Godzilla vs Kong is a 2021 monster film directed by Adam Wingard, starring Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Eiza Gonzalez and Kylie Hotle. In the film, Kong clashes with Godzilla as humans lead the ape into the Hollow Earth to retrieve an energy source to stop Godzilla’s mysterious rampages.

The MonsterVerse is as interesting as it’s entertaining and although there have been some bumps in the storytelling, I can admit that this film actually does have a good story. When the film starts it doesn’t waste any time. There are three main storylines going on. The first follows Monarch’s efforts to stop a raging Godzilla from terrorizing the planet. It’s got a nostalgic feel to it as Godzilla’s first film appearance he was a villain. It shows just much of a terrifying force of nature he is. The second storyline follows a group of scientists using Kong to find a new power source produced in the Hollow Earth. This is a good story as it does a good job of giving more backstory to the overall setup as well more context to Kong’s history. And the last storyline follows a conspiracy theorist attempting to uncover the secrets behind a mysterious organization called Apex Cybernetics. This is probably the storyline that could’ve had a little more work although it does feel necessary.

Now first and foremost, this is a movie about these two titans: Godzilla and Kong, who come together for some good old fashion monster brawls. And the film has a lot of action to it and sometimes when it does cut away from that the film does tend to slow down. The film’s pacing helped to compensate as although I wanted to see more Godzilla and Kong I never looked at the time. The film has a lot of action, and the stakes are as high as they’ve ever been, But there’s a lot of heart to it, particularly when it comes to Kong’s story. There’s a bit of a twist at the end but if you’re paying attention you’ll see it coming a mile away. But the payoff is well worth it. The ending was epic and brought the film to a satisfying conclusion. (4 out of 5)

I do admit one of the biggest problems with most kaiju films are the characters and just how uninteresting, underdeveloped, or unnecessary they are. This film does have a big cast and unfortunately some characters are not really needed. Leading the way is Dr. Nathan Lind, Dr. Ilene Andrews, and Jia who are following Kong to the source in the Hollow Earth. Much of the story follows these characters and they do get fleshed out. Lind is a Monarch geologist and chief cartographer who charts the mission to Hollow Earth. I do like his gradual change becoming less reluctant and more brave. really enjoyed the relationship between linguist Andrews and her adoptive daughter Jia. This is the heart of the film and how their relationship goes hand-in-hand with Jia’s relationship with Kong again makes for a deep story.

Bernie Hayes is probably one of the better characters in the film. He serves a conspiracy theorist attempting to uncover the secrets of Apex Cybernetics. It plays a bit of the comedy relief but it’s not overplayed and again, gives the film a lot of context. Unfortunately, Madison Russell is one of those unnecessary characters. I can see potential in the character but like the previous film she doesn’t need to be in the film. Her father Mark Russell who’s Monarch’s deputy Director of special projects just feels as unnecessary as she does. Especially her friend Josh Valentine.

Of course, we have out human antagonist and they’re okay. I get the motivation behind their actions but I just don’t like them. Walter Simmons is the CEO of Apex Cybernetics and is using his resources to combat the titans but we don’t know if he truly believes in humanity’s place in the world, or if he’s power hungry, or if it’s money driven. Maya is Simmons daughter and there’s literally nothing to her character. And she could’ve had great character development. She could’ve been the insight into the company instead of Madison. Even Ren Serizawa, who’s the son of Ishiro Serizawa, isn’t memorable. Hell, I didn’t even know that was his son the film did such a poor job of fleshing him out.

But let’s talk about the true stars of the film: Kong and Godzilla. They were freaking amazing. Up until this film Godzilla has been a good guy and so it’s good seeing him unleashing his brutality. He is a complete monster and it’s easy to see why he’s so intimidating. Kong is a bit more complex. He’s suffering from his lack of freedom and the messages he conveys through his hands and expressions make him more sympathetic. Also, there’s the intelligence that we see, especially in his eyes. Kong has always been portrayed with intelligence and I like how they addressed it here. But in terms of badassery, I really enjoyed both the characters. Aside from the mixed bag of human characters I really enjoyed the titular ones. (3 out of 5)

The film does have a really good cast. We see a lot of new as well as some reoccurring ones. The main leads are Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, and Kaylee Hottle and I gotta say I really enjoyed their performances especially Hottle. Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler return as Madison and Mark Russell. Brown does a good job but honestly Chandler is given literally nothing to do. Ironic huh. In King of the Monsters we complained he had too much to do and in this film we’re complaining that he has nothing to do. Really enjoyed Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie. We know him from his more comedic performances so it’s good seeing him in something more serious. The cast also includes Shun Oguri (as Ishiro Serizawa’s son Ren), Eiza Gonzalez (as Walter Simmons’ daughter), Demian Bichir (as Walter Simmons’), and Julian Dennison (as Madison’s friend Josh). I will say that I was really disappointed that Zhang Ziyi didn’t return as twins Ilene and Ling Chen. Still, it was a good cast with good performances. (4 out of 5)

