Movie review
March 8, 2017 · 118 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Kong: Skull Island follows a 1973 team of Monarch scientists, Vietnam-era soldiers, and an anti-war photographer who venture to an uncharted Pacific island and battle giant creatures including Kong after their explosive mapping mission provokes the island's protector. The narrative draws explicit parallels to the Vietnam War's end, framing military hubris and aggression as destructive forces ultimately humbled by nature and a more peaceful outlook. Anti-war dialogue and the critique of obsessive militarism appear through character arcs and imagery but remain tied to the period setting rather than overt modern identity framing.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Kong: Skull Island.
Woke representation / casting
Ensemble includes prominent Black actors (Samuel L. Jackson as military commander, Corey Hawkins as scientist) and Brie Larson in a capable journalist role; diversity is visible but fits 1973 military/scientific expedition context without audience-visible quotas, mismatches, or signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Weaver delivers direct anti-war lines favoring peace over violence; Packard’s military obsession is framed as self-destructive hubris; dialogue carries period-appropriate ideological weight without modern activist jargon.
Identity-driven story themes
Core story engine is survival, man-versus-nature, and war trauma rather than race, gender, sexuality, or identity conflicts; no central arcs or messaging built around these elements.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Film presents US military intervention and post-Vietnam aggression as reckless and emasculating, with nature/Kong and the anti-war photographer prevailing; clear critique of the war machine and invasion of pristine territory, though anchored in 1973 events.
Woke character or canon changes
Shifts Kong from 1933 adventure/romance icon to 1973 Vietnam-era noble protector defending against human invaders; omits traditional beauty-and-the-beast subplot in favor of platonic alliance; deliberate reinterpretation discussed in marketing but not a major public flashpoint.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Virtually no backlash framing the film as pushing woke, DEI, or left-wing propaganda; complaints stayed at general plot or effects level with politics noted only as allegory.
Creator track record context
No strong pattern of activist or identity-driven prior work from director or key creatives; historical/political themes appear in Borenstein’s filmography but remain distinct from current social-justice framing.
Production
