Godzilla vs. Kong: It's All In The Name
Two of cinema’s biggest icons collide in an all-out brawl in the latest installment into Legendary’s Monsterverse, Godzilla vs. Kong. Although the franchise is still struggling with the human component, Godzilla vs. Kong smartly sticks to its name, delivering bout after bout of stupidly enjoyable, monster-fueled mayhem.
Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, 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, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. 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.
It’s been 58 years since these two film legends appeared on screen together, and while their first bout (1963’s King Kong vs. Godzilla) was charmingly cheesy, their long awaited rematch affectionately takes the gloves off its titular titans to deliver some satisfying, yet mindless carnage. You’re Next and The Guest director Adam Wingard approaches the film from the perspective of a fan; not only does he pepper the film with some cool monster elements (like Godzilla’s atomic breath and Kong’s makeshift axe), but he also listened to what fans wanted. While the film’s BIG showdown in Hong Kong is set during nighttime, you won’t find any inclement weather obstructing your view of it’s monster battles. We even get a fight that happens in the daylight for once, a nifty little water brawl that feels like a little boy playing with his toys in the bathtub (and we mean this in the nicest possible way).
Although Godzilla vs. Kong (GvK) delivers on its giant monster action, the human element is still lacking and bogs down the film (especially Millie Bobby Brown’s segments). Fortunately, GvK pretty evenly distributes screen time between its monsters and humans, so you’re not likely to feel the drag like you did on King of Monsters, which was unnecessarily loaded with boring family drama and a human villain. For all its fine tuning, GvK is still a very busy film with lots of holes that can be poked, if you want to get into the nitty gritty. We are just dropped into the story, which kicks off three years after the events of King of Monsters, so there’s a lot of exposition heavy scenes to wade through. The film does a good job of weaving together the disparate worlds of its leads, but it bobbles some of its franchise elements, which would have greater impact if they were properly set up. You can feel this a bit with Kong (who should have really received another solo film before squaring off against Godzilla) and the film’s Hollow Earth storyline (which is easy to forget because it’s scarcely discussed), but mainly, one of the film’s key surprises feels weakened by its lack of overall setup.
There are essentially 2.5 storylines going on in GvK’s breezy 113-minute runtime, which can basically be broken down into team Kong or team Godzilla. Kong’s crew is a bunch of new characters, scientists that are both his caretakers (who shield him from Godzilla’s titan radar) and see him as an integral part to finding Hollow Earth and its mysterious power source. Team Godzilla finds King of Monsters actress Millie Bobby Brown returning to run off with her only friend to find a conspiracy theorist who’s about to uncover a secret underground facility. In between those two stories is a corporate plot to reclaim the earth from the titans. Like we said, GvK crams a lot — maybe too much — into its reasonable runtime, and while the human stories that fill in the gaps between monster fights are still a bit lackluster, they at least help to progress the plot, unlike past Monsterverse films.
The film has a really excellent cast, including Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Julian Dennison, amongst others. For the most part, all the actors deliver solid performances, but it’s the film’s newcomer, Kaylee Hottle, who plays Jia, a young, mute orphan Iwi native who shares a special bond with Kong, that steals the show. More than any other performer, Hottle, who comes from an all-Deaf family, lights up the screen and gives a very expressive performance that creates a palpably sweet chemistry between man and monster. This is all the more impressive considering she’s never acted before. In contrast to performers like Millie Bobby Brown, Hottle makes them feel more performative and false.
Overall, the monsters do the heavy lifting in Godzilla vs. Kong, as they rightly should. While there’s a certain allure to the monster suits from the days of old, the CGI technology better equips these critters to carry a feature film on their own shoulders. They’re more expressive, which allows their characters to shine more clearly and have a more cinematic relationship. The film isn’t without its problem and could have benefited from more franchise planning and script tweaks, but all in all, it’s a lot of silly, brainless fun.
Recommendation: If you want to see a film where big monsters hit each other and tear up cities, Godzilla vs. Kong has the monster brawls to quench your desire. Just don’t expect too much more than that.
Rating: 3.5 smackdowns outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!