There’s no denying that this is just a brilliantly looking film. It’s brilliantly shot. It’s brilliantly made. The visual effects are just insane. First, the creature effects are just awesome. Kong is massive, looks older, the attention to detail looks great especially when it comes to his eyes, which are very expressive. Godzilla looks just as awesome as ever and the way some of the shots highlight how intimidating he is. I like how well it’s established that these two have their own unique fighting styles and how well adaptive to each other.

The action itself is shot well. It’s explosive, there’s a lot of collateral damage. When these creatures fight you can tell it’s impactful. There are a lot of wideshots of the landscapes, cityscapes, the Hollow Earth and they just look absolutely beautiful. The Hollow Earth is actually pretty awesome and I hope in future films that we can see more of it. I know a lot of people have had issues with the way the titan fights are shot which are predominantly shot from human angles to make the creatures appear bigger. Yeah, it’s a CGI fest but it’s a good one. (5 out of 5)

The soundtrack is definitely on point and we have Thomas Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL) to thank for that. We’ve even remixed the original Godzilla theme which gives it a more modern, fast paced feel. Holkenborg has done a lot of great stuff. He’s worked on Man of Steel, Mad Max: Fury Road, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, 300: Rise of an Empire, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The guy’s just done some magic stuff. The sound design is great. I love how unique our titular characters’ roars are and there are plenty of opportunities to hear them. (4 out of 3)

The film was directed by Adam Wingard and for as much as I liked the movie I’m a bit confused as to why he was chosen. He did the god awful 2017 Death Note film adaptation, the 2016 Blair Witch film (which was okay), and the 2011 You’re Next film (which was okay). I don’t understand what in his portfolio had someone think he was capable of directing this film. Having said that, I actually thought he did a good job. I can definitely give him props for how well he kept me engaged with the action. The fights are not only colossal but feel colossal. They go at a good pace and don’t feel cheap or repetitive.

I will say that the characterization was seriously weak. Aside from Lind, Andrews, Jia, Bernes, and even Madison, the rest of the characters just don’t feel important, aren’t deep enough, or lack any kind of depth. Now despite the many characters Godzilla and Kong do stay in the spotlight so there’s no shortage of scenes of them. I didn’t really have a problem with the pacing although the storyline regarding Madison and Bernes could’ve been written better to feel more cohesive (though it is an important plot). But the MonsterVerse has always had issues with its storytelling and its characterization. However, whatever the characters lacked the creatures themselves had in spades, especially with Kong. In all the Kong movies it’s shown that he’s highly intelligent and I love how the film focuses on that intelligence. The way he expresses himself, the way he communicates with Jia, they way he figures things out (though many prime apes have shown a near human level of intelligence) just makes for a more compelling creature.

Love Mecha Godzilla. Loved the design of the machine, loved how it moved, how it fought. Everything that built up to the reveal as well as mechanics behind it all. Even when things go to hell and it becomes self aware. Literally everything about the Mecha Godzilla I loved.

I didn’t have as much of a problem with the dialogue like I thought I would. There are some conversations that don’t really feel like they go anywhere and of course there are cheesy lines. Even some of the decisions that the characters make don’t really make sense. Like why did Maya tell her goons to shoot Kong and provoke him when they could’ve just flew around him? How was Madison and Josh able to track Bernes down? Why was the rivalry between Kong and Godzilla told to us but never really explored? For as cool as the Hollow Earth idea was, it felt like a totally different script that got incorporated into the film. It would’ve been better had the Hollow Earth been introduced in this movie then explored more in a sequel. Even if you take in consideration the level of technology that’s in the film. It’s suppose to reflect what we have nowadays but feels like something out of Blade Runner or Star Wars. There are more issues but for me they don’t take away from the overall experience. (3 out of 5)

In the end, Godzilla vs. Kong is definitely a must see for not only fans of the MonsterVerse but also fans of their respective franchises. There are some problems here and there: some characters feel unnecessary, some issues with the plot, lack of characterization, dialogue. But I can say that if you want to see a movie where monsters are kicking each other’s asses then you’ve come to the right movie. Whether you stream this on HBO Max or in the theatre you’ll definitely get a kick out of the fantastic visuals, the music, the action, and the cast and their performances. Godzilla vs. Kong gets 4 out of 5.