can use it to float down the river.

What makes Marlow such a great character is the pitch perfect balance Reilly finds in playing him as comedic, wise, and, most important of all, empathetic. It's obvious Marlow's a tad stir crazy from being stuck on Skull Island for so long. When the group first meets him, he talks about hearing that they were coming the night before from... someone, and tells them, "You are more beautiful than a hot dog and a beer at Wrigley Field on opening day." He then looks longingly at his empty hands and adds, "But you're

real... right?" A lot of his funniest moments come when he and the group are fixing up the Grey Fox and he's learning about the state of the world in 1973. When Conrad tells him about the Cold War with the Russians, Marlow says, "What, like... like they take the summers off?" He trades barbs back and forth with Slivko, one of the soldiers, about the standing of their respective baseball teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers, which leads into a discussion about whether a tiger or a cub would win in a fight. And when Nieves tells him they "put a man on the moon," he asks, "What'd they do? Just leave him up there? What's he eating?" Speaking of Nieves, the two of them have a very weird conversation where Marlow truly acts as if he's crazy... at least, it seems to be an act. "I can't tell when I'm talking, or when I'm not talking." "You're talking." "Am I?" "Yes." "I'm talking?" "Yes." "Your mouth is moving." "What?" "I'm gonna stab you by the end of the night." "Really?" "Just kiddin'."

But, as silly as he can be, Marlow is very much a rich, nuanced character. For one, it's revealed that he and the Japanese pilot, Gunpei Ikari, became friends shortly after their stranding and started building the Grey Fox together to one day leave the island. However, Ikari was devoured by a Skullcrawler and Marlow made a grave-marker for him in the Iwi village. Before he and the group begin the journey to the island's north end, Marlow delivers a small speech at the grave: "If you take

away the uniforms and the war, then he became my brother. We swore we'd never leave each other behind." He then declares, "Let's get off this island," and takes Ikari's katana with him. Once they get the Grey Fox up and running, Marlow says goodbye to the Iwis, thanking them for all they did for him, adding, "If you're ever in Chicago, look me up, I guess." Of course, when he and the others learn of Col. Packard's intent to kill Kong, Marlow does everything he can to help stop him, proving to be quite adept at the katana and

handling himself in a fight, and he also helps make Packard's men realize what he's doing is wrong, convincing Slivko of it. The most poignant thing about Marlow is the family he mentions he left behind. He shows Conrad and Weaver a picture of his wife, saying, "I've got a wife... had a wife. Have a wife? Guess I don't know anymore. Got hitched right before I deployed. Got a telegram from her the day before I got shot down. She said we'd just had our baby boy. I got a son out there, a grown man I've never met... Truth is, I don't expect 'em to be waiting. I'd

be fine either way. I just want one last chance to see 'em. That'd be good enough for me." And during the first part of the ending credits, it's revealed he did indeed make it back home, reunited with his wife, and met his son for the first time (his son is played by Will Brittain, who also played Marlow when he's a young man during the movie's opening). Last time you see him, he's enjoying a hot dog and a beer while watching a Chicago Cubs game on the TV.

Other notable members of the cast include, on the side of James Conrad's group, Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins), a Yale graduate student whose Hollow Earth theories were not taken seriously by anyone save for Bill Randa, who hired him to work for Monarch, and who becomes one of the first members of the group who advocates for Kong's survival when he realizes the threat of the Skullcrawlers; Nieves (John Ortiz), a senior Landsat official who tries to postpone the

expedition when he sees the severity of the storm surrounding Skull Island, and when they get stranded, clearly wishes everyone had listened to (he dies a particularly gruesome death at the hands of the island's carnivorous birds); and the aforementioned Slivko (Thomas Mann), the one member of the Sky Devils who ends up with Conrad's group and is notable for carrying around a portable record player, as well as becoming somewhat close with Marlow.

Speaking of the Sky Devils, two very memorable members are Mills (Jason Mitchell) and Cole (Shea Wingham), who kind of act like an unorthodox comedy team. Mills is the straight-man of the pair, wanting nothing more than to go to Key West now that the Vietnam War has ended and isn't happy about getting dragged onto the expedition. Cole, on the other hand, is something of an oddball, having weird reactions and making odd comments that often annoy Mills or leaving him dumbfounded.

When they're preparing to take off to head for the island, Mills wonders why Packard is so game for this expedition, asking, "I mean, doesn't he miss his bed? I miss my bed! Don't you miss your bed? Do you even have a bed, Cole?!" Cole doesn't answer and Mills curiously asks, "You got a bed, right?" Memorably, after their first encounter with Kong, Cole casually sits down and starts eating some hash, confounding Mills, who exclaims, "We just got taken down by a monkey the size of a building!", and Cole can only say, "Yeah, that was an unconventional encounter." And when they're making their way through a bamboo forest, Cole and Mills have this memorable conversation: "You ever heard the story of the mouse, the lion, and the thorn?" "Yeah?" "There you go, then. In case we ever see that primate again." "You do know that story is about a mouse becoming friends with the lion after taking the thorn out of his paw, though, right?" "No, it's not. The mouse kills the lion with the thorn." "Who told you that, Cole?" "My mother." "That actually explains a lot." Banter about their respective mothers is actually something of a running theme with the two of them. However, Cole isn't a total nutjob. Despite his initial faith in Packard, after he starts becoming fanatical about killing Kong, Cole shows Randa the AK-47 he carries with him, saying he took it off a Vietnamese farmer who, "Was fifty years old, never even seen a gun until we showed up. Sometimes, the enemy doesn't exist until you go looking for one." Though the two of them take part in Packard's plan to kill Kong, they're eventually convinced that what they're doing is wrong. During the final battle, as the giant Skullcrawler chases the survivors to the Grey Fox, Cole attempts to slow it down by sacrificing himself, telling Mills to go live his life. But his sacrifice is in vain, as the Skullcrawler whips him with its tail, sending him flying against a cliff-side before the explosives he's carrying detonate.

One last notable character is Major Chapman (Toby Kebbell), one of the pilots of the transport chopper who ends up by himself after Kong downs all of them. He becomes something of a MacGuffin for Packard, along with the chopper's weapons, as he's told to stay around that crash site and wait for the others to come for him. He has some memorable scenes, such as watching Kong tend to his wounds at a river before grabbing and dragging away a large octopus he intends to eat, and before that, when they first meet the big ape, he's the one who utters the line, "Is that a monkey?" He also misses his young son, Billy, and often writes letters to him, irked that he can't go home and see him now that the war's over, with "Dear Billy," becoming another running theme among both him and the others. Unfortunately, he becomes the first human victim for one of the Skullcrawlers, which devours him and later vomits up his remains, including his dog tag. Kebbell also aided Terry Notary in his motion-capture performance of Kong, providing him with some references for subtleties in Kong's facial expressions.

By the way, there are a number of other unnamed soldiers who survive the attack by Kong, only to get picked off as the movie goes on, and I often forget they're even around until I see someone who I don't recognize bite the dust. Be prepared for me to continually bring up these faceless soldiers later on.

Visually, Kong: Skull Island is a lot more appealing than Godzilla. While definitely well shot by Gareth Edwards, that movie had a fairly muted color palette, with many scenes taking place either in murky darkness or gray, overcast daytime scenes, something Skull Island absolutely avoids. This film is very bright and colorful, with yellows, oranges, and greens making up much of the palette, while scenes like the inside of the club in Saigon where Randa and Houston first talk with Conrad and the nighttime scenes on Skull Island,

which are sometimes lit by an aurora-filled sky, have deep reds and blues to them. Also, while Godzilla was mainly shot up in Canada, with Edwards and his team using sets and visual effects to make it appear to take place in locations like Tokyo and San Francisco, this was filmed primarily in Vietnam, as well as in Oahu, Hawaii and Australia's Gold Coast, adding all the more to its visual beauty. Also, many of the major action scenes take place in broad daylight, and those that do take place at night are either well-lit or are, in general, not all that dark, making it to

where you can perfectly see everything that's going on. And finally, I personally think Jordan Vogt-Roberts did an absolutely marvelous job in his direction, shooting the environments in ways that show everything off, making the action sequences come off as fast-paced and exciting without being incomprehensible, and managed to create some truly memorable and iconic images, like the Apocalypse Now-like image of the explosions reflecting in the one chopper pilot's sunglasses, the

shot of Kong backlit by the sun as the choppers approach him (there's a reason that shot was featured in so many of the trailers and TV spots and was also the basis for some of the poster artwork), the close-ups of Kong surrounded by flames in both of his confrontations with Packard, Kong pounding his chest while a full moon is in the sky behind him, and the visual of his enormous hand reaching down through the water in order to save Weaver near the end. Vogt-Roberts even does things I complained about in my review of Monsters: Dark Continent, such as many instances of dramatic slow-motion and sound distortion, and manages to make them work well rather than come off as cliched and pretentious.

The film's tone is something else that makes for a far more entertaining watch. While Godzilla is almost completely dead-serious, without any real humor that I can recall, Skull Island is meant to be a fun popcorn movie and is completely aware of this. The tone is somewhat akin to many of the action movies of the 80's and 90's: not quite tongue-in-cheek and mocking of its story, but also not taking itself completely seriously, either. It does have genuine heart, especially in the character of Marlow, and you understand perfectly

that the characters are in real danger the whole time they're stuck on Skull Island, with some of them suffering really gruesome deaths, but it's also kind of winking at you and letting you know the filmmakers are having fun and you should be too. It comes in many forms, like the personalities of many of the characters, particularly in Mills and Cole's banter and Marlow's eccentricities, some visual gags like a Richard Nixon bobblehead sitting on the dashboard of one of the choppers and the film cutting straight from a shot of a pilot

falling towards Kong's roaring mouth to someone biting into a sandwich, and even some moments with the creatures, like when Kong attacks the giant octopus and not only kills it but proceeds to much down one of its tentacles, picking at his teeth, before dragging its carcass away. And on top of all that, there's the rocking soundtrack, with songs like Black Sabbath's Paranoid, Creedence Clearwater Revival's Run Through the Jungle and Bad Moon Rising, along with other hits from the era, playing in various scenes.

