Godzilla vs. Kong — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
When Godzilla hit the big screen back in 2014 I enjoyed watching it, but it didn’t blow me away by any means. Followed up by the average Kong: Skull Island, I started to lose interest in them making this into a franchise. For some reason though, even though critics weren’t too pleased with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, I found that to be the most enjoyable of the three. It had been known from the beginning that a film down the road would pit both Godzilla and King Kong against one another. Personally, I found Godzilla vs. Kong to be leaps and bounds better than the previous three installments. Now available in select theatres and on-demand, here are my thoughts on Godzilla vs. Kong.
When going into a film like Godzilla vs. Kong, you shouldn’t be expecting to see the greatest story ever put to film. It’s a movie about two popular monsters brawling it out. For that reason alone, I would suggest going into this film just looking to have some fun. The title promises a fight and there is a lot of action to be enjoyed here. For a movie called Godzilla vs. Kong, however, there is very little Godzilla outside of the action. This actually ended up being a positive for me though.
I wasn’t expecting this film to dive so deeply into the mythology of King Kong. This is basically a King Kong film, that still lives up to the promise of him fighting Godzilla. The human characters are either there to serve King Kong and provide some genuine drama, or simply to be some comedic relief when bouncing back to the side of Godzilla. The visuals involving King Kong’s storyline and the in-depth exploration are really what put this film over just being a film about creatures fighting. This added lore really helped my enjoyment, making me much more invested.
Whether you’re talking about You’re Next or Death Note, director Adam Wingard is a filmmaker that I’ve never really latched onto. Other than his stellar work on The Guest, none of his films really impressed me. I’ve always admired his style though and that is very much present here, along with the best aspects of his direction. He keeps everything moving along at a very nice pace and I never once found myself bored. It also didn’t hurt that he had an insanely talented cast alongside him. From the return of Millie Bobby Brown as Madison to the introduction of young Kaylee Hottle as Jia, and even to the comedic relief of Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie this cast either had me engaged or laughing, even though they weren’t really pivotal to the core story.
Overall, Godzilla vs. Kong delivers exactly what the title promises, never skimping on the action or visual effects. They spend much more time making you believe King Kong is the hero and that Godzilla is the threat, so if you’re someone who wants to choose sides, that may make it a little difficult. This film isn’t one to pick apart in terms of minor inconsistencies, because it literally exists to give audiences a fun fight. Does the film have zero regard for who dies in the streets while these two are going at it? Absolutely not, but it’s a blast to watch. Godzilla vs. Kong is far from a perfect movie, but it perfectly executes what it wants to, and for that, I absolutely recommend checking it out.
Rating: 4/5
Check out the trailer below:
