Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs Kong is the fourth installment of Legendary’s cinematic monsterverse and the most anticipated crossover, with two legendary monster icons meeting in a battle for the ages, while the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, who has been cutting a swath of destruction across the globe for mysterious reasons. The epic clash between the two titans—instigated by unseen forces—is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth.
I have been so excited for this film since it’s build up in Kong: Skull Island, and I have waited many years to see these two monsters rematch on the big screen ever since their first crossover in the 1962 film. People have had various thoughts on all the monsterverse films leading up to this one, some of them not positive, but everyone was still very pumped for this based on what we were promised by the filmmakers. And boy did they deliver! I freaking love this movie!
Adam Wingard gives us a monster bash for the ages that has insanely epic action, a crazy but strong and self aware story, fantastic visuals, gorgeous effects, and of course Kong and Godzilla in such glorious fashion. It knows exactly what it is and knows exactly what we want and gives it to us without some of the issues many of the previous films in the monsterverse have had. The monsters are more integral and are the true driving points that push the story forward, rather than the humans, which was a genius decision. The film actually lives up to the title Godzilla vs Kong and not Human Drama featuring Godzilla and Kong. Also, it was great that both Godzilla and Kong felt like actual characters as well, their own personalities making them more than just savage beasts bringing about destruction. There is also a great reason behind their conflict that isn’t just crammed into the film, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Kong was definitely the underdog of the story and is probably the titan that most people will end up relating to the most, as he’s very humanlike and has the most heartfelt scenes. He looked absolutely amazing and he had such a great arc in this film that I felt completely engaged in.
Godzilla has his own story going on as well, as he is going around the world bringing destruction in certain places, which we don’t understand at first but soon find out as the film progresses. Godzilla was epic as hell in this film, an absolute badass beast, and people will definitely find ways to root for him too. Also, there is this hilarious shot with Godzilla that people may think is totally out of character for him, but honestly it was totally great and again added character to him.
In the end you never really feel one sided when it comes to both titans, because there are always reasons to love them both and cheer them on even as they go beat the shit out of each other. Even when the story does cut to the humans they are all actually pretty great. They all have great performances, and due to the self aware nature of the film they are mostly given basic development, since the main focus is on our titular monsters. If you are looking for characters with depth this isn’t the film for you, but then again that’s the point. We know the human characters’ motives, their traits, and what side they’re on as they all get caught in the crossfire of the colossal clash. However, I will say while everyone did deliver some good performances, there were some great stand outs that I really liked.
The little girl Jia, played amazingly by Kaylee Hottle, and her bond with Kong are the heart and soul of the film, offering some surprisingly touching and emotional moments, even with all the carnage that goes on. In a way she represented the John C. Reilly part of this film, although less focused on comedy and more focused on the heart. This is probably going to be another reason people might end up being more sympathetic to Kong, because of the bond these two share.
Another stand out was on the Godzilla side of things, with Millie Bobby Brown returning as Madison Russell, delivering a great performance as she continues to break out of the Stranger Things role and really show her talent.
Then there is Brian Tyree Henry, who plays as paranoid conspiracy theorist named Bernie Hayes, teaming up with Madison as they investigate Godzilla’s behavior. He is the funniest character in this entire film, delivering some really entertaining scenes anytime the film cuts back to this team. And since he is a paranoid conspiracy theorist it is funny to see how he reacts when some of his theories up being proven right.
I will say the human team for Kong is better since it does have more focus on the story. The human team for Godzilla was totally fine, plus they actually do end up discovering something important in the end so they don’t waste your time. The story itself is simple, self-aware and tightly paced. It knows what viewers want and delivers on it every single time. No needless drama that drags the film to a halt, it just goes for the kill, giving us epic fights and a fun sci-fi adventure.
I love that this film got to explore the Hollow Earth that was partly shown in the last film, something I was hoping to see more of. It expands the mythology of the monsterverse in interesting ways, while also offering an adventurous journey that ends up being important for our two titans and the characters.
The entire second half of the film and the final act in particular is endlessly, unapologetically awesome all the way through. The action in this film and way that it is filmed by Adam Wingard is honestly the best action of the entire monsterverse, as well as probably the most visually stunning of the monsterverse, even more than King of the Monsters. Adam Wingard and his team clearly went all out when making this film, it felt as if we were witnessing the adrenaline spiking clash of the best monsters ever created in cinema history. It really shows just how far we have come from guys who were fighting in monster costumes where you could see the zippers plain as day, contrasting with these incredibly animated behemoths that kick serious ass. The action is never boring and you are never taken out of it to cut away to shit no one cares for. For those who are into this film just for the fighting, you will not be disappointed in the slightest.
Plus it’s also great to see how unique the fight is, given the skills of both titans and how they use various means to defeat each other. They aren’t mindless monsters, they have intelligence and they use it, making the fights far more interesting and investing, especially given they are witnessed in huge shots thanks to incredible cinematography. And if that isn’t enough, all this wonderful action and chaos is backed up by an absolutely stellar score from none other than Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL). He still stands as one of the best film composers of our current generation and does not disappoint here, as he gives his all to enhance the heart pumping thrills and visual spectacles we get on screen. Got to love all of his amazing work.
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Now I do want to talk a little bit about Mechagodzilla without going into too much detail regarding his exact role in this film. But when he does show up he is fucking awesome, and once again lives up to his old title of being the mechanical titan of terror. Most people have known he was going to be in this ever since the first trailer dropped, as well as some unfortunately leaked marketing, but the way he is built up and integrated in the story is actually done very well and serves a purpose, it gave me such goosebumps leading up to his full reveal and did not disappoint me in the slightest. It has been 18 long years since Mechagodzilla has made a film appearance and I felt like a kid again seeing him back on screen.
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I absolutely loved this film from beginning to end. It’s going to satisfy a lot of people who have wanted the best and biggest monster brawl of all time. And while the film does have some themes and surprising emotional impact in some places, it’s not meant to be taken super seriously, and even the film itself knows it’s not super serious. It delivers what was promised, along with many other things that I think people are going to absolutely go nuts for. And I can proudly say this is by far my favorite film of the monsterverse. I’m going to give Godzilla vs Kong an A.
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