Speaking of which, I think the idea of setting the movie in the early 70's, at the very end of the Vietnam War, was a unique and inspired one. For one, I really like the Apocalypse Now and Platoon aesthetic that runs throughout it, with heavily armed soldiers dressed in green camouflage and helmets making their way through damp jungles and bogs, only having to worry about vicious monsters rather than the Vietcong. In fact, I kind of like just about any movie that has that feel to it, mainly because I like tropical jungles and

Asian territories as environments and settings all around, so this movie naturally appeals to me. I also enjoy the camaraderie of the Sky Devils and the feeling that these guys have been friends for a long time and have seen quite a bit of action together, which seems to come naturally when movies take on this aesthetic, be it when they actually take place during the Vietnam War or are inspired by it, like Aliens and Predator. While it's not dealt with in a very heavy-handed manner, it is nice to feel the effect the war had on the country

and those who participated in it hanging over the story, such as in the turmoil going on in Washington at the start of, the mentioning of the loss of public support due to coverage by reporters like Mason Weaver, the members of the Sky Devils wanting desperately to go back to their families after being away for so long, and, most significantly, in Col. Packard's mindset about the war ending in what he sees as abandonment on the part of the United States, making him feel like all the

medals and honors he's received and the battles he's fought were ultimately pointless, which is why he relishes the expedition to Skull Island and will not yield in his "mission" to kill Kong. And finally, I just plain like the idea of a King Kong movie being set in the 70's for the first time since the 1976 film, making it feel like something of a tribute to that film, which I appreciate.

Whether you call it Skull Island, Faro Island, Mondo Island, or just Kong's island, as it was referred to in the original films in the 30's, Kong's home has been interpreted in so many different ways over the years that, by this point, it's really hard to come up with something that's wholly unique. Looking at the way it's presented here, Vogt-Roberts and his team appeared to have combined the picturesqueness of the two Toho produced Kong films and the 1976 movie with the hell on Earth depiction in Peter Jackson's film. Instead of a thick,

mysterious fog-bank surrounding the island like in previous movies, this Skull Island now sits in the eye of a perpetual, hurricane-like storm, but despite this violent and deadly exterior, when the expedition team breaks through to the island itself, the place is shown to be quite beautiful. It's made up of dozens of small isles leading up to the main one, and is perpetually flooded with beautiful, yellow-orange sunlight that brings out the lush, green foliage that covers the place. There's a wide variety of habitats to be found on the island, from lovely

fields and thick rainforests to quite beautiful bamboo forests, a number of marshes and bogs, tall mountain ranges (one of which holds a large cave and a cliff that acts as Kong's lair), and a big river system running throughout it. The island is just as beautiful at night, with the sky lighting up with a colorful aurora akin to the Northern Lights, but, of course, once the team gets stranded, they find that appearances do indeed deceive, as the place is crawling with a number of deadly creatures. And there are some parts of the island that belie its more

sinister nature, such as a forest that's filled with trees which look as if they're dead from a blight, fuming vents which lead down to the island's hollow bedrock and the world of the Skullcrawlers, and a valley that's actually a natural graveyard enshrouded in the thick, green fumes and full of the bones of numerous creatures that have fallen prey to the Skullcrawlers, including Kong's own parents.

What's really unique about this Skull Island is the natives, who are completely different from those seen before. Called the Iwis, they initially seem like a threat when Conrad's group first encounters them, using the markings painted on their bodies and faces to blend in with the similarly marked walls of the ruins outside their village and ambush the intruders, but when Marlow eases the tension, they're revealed to be quite peaceful and nothing like the primitive savages seen in previous King Kong movies (they were obviously good enough to take him in). They're completely silent, never

uttering a word, and according to Marlow, they've grown past the concepts of crime and personal property. Once they realize they're not a threat, they allow Conrad's group to stay, the village elders giving their consent with a simple bow. The Iwis' village is a very simple settlement, made up of a bunch of small huts constructed from palm leaves and pieces of plants, and they appear to live on fish they catch and plants they themselves grow. Their village lies beyond what appears to be the remains

of a much older city, one made out of stone, and a large wall, but unlike the Great Wall in past Kong movies, it's not intended to keep him out (not that it would, as he could easily step over it). Most notably, they've made a shrine out of the interior of a freighter that ran aground on the island and, as nonviolent as they are, Marlow warns Conrad's group to keep their hands to themselves while inside this holy place (the Iwis were good enough to allow Marlow to erect a grave-

marker for Gunpei Ikari inside the shrine and Marlow himself appears to live in one of the ship's cabins). Inside what was once the hold are wood carvings depicting the island's history, ranging from their being terrified of the various monsters on the island to worshiping the race of giant apes Kong stems from as gods and protectors. Speaking of which, what's really interesting about the Iwis is how certain aspects of their culture feel kind of geometric, such as how those wood carvings inside their shrine only make sense when viewed from a certain angle, as well as the markings on the ruins and their bodies, which come off as very precise in their patterns and placement.

Kong himself is also depicted in a much different manner than in previous films. Rather than being as much of a threat to the villagers as the other creatures on the island, he's instead seen as a benevolent protector, powerful and mighty but truly peaceful at heart. He keeps the natural order of things on Skull Island in balance, his greatest enemy being the Skullcrawlers, who would overrun and completely destroy the place if he didn't keep them in line. His attack on the choppers comes out of rage from their awakening the Skullcrawlers, as well as just from them barging onto his island and blowing stuff up to begin with. Once the creatures start emerging from the vents that lead to the island's underbelly, Kong begins seeking them out and killing them, as well as helping any creatures who were injured by them or the humans, as seen when he lifts a downed chopper off of one of the gigantic water buffaloes that dwell on the island. While he did kill a number of the men aboard the choppers, Kong truly attacks only when provoked. When he sees Mason Weaver standing nearby when he helps the buffalo, he makes no threat towards her, but rather is just kind of dismissive of her presence, and, he obviously didn't harm Marlow and Ikari when the two of them encountered him at the beginning of the movie. When he's not defending the island's inhabitants, Kong mainly keeps to himself. The last of his kind after the rest were killed by the Skullcrawlers, he's a pretty morose and lonely creature, unable to make a connection with anything else on the island and has led a pretty rough life, as evident by the scars on his body and how just getting food is a challenge, as seen when he fights and kills the giant octopus in order to eat it. He's also said to be fairly young, despite his huge size, meaning he was orphaned early on in life, adding an element of tragedy to him. Because of this inherent loneliness and wanting to connect, Kong becomes somewhat attached to Conrad and Weaver, especially the latter, after he encounters them on a cliff one night. As a result, when Weaver is in danger during the battle with the big Skullcrawler, Kong goes out of his way to save her and keep her from being devoured.

Adolescence and sad, lonely life aside, Kong isn't king of Skull Island for nothing, as he's shown to be a very formidable titan. He's quite quick and agile, despite his size, able to hang onto, swing from, and bound across the island's peaks with considerable ease. He's also extremely strong, able to easily take down the choppers and take on multiple Skullcrawlers in a fight, smashing and bashing the hell out of them. Though not absolutely invulnerable, as he is badly cut on his arm following his fight with the choppers and gets

scorched when he falls into Packard's trap, this Kong is much more hardy and less susceptible to gunfire than past incarnations. And, being an ape, he's quite intelligent, especially in his battle with the really big Skullcrawler, who requires more than sheer brute strength to be defeated. During that fight, Kong makes good use of makeshift weapons like an uprooted tree, which he clears of its branches in order to make it into a big club, and manages to use a ship's propeller in combination

with an anchor chain as a weapon against his opponent, ultimately wielding the propeller itself as a large blunt and stabbing weapon. When all of that fails, the way he ultimately defeats the Skullcrawler is to ram his fist down its throat when it tries to devour Weaver, who's in his palm, and rip out its innards.

Design-wise, this Kong mainly makes me think of his depiction in the 1976 film, given how he stands completely erect on two legs, but there are definitely strong elements of the original 1933 Kong as well, and the scars on his body make me think of how badly scarred and beaten up the Kong in the Peter Jackson movie was. Height-wise, he's much, much larger than past Hollywood depictions, although if you go by official statistics, he's still smaller than the Kong in King Kong vs. Godzilla, and his height here is nothing compared

to how big he would be in Godzilla vs. Kong, where he matches the almost 400-foot Godzilla. Regardless of his size, the visual effects used to bring him to life in this movie are absolutely marvelous. In fact, as good as the effects by Weta Digital for the Jackson movie were, I think these may top them in making Kong feel all the more photo-realistic. When I first saw this movie, I couldn't believe the details in his design, right down to the dermal ridges you see on the palm of his hand when it's in close-up at the end of the movie,

and that's to say nothing of his facial expressions. Just like with Andy Serkis in the Jackson film, the motion capture on Kong's face conveys so much emotion and moods: angry, pained, solemn, indifferent, and pensive. There are two great examples of this. One is when you see Kong swinging through the mountains as Marlow tells Conrad's group about him and he stops and surveys the land, before heading down and becoming slowly enraged when he sees one of the Skullcrawlers. The other is a nighttime shot of him sitting by himself and looking up at the sky, where you get a close-up of his face that effectively conveys his feelings of sadness and loneliness. Good stuff, and it's small wonder that the movie got nominated for an Oscar for its visual effects.

