'Kong: Skull Island' - Revisited

Written by Scott Edwards

It does not seem to matter what year it is, we are always finding out something new about our planet. While we are expanding our searches to outer space and trying to find another planet that could house life on it, we still know very little about the ground we live on. It is hard to imagine that this could be, but we continue to find and catalog new species of creatures and it does not seem to be slowing down. While we are looking to the stars to try and figure out what we will do in the future, it is nice that some scientists are still looking down here as well, and maybe we will get a clue as to what our next step should be.
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As the space program has taken off and satellites are now surrounding the globe, the government is starting to see that there are more islands than they could have imagined that are still unexplored. Wanting to capitalize on this to keep his company afloat, Bill Randa is ready to make another pitch to his senator to try and prove that monsters exist. With a new satellite image of Skull Island in hand, Randa is able to bargain his way to another government funded project to map the terrain, but he is looking for much more than that. Knowing that he will need someone to help lead the expedition to the island if things go awry, he is able to convince a former SAS agent in James Conrad to come along for the ride.

With the Vietnam War coming to an end, Colonel Packard is reflecting on what he and his men accomplished on their latest outing when he gets a call from a higher up. Basically, being a babysitter to scientists, he is happy that his men will get one more outing before heading home for good. Getting into the briefing room and finding out that he and his men will be bombing the island from above seems nice for his soldiers, some of who are still looking for action. But not knowing what the island is really housing may be a problem for the under prepared military unit.

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Hearing about an expedition into the unknown, photo journalist Mason Weaver is able to get herself invited on to document the event. Not being greeted with open arms because she is a woman, she is able to put the men at ease with her background and ability to survive in terrible conditions. Not knowing what to expect, she soon finds herself in the mix with the men on their way to Skull Island and starts to photograph things that no living man has ever seen before. As the groups make their way through a thunderstorm to the island, they see a world that time has forgotten, but maybe it was for the better.
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Getting their munitions runs underway, Houston Brooks is shocked to see that the island is on a hollow plate like he once proposed. Hearing this, Randa is excited, but the celebration is short lived as a giant monkey comes out of the mist and takes out all of the helicopters. As the groups are separated, they both have different things on their minds as Conrad and his group want to make their way back to the extraction point, while Packard and his men are looking for revenge against the giant beast that just killed a chunk of their unit. While both treks are taking them to different parts of the island, they are shocked to see the horrors that lay before them and the oversized creatures that are roaming around them. Not knowing who is friend or foe, the groups find out the hard way that this might be the last stop for them unless they are able to make it off of the island before their time runs out.

Every once in a while it is nice to see a monster movie just come right out and show the beast and that is what this one does. With Kong being front and center when Skull Island is under attack, you get to see the ripped gorilla show how badass he really is. Then continuing through the adventures of the groups, you get to see more oversized creatures that could be the stuff of nightmares, depending on what you are afraid of. The two different storylines come together in the third act when they make the decision to go looking for a missing soldier, which causes a massive power struggle on what to do next. While you get shot around to different parts of the island and get to know some fun characters, you see how respect seems to be a common barrier between man and beast. With plenty of oversized creatures, ugly birds, an unforgiving landscape, making new friends, a power struggle and a King who does not want to lose his domain, if you are looking for a movie filled with action and monsters, this one is it and now I cannot wait to see what happens with the King Kong vs. Godzilla movie, because we will be getting a ripped monster in Kong and a much fatter Godzilla and that combination will be filled with surprises. Should be a good time.

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