Can you believe that the cinematic icon that is King Kong has been around for 90 years? Since 1933, the Eighth Wonder of the World has been occupying the silver screen, with sacrifices aplenty, and tons and tons of T. Rexes’ jaws for him to break. The most recent Kong endeavor, however, is quite a different one in retrospect. From director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Kong: Skull Island was meant to be the introduction of Kong into the (then) newly conceived Monsterverse. Set in 1973, scientist Bill Randa discovers an island where, as he says it, “God did not finish creation”. Getting an expedition funded, and military backing, they travel to the island, only to find out that it’s inhabited by giant creatures, the likes of which are unknown to mankind. Out of their element, and on an island unknown to man, they have to trek across the island, in hopes of getting off with their lives. This film is an absolute blast. Is it the best Kong film out there? Definitely not, but it gives a newer take, while also trying to say something deeper. The film is set when the US is just about done with the war in Vietnam, and this is reflected excellently by the antagonist of the story, Colonel Packard. You may look at the character and think that it’s just a typical action villain, with not much to him aside from advancing the plot. And in that case, I can’t blame you. After all, I would be a hypocrite if I did, because that’s what I thought when I first saw the film. But as time has gone on, I noticed that the entire point of the character (who, by the way, is played by Samuel L. freaking Jackson), is to be commentary on what soldiers do after war. When he’s introduced to the story, it’s right when his air base is being shut down, and everyone going home, he’s shone to be pondering what comes next. He seems lost, but when he receives word of the expedition to the island, he’s given a purpose again. It’s fascinating to see how far he goes to reach his goal, and it really does go a long way in exploring the whole concept of, like I said, what soldiers in wartime to with, well, no war. But, enough about the humans, it’s time to talk about the big selling point of this film: big monsters. When you make a monster movie, you have to make them feel big and huge. This movie more than does that. Kong feels absolutely massive, and his fight at the end with the big bad monster is a spectacle and a half. They move with such heft, while also having a reasonable sense of speed. I could go on about how well they did with the monster action, but why should I? This movie is worth a watch, even without the kaiju goodness. The actors alone sell me on this movie, and I only talked about just one of the performers. But with that, some solid writing, and awesome monster bouts, Kong: Skull Island packs a heavy right hook, and begs to be watched on the best screen you can find.