Not to keep harping on Godzilla 2014 and comparing it unfavorably to Skull Island, as I do like that film, but what's a common complaint about it that you never hear when this one is discussed? A lack of screentime for Kong. You may think that's because he simply has a lot more screentime but, when you really think about it, after his introductory scene, he appears sporadically throughout the movie until the third act, which focuses on his confrontation with Packard and his battle with the giant

Skullcrawler. Granted, once the characters are on Skull Island, there's a lot of action, with the movie almost breathlessly going from one fantastic setpiece to the next, and there are more creatures to marvel at aside from Kong and the Skullcrawlers, but there are a fair amount of slow, quiet moments, too. Aside from the really good pacing, I also think what helps this movie get by is that Kong's first major scene happens still fairly early in, whereas Godzilla doesn't make his first appearance in the 2014 film until almost an hour in; the action and

battle scenes aren't interrupted by annoying cutaways; and, most significantly, Kong is a major and necessary part of the story, whereas Godzilla almost feels like an afterthought in that movie. All that, combined with the much more memorable characters and the action scenes being shot to where you can see everything, makes this much more of a treat for monster fans. Again, I think Godzilla 2014 is a fine enough film that has its fair share of good moments, and there's nothing wrong with a movie being slow-paced and focused on character,, but I think it's obvious Jordan Vogt-Roberts, as well as maybe Michael Dougherty in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, know how to do this kind of movie better than Gareth Edwards.

What many people don't realize is what a significant film Skull Island is for the character of King Kong, as it's the first American made movie that's not tied to the original 1933 movie in some way, be it a remake or a sequel to a remake. Except for the two Toho films, King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes, both of which gave Kong a completely different origin, every movie featuring him since his introduction in the 30's has always been in the shadow of the original classic. They've done the classic Beauty and the Beast aesthetic from that film in various ways, be it by having the object of his affections grow a true bond with him or, in the case of King Kong Lives, give him a real mate in the form of a female giant ape, and they've always had him suffer a tragic downfall in the end, even in a sequel to a film where he already seemingly died, as with the aforementioned Kong Lives. I feel that's the main reason why Kong, despite his popularity and iconic status, has never had the kind of franchise Godzilla has, as well as why I've never really thought of it as a franchise to begin with; to me, a string of movies telling the same story, along with one or two continuations of said story, doesn't count as one. And like I said in the introduction, because Peter Jackson mined that concept for everything you possibly could in his film, I felt that would likely be the last time we'd ever see the big ape. Skull Island changed all that. For the first time, a Hollywood-made Kong film gave him a completely original origin and characterization, opted to almost totally forgo the Beauty and the Beast idea, save for the mild connection between Kong and Mason Weaver, and had him be triumphant rather than tragic in the end. Hopefully, if nothing else, this film will serve as a message to future filmmakers that they don't have to continuously remake the original King Kong, as there's nothing left to be done with it.

Speaking of forgoing tradition, rather than populate Skull Island with dinosaurs (although, you do see a Triceratops skull at one point), the filmmakers decided instead to have it teem with rather bizarre and unique creatures. Some of them are shown to be benign, such as the giant water buffaloes the characters comes across, which are so big that the tips of their horns and their moss-covered fur can make them look like part of the swamp when they're submerged, and a giant stick insect Chapman encounters, but naturally, most

are very deadly. Following their first encounter with Kong, Packard's group runs into this enormous spider while marching through a bamboo forest. This thing has extremely long legs that blend in with the bamboo, while its body remains above the canopy, allowing it to ambush unsuspecting prey by either spearing victims with the sharp ends of its legs or snagging them with its webbing and pulling them up towards its snapping mandibles. There also a number of carnivorous birds, some of which are so well camouflaged that

they can make themselves appear to be the foliage of a tree, and they swoop down and snatch any unsuspecting victims before rending them to bits. And finally, you have the Skullcrawlers, the deadliest creatures on Skull Island, so much so that they need a creature like Kong to keep them from decimating the place (given the allusions to the Hollow Earth theory in this film, it's likely the Skullcrawlers are an invasive species from deep within the bowls of the planet that have

staked a claim on the island). They're absolutely hideous: large, green-colored lizard monsters with only two front legs (a design trait based on a similar creature that appears briefly in the original King Kong), a long tail, and a head where the skin is peeled back to the point where the skull is almost completely exposed, making them almost come off as undead (according to Vogt-Roberts, that aspect is based on the first Angel seen in Neon Genesis Evangelion and the character of No-Face in

Miyazaki's Spirited Away). They're really quick and nimble, extremely ferocious and crafty, and can devour humans whole using a long tongue to instantly slurp them up. They also have a nasty habit of barfing up the remains of their meals later on. Most of the Skullcrawlers are fairly small, considering, but there's a really big one that comes out when it seems like Kong is no longer a threat and proves to be quite a challenge for him, as it's equal his size, is just as agile and sly as its smaller brethren, and it takes the combined efforts of both him and the humans to bring it down.

There's also a hint of there being other creatures on the island that we either only get glimpses of, like the large octopus Kong attacks and drags away to eat, or don't see at all, such as supposed giant ants said to live up in the trees. In one scene, Marlow warns the others that the bird-like chirping they here is actually one of the ants but, despite this buildup, we never see them. In actuality, that line was something John C. Reilly made up on the spot just to goof on the other actors, but Jordan Vogt-Roberts liked the idea so much, and felt that such creatures wouldn't be out of place on the island, that he left that take in the film. He said there was talk afterward of actually showing the ants that was scrapped, but I like the notion of their only being mentioned, as it makes you wonder what else may be lurking within the dark spots of the island interior, giving the place an all the more ominous and eerie vibe.

What may surprise you about this movie is how surprisingly violent and brutal it is. Granted, King Kong movies, including the 1933 original, have always been rather hard-hitting, and when you go into this, you expect to see Kong beating the snot out of other creatures, as well as a human body count, but despite the PG-13 rating, some of the characters here suffer pretty grisly deaths. For example, Nieves gets snatched up and torn apart by the island's carnivorous birds, which you see in silhouette against the sun; Chapman gets eaten by a

Skullcrawler, which later vomits up in his remains when the others are hiding from it in the graveyard; and Randa gets gobbled up by said Skullcrawler, his camera continuing to flash off shots inside its stomach. A really hideous fate befalls one of the soldiers in Packard's group, who gets speared right through the mouth by one of the giant spider's spiked legs, a moment that Vogt-Roberts has said was meant as a tribute to the infamous impalement scene from Cannibal Holocaust (how often do you see that in a mainstream Hollywood movie?). And, as I've talked about, Kong kills the giant Skullcrawler by literally ripping its guts out.

The film's opening is quite stylized, with the Warner Bros., Legendary, and Tencent Pictures logos appearing up in the clouds with metal-plated designs, as the sounds of an aerial dogfight ring out. A title card reads, SOMEWHERE OVER THE SOUTH PACIFIC... 1944, and the movie opens on a shot of the sun, as a man comes hurtling towards the camera. It cuts to a shot of a sandy beach, where his plane crashes, before he himself comes down in a parachute. As the man, an American,

removes his helmet and parachute, he sees another biplane streaking through the sky above him, about to crash as well. Seeing the pilot bail out, he rushes to meet him as he parachutes down to the ground, only to then see that he's a Japanese. The American whips out his handgun and empties his clip, but misses every shot. The Japanese then removes his parachute and whips out his own handgun, firing at the American as he runs for it. He chases after his enemy, discarding his gun

for a katana sword, and pursues him through the jungle that leads away from the beach. The American runs blindly until he comes to the edge of a cliff beyond the jungle. Now trapped, and with no other recourse, he turns and faces his attacker as he brandishes his sword. He tries to run past him but is blocked at every attempt, the Japanese swinging his sword at him, and when he lunges at him with it, the American actually grabs the blade. The Japanese is only too happy to slide his blade through his hands, as the American yells in pain,

but he then gets enough gumption to yank the sword away from him and punch him to the ground. The Japanese unsheathes a smaller knife from his pants leg and tries to stab the American, who manages to grab and stay his hand. The knife's blade begins inching towards the American's throat, when their struggle is interrupted by the hand of an enormous ape appearing over the edge of the cliff and grabbing onto the summit, followed by another hand doing the same on the other side. The men stop their fight, the Japanese

dropping his knife to the ground, and both watch in awe as the ape pulls himself up to the cliff, his massive head rising in front of them, and looks at the two of them. The scene ends with his face reflected in both the knife's blade and the American's eye, as he lets out a mighty roar.

