Godzilla Vs Kong
What better way to spend a pandemic than watch a giant radioactive lizard fight a giant ape? On paper that might sound dumb, but the movie delivers on all of the dumb fun you’d expect from a movie like this. Godzilla Vs Kong is the rematch between Godzilla and King Kong. As well as the fourth entry in Warner Bros’s Monsterverse, which consists of Godzilla 2014, Kong Skull Island, Godzilla King of the Monsters.
Having first fought in 1962, the original film was an old-school cheesy rubber suit WWE wrestling match. With Godzilla looking like a hand puppet and Kong looking like roadkill. But it did have a campy charm that resonated with audiences, to the point of wondering what a big-budget remake would look like. Thanks to director Adam Wingard (The Guest, Death Note) we can finally see it.
The plot follows Godzilla, who seemingly has turned on humanity. As he’s going around and destroying buildings, and causing all kinds of popcorn-munching havoc. Monarch (the company behind controlling the monsters) is confused as to why this is happening. Bring in Kong to see if he can settle the odds, but they soon discover there might be more going on than initially thought. While people don’t go to these movies for the plot and humans, they are still an essential part of the movie. In the previous film Godzilla King of the Monsters, the plot had that feel to it. But it was bogged down by human drama that felt a little too unbelievable, even for a movie
with a giant lizard and three-headed dragon. Godzilla Vs Kong, on the other hand, carries a good balance between silly and reality. With the idea of Godzilla running amuck, and the military bringing in a monster to stop him (Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla II, and Mothra Vs Godzilla to name a couple).
The people in the film, while not three-dimensional characters are a step up from the previous film. The people are divided into a Kong story and Godzilla story. Rebecca Hall, who plays the lead scientist in charge of Kong. Does a good job at being the more serious anchor to the film, having to deliver all of the exposition. Jia, a deaf child and a native to Kong’s island, provides a lot of surprising heart to the film. The Kong storyline takes up most of the movie, but seeing how Kong has always been a more expressive and sympathetic character it works well.
The Godzilla storyline, we have Millie Bobby Brown (the daughter from the previous film), and Brian Tyree Henry, a conspiracy podcaster who believes Godzilla has a reason for his attacks. This storyline is more for comedic relief, and often feels like a Scooby-Doo episode (someone how they can sneak into a government base without being noticed). But the actors do have some funny banter with each other. Speaking of Godzilla, Wingard gives him a more antagonistic role here. A nice change of pace from the previous films, and harkens back to the original Godzilla films. Especially when we see Godzilla battling the military. It also gives him a more animalistic personality.
But the main reason people go to these movies is the monsters, and the movie delivers! Having three fights between Godzilla and Kong, each character having their time to shine in the fights While also delivering on the promised winner. Wingard does a fantastic job here, especially in terms of lighting. Unlike the previous Godzilla films, where the fights happen at night or with rain and fog in the way. Here we get fights during the day, or with buildings lit up with neon lights. So you can see all of the action clearly. The CGI is also a lot better, with the daylight you can see more detail on the skins of the monsters. As well as some funny facial expressions. Godzilla and Kong both get to deliver some cool attacks, and Wingard does a good job at including some easter eggs in there for the old-school fans as well!
At the end of the day, Godzilla Vs Kong is a fun silly old school monster movie. Giving you exactly what you want with the monster battles, a human narrative with just enough development to keep you interested, and even improving on the lighting and giving the monsters some extra personalities! If monster movies are your kind of thing, then this movie is definitely a must-watch.