One of the most iconic movie monsters in history was handled better 20 years ago than he has been in the recent MonsterVerse franchise. Developed by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, and inspired by characters created and owned by Toho Co., Ltd, the MonsterVerse currently comprises five feature films, with more on the way, and a critically-acclaimed Apple TV series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. However, there has been some criticism aimed at the franchise for its handling of some of the most notable movie monsters ever brought to the screen.
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The MonsterVerse kicked off with Godzilla in 2014, which teased more grounded and realistic textures for the franchise than movies we’d seen the giant monster featured in before. The 2017 and 2019 follow-ups, Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla, King of the Monsters, continued these themes, but the franchise became more outlandish and unbelievable after these titular monsters were brought together in Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and the upcoming Godzilla x Kong: Supernova is set to be even wilder. Unfortunately, this may continue criticisms aimed at the franchise’s depiction of Kong.
MonsterVerse’s Kong Has Been Criticized in the Years Since His 2017 Debut
Back in 2017, Jordan Vogt-Roberts reimagined Kong on-screen in Kong: Skull Island, the sophomore adventure in the MonsterVerse than revamped the age-old story. First appearing in King Kong in 1933, the giant gorilla has been depicted on-screen many times over the years, often with him being captured on Skull Island and brought to New York, where he embarks on a violent rampage to the top of the Empire State Building, where he is ultimately killed. The tragic tale is legendary and delivers an important message about animal rights and environmental preservation, but Kong: Skull Island changed the game completely.
Kong: Skull Island saw Monarch embark on a mission to Skull Island during the 1970s to find and study Kong and other titanic monsters. This established Kong as one of the Titans, many of which have graced the MonsterVerse, traded dinosaurs for Skullcrawlers, and removed any kind of romantic entanglement from the typical Kong story, delivering a more grounded adventure. This made Kong: Skull Island a commercial and critical success, grossing $568.7 million on a budget of $185 million and receiving a positive response, but Kong hasn’t been so lucky in the eight years since.
The MonsterVerse has arguably been leaning too heavily on Kong’s identity as a Titan and an heir to some remarkable throne rather than being a simple wild creature on Skull Island. He has gained some wild powers, is perhaps too human, and has faltered under the weight of being paired with Godzilla and not with actual humans who can embark on character development. There aren’t high hopes that Supernova will redeem Kong, but if you want to watch a version of Kong that really works on-screen, his 20-year-old movie, directed by Peter Jackson, is the best one to watch.
2005’s King Kong Has the Best Movie Version of the Giant Monster
While the MonsterVerse’s Kong has become more action-oriented and superpowered, the version of the giant ape featured in Peter Jackson’s King Kong movie from 2005 was celebrated much more. King Kong reimagined the original 1933 story almost shot for shot but with ground-breaking visual effects and an epic budget of $207 million that, at the time, made it the most expensive movie ever made. An expedition to Skull Island culminates in King Kong being captured and brought back to New York to become something of a freak show, only to be killed atop the Empire State Building.
Starring the likes of Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Thomas Kretschmann, Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis as Kong, and Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow, the woman who forms a romantic connection to Kong, King Kong was a massive success. Kong, albeit large, was depicted like a real-life gorilla, rather than having more human qualities. and his realistic scale, intelligence, and protective nature were all far more believable than the depiction of Kong in the MonsterVerse. While the MonsterVerse has pushed Kong to the extreme, we still favor Peter Jackson’s version, who first graced theaters 20 years ago on December 14, 2005.
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