Kong: Skull Island - 25 Easter Eggs & References You Must See

12. Moby Dick

While there are definitely shades of Colonel Kurtz's detachment from reality in the way Samuel L Jackson's Packard develops, he also takes a parallel path to Captain Ahab in Moby Dick. He becomes obsessed with the idea of conquering his white whale - Kong - and loses his commitment to preserving his own safety and the safety of his men.

His arc actually immediately inspires memories of a classic line in Platoon:

"The village, which had stood for maybe 1,000 years, didn't know we were coming that day. If they had, they would have run. Barnes was at the eye of our rage. And through him, our Captain Ahab. He would set things right again. That day, we loved him."

That could easily be a simple summary of Packard's entire arc.