The film has an opening credits sequence that's kind of similar to that of Godzilla 2014, this one showing a montage of the passage of time since 1944, highlighting events like the end of the war, American troops coming home, the space race, the testing of nuclear bombs, the election of John F. Kennedy, the outbreak of the Vietnam War, the election of Richard Nixon, and protests of the war, with the opening credits ending on such demonstrations in Washington in 1973. When you

first see Bill Randa, he makes the comment, "Mark my words: there'll never be a more screwed up time in Washington," which I have a feeling was made as a jab at how, when the movie was released, Donald Trump had just become president and was already proving to be a very controversial and polarizing figure. In any case, in stark contrast to past King Kong films, the organization of the expedition and the journey to Skull Island is very short. We quickly whip through Randa and

Houston Brooks pleading their case to Senator Willis, who reluctantly agrees to their traveling to the newly discovered Skull Island; Col. Packard's introduction at the Da Nang airbase, his melancholy over being forced to leave Vietnam being made evident, and his gladly accepting the offer for him and his Sky Devils team to act as a military escort for the expedition; Randa and Brooks meeting and hiring James Conrad as their tracker in Saigon (the highlight of this scene is Conrad's fending off some guys who try to attack

him over the outcome of a game of pool, using a pool stick, and then, its splintered remains to do so); and Mason Weaver's learning she got the job as the expedition's photographer. We then see everyone make their way to the ship, the Athena, in Bangkok, and they set sail, with Landsat field supervisor Victor Nieves giving everyone a presentation of where they're going, Brooks telling them of their plan to use explosives to map out the island's geology, and Major Jack Chapman telling them that, three days after their operation begins, a

refuel team will meet them on the north end, which may be their last window to leave the island for a long time. Both Conrad and Weaver are then shown to be a bit suspicious of what the expedition's true purpose is, sneaking down into the hold to have a closer look at the equipment, before we get into a short montage of everyone messing about on the boat as they head to the island. To some people, this first act may seem a bit rushed, but I think it tells you everything you need to know quickly and clearly enough to where it's satisfactory.

On approach to the island, they get their first real look at the perpetual storm surrounding it and Nieves considers postponing their operation. Packard is confident he and his team can get through a low pressure pocket in the storm, but Nieves is about ready to abort. Randa isn't having it, citing the significance of what they're about to do and the scarcity of such opportunities, and decides to let Packard decide whether or not they go ahead with it. Nieves, looking out the

bridge's window at the storm, declares he's not getting on one of the helicopters... and, in the next cut, he's standing right outside one of the helicopters, nervously looking into the cockpit. At the same time, Brooks asks Randa if the others should know why he asked for the helicopters to be armed and he says it's purely a precaution. Brooks then boards one helicopter along with Monarch biologist San Lin and Landsat employee Steve Woodward, Randa climbs into a chopper being

piloted by Mills and Cole, and Packard and the rest of the Sky Devils march to their respective aircraft. Seismic charges are loaded into the various choppers, barrels of napalm into the Sea Stallion, and Weaver climbs into one with Conrad. With everyone aboard their choppers, they prepare to lift off, as Packard tells them, "As usual, remember, hold onto your butts," (being as big of a Jurassic Park fan as I am, that line made me smile big time in the theater). With that, they take off and head

towards the storm in combat formation. Weaver looks at it through her camera's viewfinder, and while the others contemplate how crazy this whole thing is, Packard assures them it's nothing they haven't done before. They enter through the storm's eye-wall and are violently tossed about by the violent wind and fly amid big flashes of lightning. The pilots really struggle to keep the choppers steady, as Packard reminds them of the story of Icarus and that the wings they have are nothing like the wax ones he was given. And right after he finishes this declaration, they break through the eye wall and instantly transition into calm weather.

Flying out of the clouds and over the ocean heading towards the island, everybody is struck with how beautiful the place is. As they pass over the smaller isles leading towards the main one, Packard has the squadron fly down to lower levels; as they do, Weaver begins taking photographs, getting some shots of a big flock of seabirds, before they head into the main island's interior. As someone, likely Slivko, starts playing Black Sabbath's Paranoid over some loudspeakers,

Packard tells the various groups to split up and survey their zones, while Fox 7 touches down with those from Landsat in a small clearing. Another chopper lands along with them and they start unpacking surveying equipment, while in another chopper, Randa films everything. The choppers fly over a field where a group of deer scatter, and once the ground team has their equipment set up, Nieves radios the others that they're ready for the seismic charges. The choppers begin dropping the

charges, the pilots getting a kick out of their makeshift bombings, while on the ground, the data that's relayed back amazes Brooks and Lin. One charge lands in the middle of the forest, sending some deer scattering before it explodes, while Brooks radios to Randa that the island's bedrock is very much hollow. More explosions erupt across the island, pleasing one pilot wearing a pair of sunglasses... until he turns and sees a big object that turns out to be a tree hurtling right at his chopper. The trunk smashes right through the

front windows, instantly knocking the chopper out of the sky, and when those in another pass by and watch it fall, they themselves are attacked. An enormous, hairy hand smacks the chopper's side, sending one man flying out of the door while the others hold on for dear life as it whirls around, completely out of control. It suddenly stops and holds in midair, and it's then revealed that it's being grabbed and lifted up into the air by a gigantic ape, who looks inside the cockpit and sniffs and sneers at the remaining men.

A small explosion rocks the inside of the chopper, as the ape holds it up and starts shaking the men out. One falls immediately, while another grabs onto the inside and holds on, before being shaken loose and falling right at the ape's mouth. Those on the ground overhear that two of the choppers are down, as Packard frantically tries to contact them, and that's when the silhouetted figure of the mighty Kong appears ahead of them. His enormous shadow falls over all the choppers, as those inside are awestruck by the sight of him,

including Randa, who puts down his film camera. Initially unsure of what he is, they see that he's an enormous ape when they get close enough, as he clenches his fist, snarls at them as they fly all around him, and finally lets out a roar as Packard gives the order to fire at will.

Reles, Packard's gunner, fires on Kong, as do all the other choppers, but while he recoils and shields himself from the gunfire with his arms, it's obvious he's more enraged than actually injured. Roaring, he jumps up and smashes one chopper down with his huge fist, pounding his chest as it explodes into a fiery wreckage at his feet. Slivko fires his chopper's machine gun at him, ignoring Conrad telling him to pull out, while Randa orders his pilots to do the same, when he sees the chopper

flying parallel to him get yanked back. Its tail-blade slices into Kong's hand, prompting him to let go of it, while the chopper, the Sea Stallion, co-piloted by Chapman, whirls down to the ground. At the same time, Packard orders a recovery team to help the now grounded Fox 9. Fox 5 hovers above the downed chopper, men repelling down to the ground and running for the chopper, but just as they're helping those inside, Kong smashes his foot down on them. He swipes at a chopper that flies by him and then

chases after it, running right at Packard's chopper, as he growls, "Kill this son of a bitch." At the last minute, Kong jumps over the chopper, making it fly right at another one that was pursuing him. Its gunfire smashes through the windshield before both collide, as Kong lands out in front of them. Packard's chopper whirls down at the ground, slamming into the side of a palm tree and skidding violently along the ground before coming to a stop. As Conrad and Weaver watch

from their chopper, Kong chases a couple of pilots towards Landsat's base of operations, stomping on one man, while the other takes cover with Brooks, Lin, and Nieves behind some equipment. The latter three run for it, when Kong smashes his hand into the earth and swings it to the right, sending the man flying into the air. He slams onto the windshield of Conrad, Weaver, and Slivko's chopper, and then slides up across it and gets chopped to bits by the rotor. The chopper goes down nose-first and smashes into the jungle below.

Cole and Mills radio Packard that they're on their way to help him, as he unbuckles himself and tumbles out of his downed chopper. He goes to help his co-pilot, Briggs, do the same, but Kong grabs the wreckage and fling it upwards, sending Briggs flying to his death. He then throws the wreckage and hits Mills and Cole's chopper, sending them down, and before they hit, Cole asks Mills how much he loves his mother and he yells, "I love my mama so much!" Kong jumps into the air and brings both fists down one of the last choppers,

before grabbing the Chinook transport chopper and flinging it towards the very last one, sending it crashing down. As his men rush by him in a panic, Packard looks hatefully up at Kong, watching him shake men out of a chopper in his hands and causing them to fall to their deaths. He smashes both halves of it down to the ground, causing an enormous fireball through which both he and Packard glare at each other, before letting out one last roar.

From a cliff, Conrad watches through his binoculars as Kong walks away from the site of the battle, while Slivko tries to contact the others, asking if anyone is still airborne. Conrad tells him they're all down, as well as that they're on the island's south side and if they stick to the river up ahead, they should make it to the extraction point up north. He says when they get there, they'll find a way to signal the ship, while Nieves grumbles that he should actually be sitting at a desk in an office

somewhere. After saying they should join up with anyone they find, he talks with Weaver, asking her if she's okay, and while she says she's not sure, given the circumstances, she does say, "All that money that they paid you? I hope you're worth it." All the while, Slivko is ranting about how they're not going to talk about what just happened. Elsewhere, Packard tries to contact anyone who's listening and he gets in touch with Chapman, who says he's at the island's highest peak to the west.

Packard tells him to stay where he is and they'll come find him, as well as that there's enough weaponry on the Sea Stallion to kill Kong. He also tells Chapman to survey his perimeter for possible ambush sites, but when he attempts to respond, Packard hears nothing but a really garbled radio signal. Chapman, who's alone as his co-pilot died in the crash, prepares to do as ordered, brandishing a large combat knife, while Packard and Reles come upon Mills and Cole near their crash site. After happily

embracing each other, Mills tells Packard that there have been seven confirmed deaths and hands him the men's dog tags. Angered and distraught, Packard asks where Randa is and, in the next scene, confronts him as he sits at a riverbank. Sitting down across from him, Packard pulls out a handgun and tells him, "You are going to tell me everything I don't know, or I'm gonna blow your head off." Randa responds, "Monsters exist," to which Packard counters, "No shit." Randa goes on to tell him, "Nobody believed me. Yesterday, I was

a crackpot. But today?... You heard of the U.S.S. Lawton? Neither did the public. Out of a thousand young men on that ship, I was the only survivor. They told my family she was sunk in battle, but I know what I saw. It had no conscience. No reasoning. Just destroy. I spent the last thirty years trying to prove the truth of what I learned that day. This planet doesn't belong to us. Ancient species owned this Earth long before mankind, and if we keep our heads buried in the sand, they will take it back. My agency is known as Monarch. We specialize in the hunting of Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms... I'm sorry for your men, Colonel, I truly am. Get us home, with proof, so that we can send the cavalry." Packard stands, continues pointing his gun at Randa, then holsters it and walks away, saying, "I am the cavalry."

