A group sent to map a previously unknown island gets more than they bargained for in Kong: Skull Island, the second movie in the “Monarch” continuity started with the recent US Godzilla flick.

This movie is clearly designed to serve two purposes: to introduce Kong (and maybe some human characters), and to open the world up to get more monsters so they can Let Them Fight.

Both goals are served pretty well, though it would’ve made more sense for this to be a Mothra movie. Other than not actually dying and being reborn (Mothra’s go-to party trick), Kong is pretty much playing the role of Mothra here. Frankly, I expected to see an Iwi shrine to Mothra and an egg pop up somewhere.

But the current endgame is the (now even more) ridiculous notion of a fight of Godzilla vs. King Kong, and Kong has home country advantage in the US, so Kong it is.

Kong is a force to be reckoned with and (as expected) lives on an island full of monsters occupied by a small tribe of natives. I was disappointed we didn’t see even more kinds of monsters, but because of the ecosystem on the island, it makes sense a lot of species would’ve died out.

So dire is the situation, that Kong appears to be the last of his kind. He’s not happy about that, but the movie doesn’t play to that pathos as much as to the concept that Kong is protecting the world we know (and this previously unknown part of it) from greater menaces that are closer and more dangerous than even the folks at Monarch imagine.

By literally opening the door to a world of monsters, this movie charts out the playing field for what’s to come. This film is set immediately after the US left Vietnam in 1973 so characters would not only have to survive this ordeal, but live another 45 years to make it to a sequel.

That means we probably won’t see many of them again, and that’s a shame because the human characters are the framework of the story and provide a nice mix of motivations and attitudes. John C. Reilly as Marlow steals the show, of course, but there are enough interesting characters at work to provide tension within the group.

Overall, this Kong movie is an exciting adventure that gives us a taste of what’s to come. The monster is smart and powerful in this environment but would be dwarfed by the insanely huge Monarch Godzilla. Any newborn Minillas better steer clear, but I don’t think the big G has anything to worry about.