Review of Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) by Hmf_47 — 31 Mar 2021

After three largely underwhelming entries, Godzilla vs Kong finally fulfills the potential in the Monsterverse. What impressed me the most is the range of emotions both Godzilla and King Kong express, like rage, satisfaction or even anxiety. You feel like the two titans are insulting each other with their stares and roars, which adds weight to their confrontations. Adam Wingard stages the fights like they’re wrestling and MMA tournaments, so they’re more fun and interesting to watch than in the previous movies. If you’re here for over the top and absurd spectacle, you won’t be disappointed.

Without giving too much away, the visuals got weirder than I was anticipating, and there several moments that are dorky in the best possible way.

One of the biggest issues in the Monsterverse has been the boring and pointless human characters, and in that regard, Godzilla vs Kong is a mixed bag. Alexander Skarsgard and Rebecca Hall aren’t going to win any awards for their performances, but they’re a vast improvement over Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Kyle Chandler (whose presence here is just a cameo). It was interesting to see Skarsgard, an actor usually known for his commanding and intimidating performances, playing such a nerdy role, and he takes the challenge with gusto. Demian Bichir and Eiza Gonzalez are terrible, but it almost feels by design, since their characters are meant to be annoying. Everything with the girl that communicates with Kong is very corny and made under the assumption that children are inherently endearing, but it’s just lazy writing. Everything the girl does could have been transferred to Hall's character and we'd have a more economic script. Millie Bobby Brown’s subplot feels like a studio request to maintain a sense of continuity with King of the Monsters. It’s not bad, just redundant considering that Skarsgard and Hall were going to get to the same massive reveal on their own.

I suppose I could criticize the fact that Godzilla and Kong’s behavior isn’t terribly consistent, but I’ll let that one slide. If there’s one film that’s allowed to not make any sense, it’s one where a giant radioactive lizard faces off against an axe-wielding gorilla.