In order to bring back a movie monster as iconic as King Kong, you can’t just tread old ground. Peter Jackson already did that plenty in his astonishing mixed bag of an adaptation in 2005. However, seeing as Warner Brothers has a mighty new Godzilla for Kong to go up against, they had to think of something. If this trailer is any indication, Kong: Skull Island just might be the most interesting take on the material yet.
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Kong: Skull Island features a bevy of Hollywood up and comers and legends. The group includes Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Mitchell, and Corey Hawkins. The setting appears to have moved to the 1970s. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts appears to have drenched the film in Vietnam war imagery. As we see an absolutely massive new version of Kong make a stand against a group of helicopters over a sunset, war epics such as Apocalypse Now come to mind. That’s a very interesting way to modernize Kong’s story, which has always been bolstered by the more clean-cut 1930s. In fact, it seems as though any connection to that original story has been intentionally wiped out.
Unfortunately, the most recent Godzilla film also promised a grittier, scarier version of their monster. While they certainly delivered a visual wonder in their creature, the film itself fell very short. As such, it’s easy to be on defense here, as this could very easily be just a very well edited trailer. However, what does give me hope is this incredible cast. In Godzilla, we had to spend the majority of the film with the numbingly boring Aaron Taylor-Johnson. He gave a performance so stilted, that it sucked the menace right out of the proceedings. Hopefully, this group of incredible actors is able to bolster Kong: Skull Island which certainly seems to have the thrills in spades.
Michael Fairbanks is a lifelong film lover from San Diego, California. His favorite movies include The Dark Knight, Silver Linings Playbook, and As Good As It Gets. In addition to The Nerd Stash, Fairbanks writes for both The Young Folks, and his own blog, entitled Fairbanks on Film.