As Conrad's group heads through the jungle, Brooks talks about how he was hired by Randa on the basis of his writing a paper about the Hollow Earth theory, with Lin adding that Randa believed the island was an emergence point for whatever lies beneath. Brooks adds, "I thought he was out of his mind." When they move out of the jungle and into a bog, Slivko, again, tries to contact the others but Conrad tells him he's out of range. They pass by a body of water, when suddenly some egrets fly

off and an enormous creature emerges from it, revealing itself to be a huge water buffalo. As it approaches them, Slivko points his rifle, but Conrad tells everyone to stay perfectly still. They do as he says, although Slivko's trigger finger starts to get a bit twitchy, prompting Conrad to step and push the barrel down. Weaver takes a photograph of the buffalo, as it decides they're no threat and turns and wades back into the water. The group continues on. Elsewhere, Packard, standing at a grave-site for his fallen men, which has their helmets sitting atop the mound, proclaims, "These men did not die in vain. I swear to God, their deaths will not go unanswered." With that, he and his group head out.

They make their way through a bamboo forest, when one man stops to take a drink from his canteen. He looks up and sees something shocking that catches his attention, when there's a loud snap, followed by him dropping the canteen to the ground. Everyone ahead turns around and sees what appears to a bamboo pole shoved straight through his mouth. But, when they follow the "pole" with their eyes, they see it's actually the leg of an enormous spider that's

walking right above the canopy. The spider yanks its leg out of the soldier's mouth and starts jabbing at the others, although the thickness of the bamboo makes it difficult for it to score a direct hit. Cole begins firing on it, followed by the others, when the spider deploys some thick webbing from its abdomen, ensnaring Mills and dragging him up towards it. Cole tries to grab him and pull him down, but misses, and then tries to shoot at the spider but finds he can't get a clear shot. Mills pulls

out a hunting knife and starts slicing through the webbing, when Cole gets an idea and yells for the others to cut the spider's legs off. They begin slicing through the legs with knives and machetes, when Reles comes close to getting impaled himself. He falls back on the ground and the leg stabs into it just inches from his groin. He quickly rolls over to dodge another attempted stabbing and cuts the leg. Mills is still being pulled up and is getting dangerously close to the spider's mandibles, when another of its legs is cut off. That's when

Mills frantically cuts at the webbing and manages to free himself, falling roughly to the ground. Packard and the others unload their rifles onto the spider, hitting a spot that bleeds out profusely and dumps all over Mills as he lies on the ground. The spider's legs and body give out and it collapses, Cole grabbing and dragging Mills out of its way. It's still alive, but not for long, as Packard comes in and shoots it repeatedly in the head with his handgun. In the next cut, they've made it out of the forest and are trying to process what just happened, but Packard tells them, "Shake it off, guys! Move out!"

Meanwhile, Conrad's group come across the entrance to what appears to be some ancient ruins in the jungle. They slowly make their way inside, glancing at the small, stone structures and the markings on them. Weaver stops to get a picture, only to get the shock of her life when, while scanning the wall through her viewfinder, a pair of eyes suddenly opens and stares right at her. She gasps loudly, and then, other similarly camouflaged humans emerge from the walls and

approach, brandishing spears and other edged weapons (I've read that one of these natives is actually Brie Larson herself under heavy makeup). It instantly becomes a standoff, as the group is totally surrounded and, while they point their guns at the natives, Conrad tells them not to shoot. More natives walk through the opening ahead but, just as it looks like they're about to be attacked, Hank Marlow makes his real debut into the movie by making his way through the natives and standing between them and the group,

trying to diffuse the situation. Although Conrad's group is thoroughly confused, Marlow just smiles and talks about being told they were coming, that he was up all night thinking about it, and makes a joke about how, after so many years of trying to get back to the world, "Instead, the world comes to me? Ain't that a crack?" He laughs but the natives don't share his humor, and he comments on how they never smile. He then formally introduces himself as, "Lieutenant Hank Marlow of the 45th," and finally manages to get the natives to put away their weapons, before telling the others they need to get inside, saying, "You don't wanna be out here at night."

Elsewhere, Chapman has made his way to the river and is using the water to wash out his wounds. Turns out, he's not the only who gets that idea, as Kong strides into the water across from him. Chapman, of course, is flabbergasted, and when Kong turns and starts walking in his direction, he quickly rushes to the shore and takes cover. Kong doesn't see him and casually mills around, when he realizes he has a bloody wound on his right forearm. He squats down in the water and pokes at

the wound, wincing and growling in pain, and then sees that his hand has cuts on it as well. He scoops up some water in his left hand and drinks from it, when he looks up. Chapman is afraid he's been spotted and ducks when Kong lunges forward, but it's revealed he shoved his hand into the water near the riverbank in order to grab the tentacle of a large octopus. The creature begins fighting back, grabbing at Kong all around, ensnaring his arms, legs, torso, and

wrapping around his neck. At first, Kong struggles to free himself, but gains the upper hand when he stomps on the octopus' head, splashing ink everywhere, and rips apart one of its tentacles, sending a big chunk of it flying to the shore and almost hitting Chapman. Having defeated the creature, he proceeds to bite and rip apart its tentacles, gobbling up the remains of two at once. As Chapman watches, Kong stands up and drags the carcass away. Back with Conrad's group, Marlow guides them into the

village of the Iwis, telling them they'll be safe there and that the large wall at the village's edge is meant to keep something out, though not Kong. He goes on to describe the Iwis as being very peaceful people, and after getting the elders' silent consent for the others to stay, shows them an old ship that's run aground on the riverbank. Guiding them inside the wreck, he tells them it's hallowed ground to the Iwis and it's revealed to have been made into a makeshift shrine and temple, one that has torch-lit hallways leading to a large room full of the natives.

They allow Marlow to lead the group inside, and as they look at various wood carvings in there, he tells them, "The way they tell it, for thousands of years, the people on this island lived in fear. It's a hell of a long time to be scared. And then, one day, the damnedest thing happened: some of the things they were afraid of started protecting them against the things that were eating them. But, nothing lasts forever, I guess." Leading them to one carving at the head of the room, one that depicts a giant ape looking over a group of people, he says, "And this is where they honor the last of their saviors... That's Kong."

Kong himself is shown climbing up the side of a cliff and scanning the area when he gets to the top, as Marlow describes him as both king and god of the island. He adds, "Kong's a pretty good king. Keeps to himself, mostly." As he's shown bounding about the mountains, Marlow adds, "This is his home. We're just guests. You don't go into someone's house and start dropping bombs, unless you're picking a fight." Weaver asks if Kong was the one who killed his friend, Gunpei Ikari, but

Marlow points at a carving of a lizard-like creature and says, "One of them did. Kong's god on the island, but the devils live below us." He says the Iwis won't say their names aloud, but he's dubbed them "Skullcrawlers," mainly just because the name sounds cool... then admits he just made it up for dramatic effect. Kong is shown looking at a fuming vent in the ground, while Marlow explains that the Skullcrawlers come from deep within them and the reason why Kong was so angry about the

bombings was because they awakened them. Kong looks past the vent and sees the body of a water buffalo, which is being eaten by a Skullcrawler. The creature crawls up onto the carcass' back and hisses at Kong, and as he snarls back, another climbs up onto a cliff behind him, though he senses it. The one in front jumps at him but he grabs it and throws it behind him. He grabs the other by its snout and slams it into the ground, smacking its comrade when it comes to help before grabbing it by the neck. He then grabs the other by

its snout again and slams it down, following that up by slamming its comrade on top of it. He finishes one of them off by stomping its head with his massive foot. Marlow explains that Kong can handle the Skullcrawlers when they're small, but mentions a gigantic one that wiped out his entire family, adding that Kong's still young and, if he dies, the big one will come to the surface and wipe out everything. Conrad tells Marlow about the refueling team that will reach the island's north end in three days but Marlow responds by saying it's impossible to get there in that amount of time, at least on foot.

