IT’S KONG! Like you have never seen him before.

No, seriously.

If you’re like me, you’ve been watching giant gorillas across the decades and except for Kong’s debut appearance climbing the Empire State Building and an appearance fighting Godzilla, giant apes and their movies have been somewhat of a disappointment. Yes, I know Kong has appeared in at least a dozen movies and at least one remake. Still didn’t care. I cringe whenever I think of King Kong Escapes (1962) when he fights Mecha-Kong.

Besides violating the Square-Cube Law, which most science fiction viewers are perfectly okay with, movies with Kong just don’t convey the majesty of a hundred foot tall gorilla with an attitude problem.

Until now.

The final released trailer for Kong yesterday blows the doors off of everything you thought you wanted to see in a Kong movie but were afraid to hope for. Merged with the Animals, We’ve Got to Get Out of this Place is the perfect theme song for this movie.

Big helicopters. Check. Bigger guns. Check. Foolish humans who believe they can take Kong down. Check. Monster Island. Check. Nope, don’t think too deeply about how an island of monstrous super-beasts could exist without ever being discovered. That’s not important. If it helps, imagine they live in a shadow universe out of conjunction with ours except on Tuesdays. What’s important is just how damned amazing Kong looks.

• Giant monsters from across the biological spectrum: Air, earth, water, and from what we have seen, thus far. KONG is running this. The visuals are incredible, both the cinematography and the CGI. The actors are all perennial favorites including Samuel Jackson, with a crazy gorilla-killing glint in his eye. (You know he’s doomed but you can’t wait to see how he dies.)
• Tom Hiddleston (famous for his MCU Loki) is calmly discussing just how much money he is going to need to take up this mission. Nope. It just won’t be enough. He had me after his introduction: “An uncharted island. Let me list all the ways you’re gonna die: rain, heat, disease-carrying flies and we haven’t started on the things that want to eat you alive…” Along with the masterful cutting in this scene, it made me want to teleport into the future and see it right NOW.
• The lovely Brie Larson as Mason Weaver. Probably one of the toughest members of this team, just because she may be the only woman with this group of roughnecks.
• John C. Reilly, one of my personal favorites appears to be setting up the role of the eccentric who told you to leave but you though you knew what you were doing.
• John Goodman as the leader of this doomed expedition – I expect him to turn the ham dial to 11.
• Corey Hawkins as Houston Brooks looks all new and fresh and absolutely the last man you would expect to be on an island with giant monsters, super gorillas, and death in any number of special flavors.

I admit to not wanting to see it when I saw the first trailers. Another giant gorilla movie, I thought, a movie where they use Kong’s name in vain. Let’s face it, if you’re most famous and memorable appearances are for climbing a tall building(King Kong; 1933) and maybe smashing Godzilla in the face (King Kong vs Godzilla; 1962), it may be time for a make-over.

If the Scifi-gods are kind, this may be the definitive appearance Kong has been waiting for.

Kong: Skull Island debuts on March 10, 2017. I can honestly say after this spoiler-filled trailer (for which I am ever-thankful) I can’t wait. Go, Kong!

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