Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry
Release Date: March 31, 2021
It's certainly been a while, hasn't it?
The last time I wrote a full review for a movie was Valentines Day last year, when I reviewed Sonic the Hedgehog. You might be wondering, why did it take you this long to give a full length movie review? Well, there were three reasons. The first reason is that I kind of lost interest for a while. Especially after my movie marathon, I took a break from watching movies and writing about them. The second is that I got incredibly busy. I am finishing up my senior year of college, so I don't have a lot of time to sit down and write full reviews of every new movie that I've seen. The third reason is, well... 2020. I'm not going to say what about 2020 specifically, but you know why. Anyways, after over a year, I finally received enough inspiration and drive to write a full length movie review again! And what better way to jump back into it than one of my most anticipated movies of the year; Godzilla vs. Kong.
Godzilla vs. Kong is the latest film in the Cinematic Monsterverse, which includes Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: King of Monsters, and Kong: Skull Island. In this movie, Godzilla is once again attacking, though people do not know why. To try and stop him, the humans pit their own titan, Kong, up against him. Who will win, Godzilla or Kong? I know who wins, but you'll have to find out for yourself! Meanwhile, a conspiracy about a mass corporation begins to grow after the Godzilla attack, leading some more humans to do some investigating. What secrets will be revealed? Again, you'll have to find out yourself.
Despite my excitement for this film, I've had mixed feelings about the Monsterverse. I remember enjoying Godzilla (2014), even though it had some major problems. Kong: Skull Island was average, though it did not grab me. And Godzilla: King of Monsters was terrible, partly because my theater experience was so bad, but mostly because the movie was just dull. Now, I'm not entirely sure if it's because this was my first theater experience in over a year, but Godzilla vs. Kong is my favorite movie of the bunch, and it stands as the best film in the series thus far.
I appreciate how this movie pit the two together. The way the plot brought Kong into the fray to stop Godzilla did not feel forced. Coming into the movie, I half expected them to meet up and then get pissed at each other for no reason. Luckily, that was not the case. There was a reason for Godzilla to come in, and there was a reason for Kong to intervene. While the writing may not have been amazing, it certainly made sense and allowed the two characters to meet up in a necessary way.
Speaking of writing, I appreciate that this movie is actually pretty funny. Every movie in this franchise has had some elements of humor, though rarely does any of it land. In this film, the comedy, while not particularly hilarious, is pretty charming and chuckle worthy. What I like the most about the bits of comedy is that they feel human. They are the kind of jokes that one would make in the spur of the moment, and they made me smile.
Where the writing falters is, surprise, the characters. I say surprise sarcastically, of course. Like almost every single movie in the monster movie genre, the characters are pretty bland. Most of the characters either have no personality or have a stereotype as their personality. We have the "awkward nerd who's scared of the environment" character, the "surprise bad guy correspondent" character, the "kid who has a deep understanding with a monster" character, and more. The only character that really entertained me was Bernie, Brian Tyree Henry's character. His archetype is the "frenetic conspiracy theorist that turns out to be right," which, like all of the other characters, has been done to death. However, he has personality, charisma, and most, if not all, of the funny lines. Everyone else is a throwaway.
With that being said, who cares? Obviously, the focus is primarily on Godzilla and Kong. And yes, they are the stars of the show for a great reason. The CGI on both creatures is incredible. You can see every scale on Godzilla's skin and every piece of hair on Kong's body. They both move with incredible weight, and their faces are very expressive.
Their action scenes truly make the movie so much fun. Every hit has impact. You can feel the punches, the tail smacks, the jaw grabs, the bites, the laser blasts... everything. It is all shot incredibly well, with the camera showing clearly what is happening at all times. And the best thing about the action is that it doesn't cut away. The biggest flaw with every single movie in this franchise up to this point is that the fight scenes keep getting castrated by constantly switching to the perspective of the humans and ending the fights early. It gets rid of all the tension and gets rid of any excitement that was set up. That is not the case here. Anytime there's an action scene, you see it to the end. Every cut to a human perspective keeps the fight going, never releasing any of the tension. The action is full of such amazing spectacle, and it was a blast to watch every single one.
I had a lot of fun with Godzilla vs. Kong. Sure, the story wasn't the best and the characters were pretty weak, but who cares? I wanted to see Godzilla and Kong fight each other and that's exactly what I got. With CGI, cinematography, music, and spectacle this good, Godzilla vs. Kong stands as the best film in the Monsterverse so far. Hopefully, this will allow future installments to be even better. It is a blast from start to finish and I cannot wait to see it again.
Score: 7/10
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