Let’s be honest for a second. Most human characters in giant monster movies are basically walking snacks. They exist to look up at a green screen, scream, and eventually get stepped on or eaten to show how "scary" the monster is.
But then there’s Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard.
When Samuel L. Jackson stepped onto the set of Kong: Skull Island in 2017, he didn’t just play a soldier. He played a man who looked an 100-foot-tall ape in the eye and didn't blink. It’s one of the few times in the entire MonsterVerse where the human antagonist feels just as dangerous as the giant gorilla.
Most people remember the helicopters getting swatted out of the sky. It was a brutal, beautiful scene set to 70s rock. But what really makes the movie work—and what most fans overlook—is that Jackson isn't playing a cartoon villain. He’s playing a man who literally cannot handle the idea of losing another war.
Why Preston Packard is more than just a military trope
Packard is the leader of the Sky Devils, a helicopter squadron finishing their tour in Vietnam. The war is ending. For Packard, that’s the worst news he could get.
Imagine being a "lifer" like him. You've spent years in the jungle, lost men, and suddenly you're told to just pack up and go home while the world calls the mission a failure. Then, Bill Randa (John Goodman) offers him one last ride to an uncharted island.
He jumps at it. Why? Because he needs a win.
When Kong attacks the helicopters, it isn't just a tactical disaster for Packard. It’s a personal insult. Samuel L. Jackson has described the character as a modern-day Captain Ahab. Instead of a white whale, he’s chasing a giant ape. He’s not trying to save the world or even protect his remaining men by the end—he’s trying to prove that man is still the king of the jungle.
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That legendary stare-down
There is a specific shot in the movie that went viral for a reason.
Packard stands on a ridge. Kong stands in the distance, silhouetted against a massive, orange sun. They just look at each other. No dialogue. No "Hold on to your butts" (though he does say that earlier in a great Jurassic Park nod).
It’s pure cinematic ego.
The psychology of a man who refuses to go home
If you watch Skull Island closely, you'll notice Packard starts the movie relatively sane. He cares about his boys. He wants to get them home. But the second Kong spears that first helicopter with a tree, something in Packard snaps.
He begins collecting the dog tags of his fallen soldiers.
It’s a haunting visual. He carries the weight of the dead around his neck, using their "sacrifice" to justify a suicide mission. He ignores the warnings from the tracker, James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), and the photographer, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson). He doesn't care that Kong is actually the "good guy" protecting the island from the Skullcrawlers.
To Packard, Kong is just the newest version of the Viet Cong—an elusive, powerful enemy in a jungle that he refuses to let beat him twice.
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"We are soldiers! We do the dirty work so our families and our countrymen don't have to be afraid!"
That quote sounds heroic on paper. Coming from Packard as he pours napalm into a lake to burn a living creature alive? It’s terrifying. It shows how easily "duty" turns into obsession.
Samuel L. Jackson’s impact on the MonsterVerse
Jackson accepted the role before even reading the script. He just wanted to be in a King Kong movie. He brought a level of intensity that the franchise has struggled to replicate since.
Think about the human villains in the later movies. Godzilla: King of the Monsters had eco-terrorists. Godzilla vs. Kong had a corporate CEO. They were fine, but they didn't have the "Sam Jackson" gravity.
He grounded the movie in a very specific era. By 1973, the world was messy. Nixon was on his way out. The "heroic" era of World War II was long gone. Jackson’s performance captures that bitter, cynical transition perfectly.
The death that everyone saw coming (but still hit hard)
Packard’s end is peak Samuel L. Jackson.
He’s got the detonator. He’s standing right in front of a dazed Kong. He’s about to blow them both to hell just to say he won. And then, he gets a few choice words out—interrupted by a giant fist.
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It wasn't a hero's death. It was the death of a man who was already a ghost.
What we can learn from Packard's obsession
The movie basically functions as a "how-to" guide on what happens when you let grief turn into a grudge. Packard had multiple chances to leave the island. He could have taken his survivors to the extraction point.
Instead, he chose the hunt.
- The Lesson: Never mistake a mission for your identity.
- The Reality: In a world of monsters, the most dangerous thing is often a human who thinks they have nothing left to lose.
- The Legacy: Packard remains the most complex human character in the modern MonsterVerse because he has a clear, tragic motivation.
If you’re revisiting the MonsterVerse, pay attention to the silence in Jackson's performance. Behind the loud orders and the guns, there's a man who is simply terrified of being irrelevant in a world that doesn't need soldiers anymore.
Watch the film again with a focus on the dog tags. Count how many times he looks at them. It changes the entire vibe of the movie from a fun monster flick to a dark character study about the scars of war. If you want to dive deeper into the lore, look up the Skull Island: The Birth of Kong comics—they add even more weight to what Monarch was doing behind Packard's back.
The MonsterVerse might have bigger creatures now, but it hasn't found a bigger personality than Packard.