Packard's group wades through a mosquito-filled swamp, when he motions for the others to stop. Getting up onto a bit of solid ground, he looks through his rifle's sniper scope at a bizarre-looking bird sitting at the foot of a tree across the way. Commenting, "Huh. That is one ugly-ass bird," he takes aim and shoots it right in the head. The sound of the gunfire reveals that the "foliage" of the tree it was sitting under was actually made up of dozens of other such birds, which fly off into the

sky. The group continues on, as Mills starts to worry about whether or not they're going to make it to the north side of the island in three days, as Packard seems more intent on killing Kong than getting them home. Cole, however, keeps faith with their leader, feeling he knows where to find both Chapman and the munitions. Back at the Iwi village, Marlow leads the group to a makeshift boat he and Ikari were building to escape the island, but then Ikari was eaten by a Skullcrawler. The craft,

which he calls the "Grey Fox" and was built from parts of both of their planes, can hardly be called remarkable, with Slivko asking if it even floats, but Marlow tells them, "I know she ain't pretty to look at, but it's nothing a couple of extra hands can't fix. Unless you got a better idea, I suggest we get cracking." With no other recourse, they get to work, while Weaver spends some time with the Iwis. She not only takes photographs of them but shows them how to use the camera and gets them to do the peace sign for a picture. She

then hears a lowing sound nearby and, walking outside the wall, hears it followed up by a pained sort of screaming. It doesn't take her long to find the source: a giant water buffalo that's pinned underneath one of the crashed choppers and unable to remove its head from under the tail. Weaver rushes over and pushes up on the wreckage but, of course, she can do little to budge it. Yelling in frustration, she stops and tries to catch her breath for another attempt, when the chopper suddenly lifts up on its own. The buffalo quickly gets to its feet and

lumbers away, as Weaver looks up to see Kong standing over her, holding the chopper in his hand. Looking down at Weaver, he sniffs and snorts, before tossing the wreckage aside and walking away, leaving her to breathe a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Packard's group continues its march across the island, when Packard spots a large, bloody hand-print on a mountainside. He comments, "Well, would you look at that? It bleeds. We did that. We hook up with Chapman, there's enough munitions on that downed Sea

Stallion to finish the job." Randa, meanwhile, is more in awe, commenting, "Magnificent," when Cole tells him how he took the AK-47 he carries off a Vietnamese farmer who never handled a gun until he had to, and suggests Packard may be making an unnecessary enemy out of Kong. As he walks away, Randa holds his hand up in the air, lines it up with Kong's handprint, and then glances at his bandaged palm.

Conrad's group works with Marlow in fixing up the Grey Fox, Slivko tinkering with the engine as his father's a mechanic. He comments, "If I can't fix this, he'll disown me... if he ever sees me again." Marlow, meanwhile, tries to grasp the world events that have taken place in the years since he's been stranded, such as the United States and Russia being in a Cold War and man having now walked on the moon. He also asks if the Chicago Cubs have ever won a World Series,

leading to a debate between him and Slivko on their hometowns' respective baseball teams. On another part of the island, Chapman sticks the letters he's been writing to his son, Billy, to a tree in a completely dead section of forest and sits down on a log as he tries to contact the others. Getting nothing but a shorting out radio signal, he says, "Dear Billy, sometimes life'll just punch you in the balls." He sits his walkie-talkie down on the log, when it suddenly rears up, knocking him off. Chapman rolls across the ground and looks to see

that the "log" is actually a giant stick insect, which stomps towards him. He quickly grabs his rifle, which he dropped on the ground, and fires a handful of shots at the insect. It recoils from the shots but, rather than retaliating, it makes a frightened trilling sound, ducks its head back into its shell that resembles a dead tree, and lumbers away. Before Chapman can catch his breath, he hears a low, rumbling growl behind him, and when he turns around, a Skullcrawler jumps at him. In a quick cut, his walkie-talkie is sprayed with blood. 

Come nightfall at the Iwi village, in Marlow's dwelling on the grounded freighter, he shaves his long beard with a straight razor, commenting on the type of music Slivko listens to, while a nervous Nieves hopes the Grey Fox can get them to the north end in 36 hours. At the same time, Brooks tells Lin about how Randa hired him to work with him because of his paper on the Hollow Earth theory while she looks at his notes, while Conrad and Weaver look out at the colorful aurora filling

the night sky. Conrad comments, "Isn't it odd? The most dangerous places are always the most beautiful." He then shares the story of how his father, who was part of the Royal Air Force, went down near Hamburg and was never found, adding, "I suppose no man comes home from war. Not really." Packard's team are camping out underneath the beautiful sky, although Packard himself is staring into the campfire, obviously thinking thoughts that are anything but beautiful. Sitting across from him, Randa tells him that the mission

to get to the crash-site in order to kill Kong is madness, but Packard responds, "You don't like the way I'm running things? You know where the door is. You set this in motion when you put this place on the map, and I will not cut and run. I know an enemy when I see it." Finally, Kong is shown sitting up in his lair in the mountains, looking up at the aurora with a very sad expression. Come morning, Marlow says his final goodbye to Ikari's grave-site, before declaring, "Let's get off this island," and yanking Ikari's katana out of the

ground. After that, although it takes a couple of tries, they manage to get the Grey Fox working. Just as they're about to head out, they see that the entire population of the Iwis have gathered at the riverbank to see them off. Marlow walks to the ship's bow and tells them, "I guess this is goodbye. Thank you." As usual, the Iwis say nothing, but the two elders bow respectfully to him. The Grey Fox pulls away from the shore, with Weaver taking one last picture of the Iwis, and they begin their journey down the river, passing through an opening in the village's wall. While Run Through the Jungle plays, a small montage of both their and Packard's group's trek is shown, the latter walking past a set of Kong's giant footprints.

On the way downriver, Marlow tells Conrad and Weaver about his wife and the son he's never met, when Mills' voice comes through Slivko's radio. He quickly answers, telling them they're on a boat and explaining what's going on in a confusing, scrambled manner, referring to Marlow as a crazy, Santa Claus, time-traveler. Under Conrad's suggestion, Slivko tells them to send up a flare and Packard, overhearing this, does so. They see the flare is not too far upriver from where they are

and Packard tells his group they'll rendezvous with them in one hour. On the boat, everyone is ecstatic, as it looks as if they're going to make it home, when Nieves is suddenly grabbed and carried off by a large, carnivorous, reptilian bird. Both Slivko and Conrad grab their rifles and aim, but Nieves is carried out of range too quickly and, as they watch, is torn apart as more of the birds gather up in the sky. Knowing they can't do anything, Conrad says they need to just go ashore

and meet up with Packard and the others. They do so and wait for the others by a small stream, when they hear the sound of crashing in the nearby underbrush. While it gives them a start, they realize it's the other group and everyone reunites. Marlow is then introduced to Packard, who's impressed to learn he's been there since World War II and they salute each other. Conrad tells Packard that if they keep following the river, they'll make it to the north end in time, but Packard tells them of Chapman, who's with the Sea Stallion to the west. Marlow

immediately chimes in and tells them that the Skullcrawlers live to the west, commenting, "We have an old saying here: 'East is best, West is worst.' That's why we say it!" Weaver agrees, but Packard tells Conrad he needs his tracking abilities. Conrad agrees, but on the condition that, if they get there and can't find Chapman, they meet back at the stream by nightfall, as they've only got 24 hours to reach the island's north end. Packard agrees to that and tells his men to move out in ten minutes, while Marlow tells Cole, Mills, and Reles they're a good group to die with. Before they leave, Conrad mentions to Weaver, "Don't forget to tell me this is a bad idea," and she says, "This is a bad idea."

The group heads across a grassy plain and finds a trail of large, ancient bones sticking out of the ground, leading towards a valley that's filled with even more bones, as well as a mist made out of green fumes. Marlow tells the group that the largest bones are what's left of Kong's family, while Weaver says she can tell the place is a mass grave. Packard indicates that the Sea Stallion is on the other side of the valley but Marlow warns him that this is not a place they want to go to. Woodward pipes up and says they need to be getting to the

north side but Packard says he's not leaving without Chapman and Conrad half-heartedly says that they can make it through the valley. They begin their walk down into it, as Marlow grumbles, "I've only been here 28 years. What do I know?" They're then shown making their way through the mass grave, with Randa snapping some pictures while Weaver just looks at the enormous bones all around her, all as yellow-green fumes surround them and ash drifts down to the ground. Conrad looks at a fresh track in the ground, while Cole

stops to light a cigarette. Mills tells him they don't have time for that and he flicks it away, but when the hot ashes make contact with the air after bouncing against the side of a bone, a small explosion erupts. Randa angrily yells at them, "Watch those fumes!" Packard tries to keep everyone moving, when they hear the sound of growling up ahead. Recognizing the sound, Marlow yells for them to run and they all rush to take cover behind the bones, with some of them

hiding inside a big Kong skull. They look out from their hiding places as the sound, which is now a nightmarish screeching, approaches until a Skullcrawler emerges from the mist. It walks along the opposite side of the big sections of bone that Marlow, Slivko, Weaver, and Conrad are hiding behind and stops between them. Marlow whispers, "I told you this damn place was a no-no." As the others watch from nearby, the Skullcrawler messily regurgitates up a bunch of bones, with a skull rolling

in sight of Conrad and Weaver. Conrad notices the skull has a dog tag around it and is able to read that it's Chapman's. Once it's finished vomiting, the Skullcrawler turns and walks back into the mist. Packard orders the men hiding with him in the Kong skull to move and they march out, yelling for the others to follow. Now thoroughly terrified, they creep through the mist, Marlow whipping out the katana, when Randa, who's bringing up the rear, tries to take a photo, when his camera's flash malfunctions. He tries to fix it, when he hears a hissing screech nearby just as the flash starts working again, and he murmurs, "Oh, shit."

