'Kong: Skull Island' - Trailer #2 Breakdown

So I completely got bogged down with work back when the comic-con trailer for 'Kong: Skull Island' dropped and was unable to get a trailer breakdown out to you folks quickly enough. Luckily I can make up for it by breaking down the latest exciting trailer and giving my predictions about the film. Let's do this guys!

First off we get a good look at the set-up of the film. It seems like they may be borrowing some from the 1976 Kong in that these people seem to be on some sort of survey mission. I do really like the design of the island as it does really evoke a skull without being completely over the top.

So this is the first of many repeat shots from the original trailer but it is a very important one. It looks like they are suggesting that Skull Island is constantly hidden behind a hurricane and the viral marketing via discoverskullisland.com further confirms that idea. I think it's actually a way more interesting idea than the usual "hidden in perpetual fog" since if I were a ship captain I would more likely avoid this giant storm system.

Really cool shot of the bombs exploding being reflected in this dude's glasses. This movie is extremely well shot and is oozing with personality in every frame. I really dig it. I like the idea that they piss Kong off by dropping these survey bombs. Probably not the best idea guys.

"Is that a monkey?" is probably the funniest line in the whole trailer and is extremely well timed. Not a huge Toby Kebbell fan but no one can deny the greatness of this line of dialogue.

Now it's time for the shot from the EW interview earlier this week. I'm really impressed with how much they were able to sneak the '33 Kong's design in there but there are definitely elements of '76 Kong and maybe even a little Toho Kong in there too. Very impressive design work.

This shot looks almost directly ripped from 'King Kong Lives' which could be a good or bad thing. Needless to say I think that the people in this chopper are the dead soldiers that John Goodman talks about later on in the trailer.when Kong gets mad there are few survivors.

Once again this film impresses with its visuals! I think that this shot directly connects to the Kong on fire shot and is definitely from the climax of the film. It seems like Samuel L. Jackson is the human antagonist and takes the death of his men by Kong very seriously. 

A better look at the outside of the village in which the group of heroes is threatened by the villagers with spears. As far as we can see it seems that these villagers on Skull Island have no giant wall protecting them and they live in harmony with Kong. The yellow design on the ruins is pretty cool and matches the outfits the villagers are wearing. Is it a language or just cool design?

And its time to introduce the most controversial person in this trailer! John C. Reilly is playing what appears to be a WWII fighter pilot that crashed landed on Skull Island and has been living there for quite some time. He may be a little crazy (ala Lawrenc Fishburne's character in Predators) which would explain his humor and general disconnect from all of the other characters we have seen thus far. Most people have been saying this is a huge tone shift but I just think we are seeing a very small piece of this character and he won't be jokes all of the time. 

Very very interesting imagery here! Why just make a mural when we can paint a bunch of different pillars to form Kong's face once we pan around. Not very practical but on the other hand it is very cool.

The hero shot! Judging from the information given in both of the trailers it really seems like the group of people from the ship get split up at some point and with Sam Jackson being the villain I assume most of the military guys get roped onto his side.

The Shadow of the Colossus shot as I have come to call it. I love that wemay see some just day in the life of Kong stuff instead of Kong always being in kill everyone mode. We rarely get to see the monsters just living their day to day lives. You also get a good glimpse of his massive size here. While he still may not be Godzilla size he is definitely on his way there.

Look at those back muscles! I love Peter Jackson's realistic Kong but there is something so right about seeing an upright Kong.

"You don't go into some's house and start dropping bombs unless your picking a fight!"
 This dialogue really establishes that Kong is going to be more of an Anti-hero in this film instead of the out right villain. In the past we have felt bad for Kong but it seems they are really trying to make us root for him.

The lair of the Skull Crawlers seems to be filled with various skeletons and overall just seems like a very bad place. I'm guessing one of the scientifc devices from earlier caused the tunnel to become exposed.

I'm really guessing that these may be Kong's parents that were killed by the Skull Crawlers. Also I think this gives us a good glimpse at how big fully grown Kong will be. These skeletons have got to be close to 250 feet long at least which while not Godzilla's size would be a good size to fight him.

Our first glimpse of the Skull Crawlers is tinged with a strange blue light and the creature itself seems to be glowing. Some sort of crazy ability? A beam weapon like Godzilla's breath?

The Skull Crawlers have a very interesting design that reminds me of Clover and the MUTOs in the way that they move. I do like that they are like serpents with only front legs though.

A more interesting design choice is their eyes being so far back on their head. Also they've got some really gnarly teeth going on there.

We know that this film is not going to follow the traditional Kong story but its nice to see that they are going to make some sort of reference to the Kong being entralled with a girl aspect. I just hope they don't go too far like '76 Kong did.

Here we have this crazy cool giant Ox coming out of the water. I like that we are seeing more of the Ecosystem of the island and how it can maintain such large predators like th Skull Crawlers and Kong.

Definitely from the Climax of the film and is most likely the moment where Sam Jackson realizes that he's fighting on the wrong side. This most likely is his death scene.

If you ever wanted to see Kong really mad all you need to do is set him on fire. Once again I love the imagery on display here.

Ah the iconic chest beating scene. You really get a good look at his brown fur here...which I really like. It furthers him from a normal gorrilla which helps him feel like his own species.

Is that Kumongra?! Nah, but it is a cool giant spider that we saw in the first trailer as well.

Nice to see John C. Reily is going to kick ass as well. It is interesting that the heroes have seemingly met back up with the military guys here. Maybe once the Skull Crawlers attack shit just hits the fan and causes everyone to work together? I also wonder if John C. Reily's character was the one we saw fighting a guy on the top of th mountain in the first trailer. Maybe it'll be a flashback showing when he crash landed on the island.

When did I put in 'Platoon'?!

I'm guessing this is some sort of Queen/Alpha Skull Crawler that will be Kong's final enemy in the film. It's interesting because all of the ones seen in the Skeleton graveyard seem to be pretty small. I think this may be the same one that was stalking towards Sam Jackson earlier. Also I am loving the skull look of their heads.

A really good look a Kong's scale in comparison to the humans.

We also get a glimpse at this crazy bug thing that seems to use a log as a hiding place. Very cool and is really adding to the ecosystem of Skull Island. I think it is very likly that they will rename the island Monster Island by the end of 'Kong vs Godzilla' which would be a pretty cool reference to the Toho films.

Well that guy is dead! The Skull Crawlers definitely have a unique way of moving around and it will be interesting to see Kong fight these slithering beasties.

Chest beat number two and this time it's to the drumbeat of the song. I love it when trailers do that!

Slightly new logo design with elements taken from the villager's ruins.

And finally one las shot of the Skull Crawler charging toward the screen after a horribly edited piece of dialogue from John C. Reily. Really can see the skull on the outside of their faces from the front.

Did you enjoy the trailer? What do you think of the Skull Crawlers? Did the tone of the new trailer scare you away from the final film?