REVIEW: ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ at least provides its audience with epic kaiju battles
With a loose semblance of a plot that offers more questions than answers and film marketing moments of action, “Godzilla vs. Kong” is essentially monster fight porn. The movie straddles the line between stupid-bad and stupid-fun.
“Godzilla vs. Kong” has Godzilla defending his crown as the apex predator against what he deems as a new threat to the throne, Kong. There is a hint that this rivalry is older than time in an under-developed and unfollowable hollow-Earth storyline that ultimately serves as just fluff between monster battles. These battles are in typical kaiju fashion with monsters leveling contemporary metropolises.
Even with the low storytelling standards expected of monster movies, “Godzilla vs. Kong” still fails miserably. There are essentially two subplots that compose the human-centered storyline: the Kong group that’s investigating the hollow-Earth theory established in an earlier series installment, and the group tracking down a bunch of vague, undeveloped secret conspiracies.
Despite character writing issues like the white-savior trope Rebecca Hall’s character inches toward, Hall and Alexander Skarsgard both give solid performances. But, the stand-out actor is newcomer Kaylee Hottle.
Hottle plays Jia, a deaf-orphan and the last of the Iwi people, a Māori community from Kong’s home Skull Island. To write a deaf character in a sensorily intense kaiju film who’s central to the story allowed a unique perspective and is an essential stride toward inclusivity. Jia’s relationship with Kong provides tender moments in a movie mainly constructed of confusion and destruction.
The other group’s storyline could be cut entirely and the movie might possibly make more sense. The group’s three characters – played by Millie Bobby Brown, Brian Tyree Henry and Julian Dennison – feel forced into the main plotline with entirely irrelevant actions. This is only made worse by Brown’s and Henry’s less-than-stellar performance. Any necessary information provided in their scenes could easily have been told from someone else’s perspective, like Demián Bichir’s pseudo-antagonist and CEO of Apex Cybernetics.
The dozens of other Godzilla and King Kong movies are not exactly remembered for their human-centered plotlines, but this entry to the canon feels extra silly. This cast was just too big, and there was too much going on outside of the lizard and ape beef. Other characters needed zero center-screen time even if they were more critical to the plot in prequels, “Kong-Skull Island” (2017) and “Godzilla: King of Monsters” (2019).
Visually “Godzilla vs. Kong” felt expensive. The special effects are stunning, from the elaborate sets for the puny people to the cityscape-flattening fight scenes between Godzilla and Kong. The movie maintained a slight inconsistency scale between Kong and Godzilla, but that is quickly forgiven with every atomic blast Godzilla shoots. The physics of the fights between massive monsters are some of the most believable parts of the story because there is very little substance beyond those brawls.
The trailer promises nothing to the audience except the chance to see two big baddies of Legendary Entertainment’s MonsterVerse fight, and on that, it delivers. Even much of the promotional material gives an MMA fight night-style poster tease with Godzilla and Kong facing each other ready for battle.
While “Godzilla” (2014), “Kong: Skull Island” (2017) and “Godzilla: King of Monsters” (2019) establish storylines preceding “Godzilla vs. Kong,” that extra seven hours of viewing time will not help decipher this movie. Remedial knowledge of these monsters’ origins and low expectations is enough to enjoy “Godzilla vs. Kong.”
If you have an inkling of interest in kaiju battles or the MonsterVerse and you have some free time, watch the film. Otherwise, just stick to the trailer.
“Godzilla vs. Kong” was in theaters and available to stream on HBO Max until May 1.