Oh, shit is right, as the Skullcrawler chomps down on him from directly above and gobbles him up, with Slivko futilely firing on it. Once it's swallowed him, it lumbers back into the mist, and Packard has one of the men set up a .50 caliber mounted machine gun on a Triceratops skull. They stand in a circle, listening as the Skullcrawler circles them, and are able to make out the continuous flash of Randa's camera inside its stomach. It rushes by them at one point but the thick fumes make it hard to get a bead on it, and

Mills begins to panic out of terror. They continue seeing the camera flash and Marlow strikes a stance while wielding the katana. Seeing the flash directly ahead of him, he speaks in Japanese, "Death before dishonor," right before the Skullcrawler charges out at him. It goes right past him and he slices into its left leg. The others scatter and Marlow does the same, as the Skullcrawler rushes the man operating the machine gun. Paying no mind to the gunfire, it smashes through the Triceratops skull, sending the man flying, and then

uses its long tongue to snare and swallow him whole. It then chases after Weaver, ignoring Conrad and the soldiers as they fire on it. Weaver runs and slides into the center of a giant ribcage, trapping herself as the Skullcrawler tries to get at her from above. Packard has one of his men blast it with the flamethrower, engulfing it, and Weaver runs for it as Cole, Mills, and Reles fire on the monster. The Skullcrawler swings around and sends the man with the flamethrower flying through the air with a whip of its tail. He goes right

into the eye socket of a Kong skull and his flamethrower explodes, knocking Slivko off his feet nearby and causing him to drop a cluster of gas grenades on the ground. Seeing what's happened, Conrad warns everyone before running, as the grenades explode from the flames and stir up a large flock of the carnivorous birds, which begin attacking the humans. The Skullcrawler charges at Mills as he fires on it, while Conrad runs and yells for Marlow to toss him the katana. Catching the sword,

he also takes a gas mask from a downed soldier and, like an absolute boss, runs into the midst of the gas, slicing apart any bird that swoops down at him, until he reaches the other side of the cloud. He stabs the sword into the ground and rushes to help Slivko, as the Skullcrawler gobbles up one soldier, sends another flying with its tail, and then turns around and rushes in the opposite direction. It comes right at Conrad and Slivko, when Weaver comes running in, flicks a lighter Conrad gave her

the night before, and tosses it in front of the Skullcrawler. It bounces on the ground and ignites the fumes, which blow up right in the Skullcrawler's face and knock it to the ground, along with them. Collecting themselves, they watch the Skullcrawler let out one last shriek before it succumbs to its injuries.

Once everyone has escaped to the dead forest beyond the valley, Marlow tells Packard, "Now, look, Colonel. You may outrank me, but I've been here a hell of a lot longer, and I'm telling you that thing that just shredded us was only the first of them. Now, we're on their turf, and we need to turn back, toot sweet!" Packard has no intention of doing so as long as Chapman is still out there, when Conrad tells him he's dead and shows him his dog tag. The colonel is unmoved, saying they're still going to the crash site and admits he's going

there to get the weapons necessary to kill Kong. Showing them the dog tags of the men Kong killed, he emphasizes that they were, "My men!", and both Marlow and Brooks tell him he can't do that, as Kong's the only thing keeping the Skullcrawlers from overrunning the island. Packard just says they'll kill them as well, when Marlow pulls out the katana and tells Packard he can't let him do this. His men point their guns at Marlow but Packard knocks the sword out of his hand and hits him in the gut with the butt of his rifle, putting him on his back.

Packard declares he's not going to lose this war and Brooks tries to tell him it's not a war, but Packard points his gun at him and exclaims, "Your lies got my men killed!" Weaver tries to counter that he's going to get them all killed but Conrad tells her it's not their fight. He points Packard in the direction of the Sea Stallion and says he's going to take the civilians back to the boat, where they'll wait for him. After a tense standoff, Packard lowers his rifle and tells his men, "Saddle up! Let's go kill this

thing!" They begin the march to the Sea Stallion, though Slivko does so reluctantly, while Woodward decides to tag along with them. Conrad helps Marlow to his feet and tells him that Packard's losing his mind. He begins guiding him and the others back to the boat, while Packard and his men come across the letters Chapman meant for his son. Packard tells Mills to make sure the letters get back to his family and, as he removes them, Mills says, "Dear Billy... your dad was one of the best to ever do it."

On their way back to the boat, Conrad's group gets temporarily lost, and he has to stop and get his bearings. They hear a roar nearby and yet, Conrad heads off by himself, saying they need to get to higher ground in order to find the river. Weaver quickly joins him, while Marlow, staying with Brooks and Lin, takes out and cocks his handgun, saying he'll be there, waiting for them. He tells the two of them to keep their eyes open and to watch the trees for large ants. A bird-like chirping sound echoes through the canopy and Marlow says,

"There's one. It sounds like a bird but it's a fucking ant," which puts both Brooks and Lin on edge. Meanwhile, Packard's group finds the Sea Stallion. He tells them to take what they can, including the seismic charges, as they got Kong's attention before. As the sun sets, Packard orders, "Mills, Cole, prep this ordinance. Make him a special gift out of that napalm." Slivko pours the napalm into a puddle of water and lights it, while the others plant the seismic charges into the ground. Come nightfall, Conrad and Weaver climb up onto a large

cliff and look down to see the river below, Conrad figuring the boat must be around the bend up ahead. Weaver, of course, can't help but take a photograph of the misty surroundings, when they hear a loud growl up ahead. A huge silhouette emerges from the mist ahead of them and they both watch in awe as Kong walks up to the cliff to inspect them. They hold each other's hands as his big head looms over them and he sniffs at them. Weaver, taking a chance, walks up to the edge of

the cliff, and Kong moves forward as well. She reaches out and puts her hand on his upper lip. He stands there, breathing deeply and snorting, and tears appear to well up in his eyes, as if he's overcome with emotion at making a connection. Weaver then moves away and Kong does the same, when all three of them hear and see the seismic charges being detonated in a nearby valley. Kong lets out a roar and heads towards them, while Conrad and Weaver head back down. Down below, as the charges continue

detonating, Packard waits at the edge of a lake, torch in hand and with several bonfires behind him, while his men wait in the shadows. One seismic charge illuminates Kong on the opposite of the lake. At the same time, Conrad and Weaver reunite with the others. Conrad tells Marlow, Brooks, and Lin to go back to the boat and points them in the direction, telling them to leave without them if they're not back by dawn. He tells Marlow they're going to save Kong, but Marlow responds, "Not without me, pal," and sheathes his katana.

Kong comes crashing through the burning brush on the one side of the lake and spots the burning bonfires on the opposite shore. Seeing and apparently recognizing Packard, Kong beats his chest, lets out an angry roar, and thrashes his way through the water towards him. Packard waits until he's only a few feet away and tosses the torch, igniting the napalm in the water. The flames quickly spread and overwhelm Kong, with small explosions igniting all around him. Packard and his men watch as he roars and flails about in the midst

of the flames, his fur burning in patches, when his pained yells suddenly cease. While the others are clearly having mixed feelings about what they've done, Packard, clenching both of his fists, smiles in satisfaction. Kong then charges out of the flames and the men quickly run for it, as he swings his arm, sending a big wave of the burning, napalm-soaked water at them. One unnamed soldier gets splashed and lit on fire, while Woodward gets stomped under Kong's foot, but then, Kong groans and collapses to the ground. As

the others rush to the site, Packard orders his men to place the seismic charges around the fallen king, declaring, "It's time to show Kong that man is king!" They place and arm the charges, but just as Packard is about to detonate them, Conrad comes running in and points his rifle at him, while the men point their guns at him. He tells him not to do it, as Marlow pops up behind Reles, holding the katana to the back of his neck, and points his handgun at Slivko, saying, "I asked you boys nice

the first time." Conrad tries to make the case that Kong was just defending his territory, but Packard yells, "We are soldiers! We do the dirty work so our families and countrymen don't have to be afraid. They shouldn't even know a thing like this exists!" Conrad tells Packard he's lost his mind and tells him to put the detonator down, but Packard marches up to him and prepares to push the button. Weaver tries to be the mediator, saying, "The world is bigger than this," but Packard scoffs, "Bitch,

please!" (A Pulp Fiction reference for all you Tarantino fans.) He tells Slivko to do what he must to get out of that isolated standoff but Marlow tells him, "You know it's the wrong thing to do, son." After a conflicted deliberation, Slivko turns his rifle on Packard, telling him to get rid of the detonator. Packard goes for his handgun, but Conrad warns him not to. Reles, Mills, and Cole lower their weapons and Conrad tells Packard it's over.

A loud bubbling and splash erupt from the lake and everyone turns and looks as the giant Skullcrawler explodes out of the water and lands in the shallows. Conrad tells everyone to fall back and they take off into the jungle, as the Skullcrawler heads to the shore and lets out a screeching roar. Conrad tries to get Packard to come as well but the colonel just stands there, looking at the Skullcrawler. Conrad runs off, and as the Skullcrawler heads to the shore, Kong lets out a groan and his eyes snap open. As he raises up, he

sees Packard, vengeful to the end, despite the Skullcrawler closing in on him from behind, arm and prepare to detonate the charges. Knowing what he's about to do, and as Packard snarls, "Die, you mother...", Kong brings his enormous fist down on the colonel. As she and the others rush through the jungle, Weaver uses her camera's viewfinder to see Kong and the Skullcrawler beginning to battle, although the creature easily overpowers and pins him down in his injured state. The Skullcrawler looks directly at Weaver, as Conrad grabs her and carries her off.

Dawn breaks over the island and Brooks and Lin, having found the Grey Fox, debate over whether or not to go on like Conrad told them. At the same time, the others rush through the jungle and come out at the river. Realizing they've made it to the island's north end, Conrad tells Weaver to get up high and fire off a flare in order to signal Brooks. Hearing the Skullcrawler stomping through the jungle behind them, he tells her they'll buy her some time. They go their separate ways, the men rushing along the river, as the Skullcrawler

smashes its way through the treeline. Reaching a shallow section of the river, the men start wading through it, except for Cole, who drops his rifle to the ground. Seeing this, Mills tells him to come on, but he says, "Go live your life. Get outta here," then smirks at him. He turns around and faces the Skullcrawler, as it quickly approaches him. Mills runs to him, trying to stop him, when he unpins a grenade in each of his hands and holds them up in the air. Conrad and Slivko hold Mills back as Cole walks right up to the Skullcrawler, intoning, "Come

on. Come on, you son of a bitch." The monster screeches at him and then swings around and whips him with its tail, sending him flying into a mountainside, detonating his grenades. The Skullcrawler turns its attention to the men and chases after them, while Weaver climbs up to the proper vantage point to shoot her flare. Hearing a different roar, Conrad turns around and sees Kong come down at the Skullcrawler with a large rock in his hands, smashing it against its head. The men

take the opportunity and run for it, as the two monsters square off. The Skullcrawler lunges at Kong, biting onto his left hand, and then jumps up and slams him against the mountainside, putting its jaws around his neck. Kong grabs the top jaw, punches the Skullcrawler in the gut to make it loosen its grip, and then grabs both jaws, stretching its mouth open. He slams the Skullcrawler face-first into the mountainside and tries to follow that up with an elbow smash, although the creature ducks out of the way. It jumps at him, bites his wrist, and manages to twist and slam him to the ground. It jumps at him again but he smacks it down, only for it to crawl around and lunge at him, but he manages to hold it back as it snaps its jaws at his head.

