Brie Larson Stole The Show in Kong: Skull Island

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The MonsterVerse started in 2014 with a new take on Godzilla, bringing the iconic monster to a modern audience. It’s since expanded into a full cinematic universe, most recently with 2024’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. While known for its epic battles and world-building, the MonsterVerse often explores the human cost of these conflicts, frequently showing the aftermath through the eyes of soldiers or scientists. The series consistently grounds the fantastical destruction in real-world consequences, and no film explores this theme more deeply than the 2017 installment.

Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ second film in the series moved away from the serious tone of the first Godzilla movie, instead taking viewers on a colorful adventure through a jungle full of monsters. However, beneath the exciting monster action is a story deeply connected to the pain and consequences of the Vietnam War. Set in 1973, the film features tired soldiers and clear visual nods to the war, using this backdrop to examine themes of obsession, sorrow, and the struggle to find purpose after fighting stops.

Kong: Skull Island Reintroduced King Kong for the MonsterVerse

The 2014 film Godzilla brought the iconic monster back to the big screen, portraying him as a savior of humanity against dangerous creatures called MUTOs. In 2017, Warner Bros. released Kong: Skull Island to set the stage for future installments, showing the origins of the Monarch organization and reintroducing King Kong.

The movie takes place in 1973 and centers on a team of scientists from Monarch, led by Bill Randa (John Goodman), who join forces with a U.S. Army unit. They travel to the newly found Skull Island, accompanied by James Conrad, a former British SAS Captain (Tom Hiddleston), and a photographer opposed to war. Their mission is to explore the island using seismic bombs, hoping to chart its landscape and confirm Monarch’s idea that the Earth is hollow.

Shortly after the team arrives, they’re attacked by Kong, who destroys multiple aircraft and strands the survivors across the island. Knowing how to handle crises, Conrad guides his group – including Weaver and warrant officer Reg Slivko (played by Thomas Mann) – towards their designated extraction point on the far side of the island. During their journey, they encounter both the native Iwi tribe and Hank Morrow (John C. Reilly), a man who crashed on the island three decades earlier.

On the island, the team discovers Kong’s purpose: protecting it from dangerous creatures like the skullcrawlers, who also caused the extinction of his kind. As they race to reach the evacuation point before time runs out, they’re relentlessly pursued by these newly awakened monsters.

Kong: Skull Island Perfectly Depicts the Horrors of War

Skull Island is a dangerous and mysterious place, both above and below ground. Unlike most Vietnam War movies, this story isn’t set during the peak of the conflict, but immediately after it. Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) and his team are preparing to return home after their service, but they’re assigned one final, crucial mission first. This sets the stage for a compelling narrative.

Both Godzilla and Skull Island explore the unsettling experience of soldiers returning from war and realizing they weren’t prepared for life back home. While Godzilla touches on this through a single character’s journey, Skull Island makes it a central theme that drives the entire plot, taking the idea to a more intense and somber level.

In Skull Island, the characters all struggle with the end of the Vietnam War, each coping in their own way and united by a shared anxiety about what comes next. This fear is most evident in Packard, who becomes the film’s villain because of it, and impacts his entire team. He’s initially shown reacting to the news of the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, and eagerly accepts a new, mysterious mission as a way to avoid facing his future. For Packard and others like him, it’s a way to postpone the inevitable. His statement, “We didn’t lose the war; we abandoned it,” perfectly encapsulates his motivations and character.

Initially, Packard appears motivated by revenge after Kong destroys helicopters and kills his soldiers. He repeatedly emphasizes the need to avenge his fallen men. However, a deeper look reveals his obsession isn’t simply about getting even—it’s about needing a new enemy to fight. He learns the war that defined his life is over, and almost immediately, Kong appears as a tangible target. Unlike the frustrating and ambiguous Vietnam War, Kong is something Packard can clearly blame and pursue, becoming a substitute for a conflict that lacked clear purpose. The more challenging the enemy, the more it allows Packard to continue fighting.

On Skull Island, a strong sense of duty and loyalty is as powerful as fear and obsession. Packard feels responsible for the soldiers who died under his leadership, and the surviving soldiers remain loyal to him, acting as they’ve been trained to do. They continue to follow him into the jungle, even when it’s obvious he’s made poor decisions.

The film’s central idea is introduced right away: American and Japanese pilots, Marlow and Ikari, crash on an island and immediately try to kill each other. This scene encapsulates the movie’s core message. Marlow’s journey is particularly compelling when compared to Packard’s. Packard is haunted by the recent war, while Marlow has been living on the island since the previous one, integrating into its culture and environment. Despite this adaptation, Marlow still feels a strong sense of duty, which is reignited when new people crash-land, once again taking control of his actions.

Kong: Skull Island Is One of the Highest-Rated MonsterVerse Films

After Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island is the most critically and popularly acclaimed film in the MonsterVerse. Several elements likely contribute to its success. The movie boasts a talented cast, including stars like Hiddleston, Larson, and Goodman. It’s also the first film in the series to explore the history and purpose of Monarch, a key organization throughout the MonsterVerse. And, of course, it’s a thrilling, action-filled monster movie with plenty of suspense and spectacular battles that any fan would enjoy.

As expected, Skull Island was both a critical and commercial hit, earning over $568 million globally on a $185 million budget. This put it among the top 20 highest-grossing films of 2017, a year that also included blockbusters like Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Spider-Man: Homecoming. Notably, it’s the only film in the series to receive an Academy Award nomination—for Best Visual Effects, though it lost to Blade Runner 2049.

The film series is undeniably full of monster action and continues to be popular. However, Kong: Skull Island stands out as one of the best installments, offering both thrilling action and thought-provoking themes about war.

Although other MonsterVerse movies include hints of war – like in the first film with Ford Brody, and with Monarch becoming increasingly militarized – Skull Island portrays it most powerfully and pessimistically. In many ways, Skull Island could be seen as a film about the feeling of being lost after a war. If you removed Kong and the Skullcrawlers, you’d be left with a story about soldiers struggling to find meaning in a world that has changed and left them behind.

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2026-03-08 18:09