Godzilla vs. Kong is a 2021 action adventure film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to both Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Kong: Skull Island (2017), it is the fourth film in Legendary's MonsterVerse. After a devastating and seemingly unprovoked attack by Godzilla, Kong is transported to a place known as “Hollow Earth” in an attempt to stop any future collateral damage.
The cast includes Alexander Skarsgård (“Big Little Lies,” “The Little Drummer Girl”), Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”), Rebecca Hall (“Christine,” “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women”), Brian Tyree Henry (“Joker,” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”), Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Deadpool 2), and Eiza González (Baby Driver, Hobbs & Shaw).
THE GOOD
To a certain extent we know what to expect with a movie like Godzilla vs. Kong, but that’s half the fun. This movie is an absolute blast and begs to be seen on the big screen with the sound piercing through your veins. I felt like a kid again watching these two battle it out, destroying entire cities in the process. Even though it was dropping on HBO Max the same day as theaters, I made sure to see it in theaters first. I have since watched it at home as well, and nothing compares to the theater experience so do yourself a favor and spend that $10 or whatever the ticket costs even if you watched it at home already, you will thank me later.
The bread and butter of this movie is the battle scenes, and they are glorious. 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters was a disappointment for a number of reasons, but paramount of the issues was the fact that the epic fight scenes were largely non-existent. I mean people showed up with their popcorn and candy expecting to get the goods, but it never really came. The good news is, Godzilla vs. Kong learned from those mistakes, and gives us a front row seat for some intense battles. I could watch these two go head to head all day, maybe even all night if I can sneak in a nap or two. Godzilla and Kong get into it like nobodies business, but make no mistake, this is a King Kong movie at the end of the day. The story is built around Kong so it lives and dies with his direct connection to prior events impacting what takes place in this film. Godzilla still has a big part in the overall plot of course and tips the first domino, but the allegiances of the main characters are with the giant ape.
The technical side of things are top-notch, the best a $160 million budget can buy. From the CGI, to the soundtrack and cinematography, everything feels alive and in your face. Godzilla and Kong both look amazing, and the cities are beautiful and alive, before they destroy them of course. I don’t think we could have done much better.
The cast in this Godzilla vs. Kong is absolutely stacked. We are treated with a grown up Stranger Things alum Millie Bobby Brown, and her sidekick Julian Dennison of Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Deadpool 2 fame. If that wasn’t enough, “Mr. Friday Night Lights coach Taylor Kyle Chandler plays Brown’s dad. They are teamed up with Brian Tyree Henry in a role slight different than what we are used to seeing from him.
We also have the great Alexander Skarsgård who was formerly a force to he reckoned with in HBO’s True Blood, and quite the ladies man if I remember correctly. We also have Rebecca Hall, Eiza González, and Demián Bichir just to rounds things out. Demián Bichir seems to be in everything these days as he was just in the drama Land as well. Like I said, a great cast and really just a reunion of talent even though some were better utilized than others.
THE BAD
I don’t really have many issues with Godzilla vs. Kong, it gave me everything I was hoping for in a pre-summer blockbuster and then some. But, it wasn’t perfect especially if you start focusing on imperfections which I think are more glaring when watching from versus the all encompassing theater environment.
One of my issues had to do with the use of Julian Dennison and his abilities as a comedic actor. Sure he’s been typecast in his last few movies as far as the type of character he plays, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right? The New Zealand native is only 18-years old, but he has already made quite a name for himself and Godzilla vs. Kong just didn’t give him the opportunity to impact the comedic element of the movie which is really too bad. Mexican actress and singer Eiza González is absolutely beautiful and I would marry her in a second, but her character was extremely out of place and seemed to only serve as eye candy. Again I am fine with that, but still worth pointing out.
I also felt like much of the plot felt rushed causing some of the conclusions to lack the kind of satisfaction you would expect. I mean this is not an overly long movie at just under 2 hours, but I feel like they must have made some significant cuts to bring down the run time which hurt the story. Keep an eye out for the uncut/extended edition 4K Blu-ray, because I have a feeling it will be worth every penny.
THE VERDICT
An absolute visual powerhouse that gives fans exactly what they were hoping for and then some, Godzilla vs. Kong is the perfect movie to justify a trip to the theater and hopefully a sign of great things to come. I had a blast with this movie, and it felt great to see such a big turnout with people reserving seats in advance for showings over the weekend. The theater was full, with social distancing guidelines in place of course, and the energy was electric. It felt like the good old days at the movie theater which sometimes feels like 10 years ago. You can certainly enjoy this at home as well, but if you skip the theater you will regret it. Highly recommended.
TED TAKES RATING - 8.5/10
Godzilla vs. Kong is now in theaters and available on HBO Max. Check out the trailer below.