Why Kong: Skull Island is the best King Kong film

Now that the Monsterverse has come to its conclusion with Godzilla vs Kong, it's time to re-visit the franchise's best installment. For me, this was ‘Kong: Skull Island’. The film remains the most memorable, the most fun, and the most colorful out of the cinematic universe. Kong: Skull The island might even be the best King Kong film of all time. So today I am going to break down why I think Kong: Skull Island is the best film in King Kongs cinematic history. 

The tone of the film – Tonally, Kong: Skull Island is completely different from any other venture with the character we have previously seen. The film feels more like a Vietnam-era war film, filled with 1970s rock. This tonal shift from what we had previously seen, provides an updated and unique outing with the real king of the monsters. We spend the entirety of the film's run time with Kong in his natural habitat. In other Kong adaptations, we spend time with Kong in New York where he is swatting away planes and falls victim to love. That whole plot is gone here, rather than exploring Skull Island in general and the dangers of the island. The different narrative, setting and tone make for one entertaining thrill ride. 

The characters – the film benefits from a strong cast of characters. We have our army unit escorting the scientific team from monarch to the island as well as our tracker and photographer. There are a lot of characters in this film, but each character has their own unique trait that helps you distinguish between them. For instance, Colonel Packard played wonderfully by Samuel L. Jackson, acts as the antagonist of the film. He has it out for Kong as Kong killed his men upon their arrival at Skull Island. Blinded by rage, he seeks vengeance on Kong throughout the film. This is just one example of the depth of these characters. These characters help this film feel fresh and different from other iterations. 

Kong himself – Toby Kebbell plays King Kong in the film, providing the motion capture for the character. This version of Kong has a lot of depth and humanity without the character to say a single word. You can see the humanity in his eyes, the pain that he feels and his history. His sheer size is also something we haven’t seen before. Kong is massive! Instead of being able to climb buildings, Kong is now the size of a building. The effects here are stunning as well. Kong looks photo-realistic and is easily my favourite on-screen portrayal of the character. 

Kong: Skull Island has it all. It’s a fascinating monster flick with great style, substance, and a fun group of characters. The film tells a very different story from what we have previously seen on the big screen from King Kong. I love this film and find myself re-visiting on a regular basis. Before you check out Godzilla vs Kong, you need to watch this film first!

Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here