Climbing to the top of a cliff, Weaver fires a flare up into the air, while the battle continues, with Kong flinging the Skullcrawler off him before uprooting a tree and snapping the branches off. He and the Skullcrawler charge each other, and he clubs it in the face with the tree, sending it careening backwards through the bog. It quickly rights itself and jumps at him and though he catches it by the neck, it struggles in his grip, snapping at his head at one point, before it gets behind him, grabs him across the shoulder with its tail, and flings him

over itself. He lands in the center of an old shipwreck in the swamp and, when he tries to attack again, finds both of his arms are ensnared in the anchor chains. Now totally helpless, he's unable to do anything as the Skullcrawler crawls onto his chest and opens its mouth, licking his chin with its forked tongue. It's suddenly hit in the face with gunfire and the others turn and see that the Grey Fox has arrived, with Brooks manning the machine guns built into it from the bi-planes. He manages to keep it at bay long enough for the men to run for the

ship and climb aboard. But then, the guns stop firing and Marlow tries to help Brooks, while the Skullcrawler stomps towards them. Kong, in the meantime, manages to get to his feet, despite the restraints, and showing how strong he is, flexes his muscles until the chains he's ensnared in pop off. He lets out a roar, as the Skullcrawler closes in on the Grey Fox, with Marlow desperately trying to reload the guns. While Kong spies that one of the chains still wrapped around his arm is connected to the ship's propeller, Weaver, seeing

her friends are in danger, loads a flare and shoots it. It hits and sticks into the right side of the Skullcrawler's face before popping, causing it recoil and scream. As it uses its right leg to dislodge the flare, the men on the boat manage to get the machine guns working again and resume firing. Conrad, exclaiming, "Come on, you bastard!", runs across the swamp, getting the Skullcrawler's attention. When it chases after him, Kong takes the opportunity and flings the chained

propeller through the air, hitting the Skullcrawler in its side and knocking it over. The propeller now embedded in its hide, Kong pulls it to him with the chain and, when he reaches it, pulls a section of chain through its mouth and around its head, shoving it into the bog. It tries to attack but Kong grabs the end of its snout with one hand, the propeller in its neck with the other, and throws it over his shoulder, smashing it into the shipwreck. He grabs its tail, pulls it, and flings it, but it ends

up hitting the side of the cliff Weaver is standing on, knocking her off and into the water below. Kong sees this, but before he can act, the Skullcrawler attacks again. It jumps at him and the two of them tumble across the swamp, landing near the Grey Fox, and Kong punches it right on the head, before grabbing its side and yanking the propeller out. Weaver sinks down to the bottom of the swamp, while up above, Kong, now wielding the propeller as you would a rock, smacks the left

side of the Skullcrawler's face when it comes at him again, and follows that up by smashing the propeller down on its cranium. He then gives an uppercut with the propeller, slicing right up the Skullcrawler's neck, and the monster promptly collapses on its back. Kong drops the propeller at his feet and snarls, before pushing his hand down through the water, scooping up, and lifting Weaver out.

Just as Kong checks to see if she's okay, the Skullcrawler comes up behind him, bites his left elbow, and the two of them flip over. It jumps at him and he, again, grabs it by the neck to keep it at bay, as it bites and snaps at him. Seeing his right hand is holding something, it snags his wrist with its tongue and tries to yank his hand into his mouth. It manages to succeed and Kong struggles to pull his hand back, grabbing it around the neck as he tries to secure it. Finally, after jamming his fist down its throat, and with one good yank, he rips

its entire tongue out, along with a string of its innards, which all tumble out of its mouth. He tosses the now dead Skullcrawler aside and opens his hand back up, looking with concern at Weaver as she lies on his palm, not moving. He places her on the shore and walks away, as Conrad runs to her aid. He manages to rouse her to consciousness and, after she coughs a bit and collects herself, they watch as Kong glances back at them before continuing to walk on back to the island interior. Conrad and Weaver embrace and then, the

survivors are back on the Grey Fox, heading to the rendezvous point. The last remainders of Packard's team, Mills, Reles, and Slivko, sit in the back, the former, holding the letters to Billy, asking, "So, what do you think, fellas? This way to Key West?", and Slivko answers, "I think it is, brother." Conrad comments on how word will get out about Skull Island somehow, but Weaver says it won't come from them. Marlow looks down at the picture of his wife, singing We'll Meet Again to himself,

and that transitions to the actual song by Vera Lynn. Weaver snaps his photograph, and once they reach the rendezvous and the choppers come in, Kong is shown watching from nearby. He beats his chest and lets out one last roar, as the camera zooms into his eye. As the credits begin, silent footage is shown of Marlow arriving at his home in Chicago. He gets out of a cab, walks up to the door and knocks, and is greeted by a young man, his son. While he doesn't know who he is, his mother

does, as she comes into the room behind him with a tray of drinks, only to drop it in shock upon seeing him. The two of them have a touching reunion, as she walks up and touches his face before embracing him. Marlow is formally introduced to his son and the two of them shake hands. The last shot of him has him enjoying a Chicago Cubs game with a hotdog and a bottle of beer.

Going into this movie, I'd heard hints that there was something in it that alluded to the upcoming MonsterVerse movies, specifically the next film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. By the time the ending credits, which I always sit through, started rolling, I thought maybe it was just a rumor, but when I saw the disclaimer, "Characters of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan created and owned by Toho Co., Ltd.," I thought, "What the hell did I miss?" And then, came the post-credits scene. You see a black screen and hear Conrad say,

"You just gonna sit there? In the dark? You're enjoying this, right?" He's shown looking at a two-way mirror and it's revealed both he and Weaver are in an interrogation room, with two-way mirrors on either side. Frustrated at not getting a response, he sits down at the table with Weaver and throws a pencil at the mirror. He says they will agree not to say anything about the island, when Brooks and Lin walk in, the former officially welcoming them to Monarch. They show them a file containing various information, including photos of

the Castle Bravo nuclear test, as Brooks says, "This island is just the beginning," while Lin adds, "There's more out there." Brooks, quoting Randa, says, "This world never belonged to us. It belonged to them. The question is, 'How long before they take it back?' Kong is not the only king." A projector in the wall begins showing images of film and photos taken inside large cave systems, with a caption that reads, ADDITIONAL THREATS. That's when we're treated to cave paintings of the

unmistakable silhouettes of Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, before ending on a shot of Godzilla and Ghidorah in battle. The screen goes to black and then, we get the piece de resistance: Godzilla roars. Sitting there in the theater after that, I thought to myself, "So this is what a fangasm feels like."

If there's one other major criticism I can level at Kong: Skull Island, is that the actual music score by Henry Jackman isn't the most memorable. It's one of those instances where the music isn't horrible at all, and certainly helps the action scenes maintain a feeling of excitement and energy, but it's pretty bland and not something that will stick in your head, with even Kong himself not having a memorable leitmotif. A big reason why the score isn't as well-remembered is because of how awesome the soundtrack is. The film is chock full of memorable songs from the era, many of which work well with the scenes they're played to. You hear the Chamber Brothers' Time Has Come Today at the beginning when the troops are preparing to leave Vietnam, which feels appropriate for the end of a war, and when Randa and Brooks meet with Conrad at the club in Saigon, you can hear Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit playing in the background, sort of alluding to the strange world they're about to enter. When Mason Weaver is first introduced, developing pictures in her darkroom, she's listening to The Hollies' Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress; the Stooges' Down on the Street plays in the small montage of the trip to Skull Island; Black Sabbath's Paranoid plays during the bombing run on the island; when Weaver's photographing the Iwis, Jorge Ben's Brother plays, possibly emphasizing how they're all human; Bad Moon Rising by the Creedence Clearwater Revival plays when Marlow and the group is fixing up the Grey Fox (I can never hear that song without thinking of An American Werewolf in London); Slivko plays David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust in one scene, prompting Marlow to ask what happened to swing; and as both groups continue their trek through the island, Creedence Clearwater Revival is heard again, this time playing Run Through the Jungle, which fits well with that sequence.

I did not at all expect Kong: Skull Island to turn out to be both a shining jewel in the MonsterVerse and one of the best King Kong movies ever, but in my opinion, that's exactly what it is. Aside from some bland main human characters and a music score that, while okay, isn't the greatest, this film gets it absolutely right. It has an excellent cast, a great pace, a tone of adventure and fun about it, plenty of enjoyable action sequences and monster battles, very impressive special effects, an awesome soundtrack of great songs of the era, and a wonderfully original take on Kong and his island home that was a much needed breath of fresh air after decades of remaking the original movie. Nothing else to say other than it's straight up awesome and a treat for monster fans.