Godzilla vs. Kong
**I joined the Untitled Cinema Gals Project to discuss “Godzilla vs. Kong” when they talked about their favorite films of 2021. You can listen to that here.
In his entry into Legendary’s Monsterverse, Adam Wingard takes a similar approach to the epic matchup between King Kong and Godzilla that he did with his underrated “Blair Witch” continuation- that is to say, he puts a clever spin on the iconography of what came before prior to just letting it rip with energetic direction and staging that delivers the goods for the genre. I wouldn’t put this at the top of the Monsterverse series (Gareth Edwards’s “Godzilla” still reigns supreme), but it might be the most fun one to watch.
While “Godzilla vs. Kong” very much takes place after 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” it’s much more of a sequel to “Kong: Skull Island,” and indeed, Skull Island is where the action begins. The first thing we see is Kong sleeping, and he gets up and goes through a regular routine, but when when he throws a tree into the sky, we see that he is actually in a “Truman Show”-esque holding pen run by Monarch, the research company that’s been studying the titans like Godzilla and Kong. It is on Skull Island still, which has been covered by rain and the elements since titans began running amok on Earth. Leading the team on Skull Island is Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), a conservationist interested in Kong’s safety, knowing that- if released- Godzilla would come after him. Well, Godzilla has some rampaging of his own to do, and he first goes after a base for APEX Corporation in Pensacola, Florida just as a podcaster (Brian Tyree Henry) is trying to uncover what APEX has going on, and how it relates to the titans. Whatever it is, they will need Kong to help them.
One thing I appreciate about all of the Monsterverse films is that none of them have really overstayed their welcome- yes, “King of the Monsters” possibly could have been cut a bit, but even that isn’t out of the range of an acceptable runtime for one of these movies. It’s how you use that time, anyway, and I don’t know of any who used their duration as efficiently, or effectively, as “Godzilla vs. Kong.” There has always been a tension critically with regards to how the human characters have fit into these movies, with some lamenting the perceived “lack” of action in “Godzilla,” and others lamenting the lack of quality of human writing in these films (a fair criticism, at times, but also, have you seen some of the Toho movies?). “Godzilla vs. Kong” does manage to find a sweet spot where the human characters are developed just as much as they need to be, and more importantly, are at the service of the monster stories. Andrews and Jia (Kaylee Hottle), who has built a rapport with Kong, are the prime examples of this, but having Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) team up with Henry’s Bernie Hayes to see what APEX has going on which might have provoked Godzilla is a great use of the character without feeling like they have to create a further arc for her. Other characters, like Alexander Skarsgård’s Nathan Lind (who has a theory regarding “Hollow Earth” which will come into play), Demián Bichir’s Walter Simmons (the CEO of APEX) and Julian Dennison’s Josh (Madison’s friend who goes with her) are as developed as they need to be to play major roles in the film. Anyone complaining about the characters in this movie are just nitpicking honestly; the original “King Kong vs. Godzilla” was perfectly fine, and had much thinner characters than this does.
Wingard hits the ground running with monster action, and he delivers the goods in every sequence. He understands that Kong and Godzilla are the main characters here, and we see them with personality, but not enough to be cartoonish. Especially when Godzilla and Kong are going at it, it feels as though Wingard is not only treating this like a heavyweight bout, but he’s also putting it little nods to action films he loves. In a sea battle, Kong jumps off an aircraft carrier in a way that reminded me of the iconic jump Bruce Willis makes in “Die Hard.” When they’re going at it in Hong Kong (probably the best set piece in the film), Kong employs some of the strategy Arnold Schwarzenegger used against the Predator. And in getting ready for the melee against APEX’s big reveal, it’s hard not to think of Martin Riggs putting his shoulder back in place in the “Lethal Weapon” films when Kong does the same. I love these little details, and they give “Godzilla vs. Kong” a reverence for the genre that few other films display.
In the end, this is just a fun movie. I saw it on HBOMAX the first time, but as theatres start to reopen around me, I do hope to see it on the big screen. I want to see Ben Seresin’s cinematography and the great visual effects on the biggest screen possible. I want to hear the sound design and Tom Holkenborg’s score with the best sound system a theatre can provide. I just want to watch this movie the way it was meant to be seen. It earns that level of respect.
