Godzilla vs. Kong
Spoilers for Godzilla vs. Kong to follow.
Full disclosure: Godzilla vs. Kong is a movie that is very much My Shit. I unabashedly love these Monsterverse movies for the most part (I’m pretty soft on Kong: Skull Island as a whole, but not Kong as a character) and director Adam Wingard (The Guest, You’re Next) has delivered a brightly colored, fast paced and completely ludicrous Monster Royale that I’ll be playing on repeat for years to come.
The plot goes as such; Godzilla is targeting what was thought to be good guys, so the world thinks he is a threat now (blasphemy) and the race is on to get Kong into Hollow Earth (what’s that you ask? Shut up.) before him and Godzilla rumble to see who is the supreme Titan.
OK, so I’m being a little facetious with that plot description, but that’s because the plot doesn’t really matter. This movie is about Big Ape and Big Lizard fighting. BUT, director Wingard isn’t asking you to just turn off your brain and watch. He wants you to go with the flow obviously, but he is also legitimately trying to engage you with these two iconic characters. He treats both with the proper respect and awe.
I’m a Godzilla boy through and through, but Wingard goes out of his way to get us to root for Kong. Giving the giant monkey an adorable deaf child to be best friends with certainly helps with that, but honestly he feels fully developed as a character here. Anytime he is chained up or being lied to I was full on UPSET. And then Wingard reveals that he is basically modeling the King after 80s action anti-heroes complete with Die Hard and Lethal Weapon 2 references for the character, both of which whip an unholy amount of ass. So yea, I was invested. Ok but seriously, Wingard knows what kind of movie he is making, but instead of making a lifeless blockbuster with zero connection to the titled characters that he could have easily made (and most of us would have probably been perfectly OK with), he actually makes us root for the Titans.
Visually speaking, this is easily the coolest looking of the four Monsterverse movies. Wingard uses tons of neon lighting throughout the film, something I am personally very on board with as an aesthetic. The big fight in Hong Kong is one of the prettiest displays of destruction I’ve ever seen. Wingard and company shoot every fight with clarity and brightness (most of the action takes place during the day) and I cannot overstate how welcome this is.
As for the humans? They’re there. They’re fine. I must admit I don’t get annoyed with the human characters in these films as some people do. I totally get that these movies tend to come to a halt when the monsters aren’t on screen, but I am personally OK with watching Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Kyle Chandler help us pass the time between monster fights, no matter how little sense they’re making. Yes, I am very forgiving in this aspect, I know. But I just don’t get the point of being mad about the human character development when the filmmakers got Godzilla and Kong SO right. But hey, that’s me!
I haven’t said too much about Godzilla yet obviously, and while Kong does get the majority of screen time out of the two, Wingard makes sure our favorite prehistoric Daddy gets his proper respect. I’m honestly trying not to give away some the film’s surprises (even though marketing has spoiled plenty) but suffice to say that things aren’t as they seem at first and Big G brings the pain when the time comes.
The film moves at a breakneck pace (both Titans show up within the first 10-15 minutes) and really doesn’t let up until the final bout, which also helps with any plot concerns or confusing character motivation. Wingard gets in and gets out and the film is better for it.
Overall, I LOVED Godzilla vs. Kong. A perfect monster movie filled with insane visuals and even weirder ideas. I only wish I could have seen it for the first time on a big ass movie screen, but even in the safety of my home this movie rips.