There's Lots to Unpack And Contemplate Over In The Phenomenal Monster Movie Colossal (SPOILERS!!!!!)

This review contains massive spoilers about Colossal. Seriously, do not read this before seeing the movie. Just know it's an amazing motion picture and you should see it pronto. 

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OK, let's get on with the review.... 

Monster movies are usually dismissed as dumb cinematic fodder, stuff reserved for gifs and children only. And, yes, it is hard not to chuckle at the fun gifs emerging from goofy monster movies of yore (King Kong feeding Godzilla a tree will always make me laugh), it's worth noting that many of the biggest monster movies have underlying themes to them that lend weight to the seemingly shallow proceedings. The original Godzilla was all about the nuclear age, the first King Kong movie is all about the dangers of man trying to exploit animals while a more modern day example can be found in Cloverfield was an incredibly prophetic movie about how we react to the unbelievable in the modern day world.

70's Tinged Monster Mayhem Turns Out To Be A Lot Of Fun In Kong: Skull Island

Far too often, remakes and reboots find themselves being merely repeats of the original films they're attempting to remake and/or reboot, to the point where you're left wondering "Why did they even remake this? Couldn't I have just stayed home and watch the original movie instead?" Thankfully, the newest King Kong adventure, Kong: Skull Island, avoids being just a rehash of well-known moments from past Kong movies. No Empire State Building, dinosaurs, movie crew or "Twas beauty that killed the beast" to be found here, much to my personal happiness. Instead, we get an all-new period setting, story and group of characters to follow, though they do retain the loveable nature of Kong himself, of course.

It Is In Its Most Subtle Moments That King Kong Really Earns Its Status As A Classic

The trailers for the new King Kong feature Kong: Skull Island have come with a tagline that simply reads "We Don't Belong Here". It's an eye-catching phrase that stuck out in my mind throughout watching the original 1933 version of King Kong for the very first time, as it's very much true in relating to both the group of human beings who travel to a mysterious island and for the titular ape when he's brought to civilian surroundings in the third act. Before all of that occurs though, a number of sailors, cameramen and a lone actress, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) set out to sea under the guidance of famous director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong).