Film Review: Godzilla Vs. Kong

Though the public reception to the “MonsterVerse” has been somewhat mixed overall, I’ve really grown to love and admire these movies for exploring these iconic cinematic titans in their own distinct way with each installment. Going from an existential mood piece with Spielbergian influences to gonzo Vietnam inspired comic book splash pages to an epic sci-fi monster mash; taking all these wild directions really set it apart from other big franchises that are happening right now. These films are not without faults, but they swing for the fences, and I find myself revisiting them with increasing returns. But I suppose it helps to already have a soft spot for these kinds of films, having grown up watching countless giant monster movies.

The latest is the much anticipated Godzilla Vs. Kong, not only serving as a follow-up to Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, and Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, but also a riff on Toho’s King Kong Vs. Godzilla from 1962. The film opens with Kong already in Monarch captivity, watched over by a team led by Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) with the help of Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a young deaf native of Skull Island who has a special bond with Kong. Meanwhile, Godzilla has been mysteriously wreaking havoc, and a conspiracy podcaster, Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), is trying to find out why, and with the assistance of Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friend, Josh (Julian Dennison).

There’s also Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir), the CEO of Apex Cybernetics, who has a vested interest in taking down Godzilla and other titans once and for all, and the answers he seeks might be rooted in the hollow Earth theory, which was theorized by Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) as the home for these titans. So, Nathan begins working with Ilene to use Kong as a way to find the entrance to the hollow Earth, but their plans are disrupted when Godzilla suddenly attacks, and a fight between the two giants ensue.

The film is directed by Adam Wingard, and written by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, the latter of whom had a hand in writing all the previous films in the MonsterVerse franchise. Wingard is a filmmaker that I’m rather fond of, and you can definitely feel some of his irreverent touches. I especially dig some of the needledrops in here. While it is certainly debatable whether or not it’s overall better than any of the other films in the series, does seem to learn a lot of the lessons from its predecessors, and perhaps even taking a few cues from Pacific Rim. It moves at a fast clip, and doesn’t stray too far from what it’s trying to sell us.

Each plot thread is pushing the story forward, and devoted to paying off questions like, “why is Godzilla attacking everyone?,” “what is Apex up to?,” and “is there something to the hollow Earth theory?” There are still perhaps one too many characters involved, as much as I like Eiza González, her contribution as Maya, Walter’s daughter, don’t add up to all that much. Same could be said of Dennison, and maybe Kyle Chandler’s Mark Russell. The film certainly has its fair share of nits to pick, but it does a fine job overall at getting to the good stuff quick, and adding as much colorful personality as it can in between the big fights.

Speaking of, the fights are spectacular. They are hyped up like wrestling matches, and it offers moments and beats that give Godzilla and Kong distinctive characteristics and fighting styles. Kong carries himself like a “too old for this shit” action hero from the late 80s and early 90s who can use his agility to his advantage, especially in working around his environment while Godzilla acts as this brute, animalistic force with Terminator-esque determination. Their initial confrontation is a blast, but the last two action set pieces, which cover almost the entire final 40 minutes, is a perfectly constructed, neon soaked, roller coaster ride that had me smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.

Godzilla Vs. Kong is obviously not the most demanding film, but it isn’t without its wonderful touches. The commentary on corporate greed and its exploitation of the natural world is a broad one, but it works well with the film. I also really liked the sound design, especially at points where it would fade away, and put us in Jia’s perspective. I was quite impressed with Hottle’s work in general. She not only works well off her more experienced co-stars, but she adds a lot of heart, bringing that human connection to Kong that has always defined his cinematic outings. And of course, credit has to be given to the film’s VFX teams, bringing so much detail, personality, and presence to these giant creatures. Tom Holkenborg’s score also heightens a lot of the excitement and bombast, even if I do wish he incorporated some of Alexandre Desplat’s Godzilla theme. But all that said, the film is a blast through and through. Sure it may be just a silly beat ’em up, but there’s a lot here that is inspired and ambitious and just plain cool. It’s a great and worthy addition to the cinematic oeuvre of Godzilla and King Kong, and I can’t wait to see this a dozen more times.

 

Godzilla Vs. Kong is now out in theaters and on HBO Max up until May 1st.