Review of real godzilla vs. Kong: “A MonsterVerse film with genuine impact”
You’ll be eager to watch real Godzilla vs. Kong on the big screen as it brings together two cinematic titans for a massive brawl.Watching real godzilla and Kong beat the living crap out of one another is a blessedly uncomplicated thrill after a year of turbulent politics, the epidemic, and delayed blockbusters. This fourth entry in Legendary’s MonsterVerse series is directed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next, Blair Witch), and instead of embracing the animals’ roots in the horror genre as you might anticipate, it dishes up a family-friendly blockbuster.Blue afternoon sky and fiery orange sunsets take the place of the dismal, wet, and drenched imagery of Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. Meanwhile, Daft Punk may have been the director of a dramatic, neon-lit Hong Kong showdown.
Godzilla Vs. Kong is comparable to Wingard’s other 1980s-era thriller The Guest, if Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe were both 300 feet tall. The Big G, who was introduced as the planet’s defender in 2019’s King Of The Monsters, attacks Apex Industries as he rises from the water.
The attack makes Godzilla seem like a bit of a jerk since this software corporation run by billionaire Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) is all about keeping harmony between humans and Titans (he always did have a habit of switching sides in the Toho Studios movies). Additionally, he is headed in the direction of the Monarch facility, which serves as Kong’s new residence, which prompts Rebecca Hall’s Dr. Ilene Andrews and Alexander Skarsgrd’s dashing geologist Nathan Lind to rushly remove Kong to safety. No luck at all.
There are quite a few characters scurrying around who are under 6 feet tall—or 6 feet 5 inches in Skarsgrd’s case—but none of them completely keep the audience’s interest. Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the adopted daughter of Dr. Andrews, uses sign language to communicate with Kong in one subplot, while conspiracy theorist Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) teams up with Josh (Julian Dennison of Hunt For The Wilderpeople) and Madison (a returning Millie Bobby Brown) for a never-ending Goonies-style adventure. The star of Kong: Skull Island has evolved from the teenager he was in the 1970s into a grizzled gorilla so massive he is now a match for his atomic-breathing antagonist, so when the Titans battle, all of that is forgotten.
Okay, so the VFX lack weight because to the bright sunlight, and the dynamics between Godzilla and Kong are completely foreseeable. But even if you can’t help but wish the screen was 30 feet high at your local theatre, seeing two infamous monsters share the screen for the first time since 1963’s King Kong Vs. Godzilla, in a sequence of brilliantly orchestrated bouts, carries a tremendous impact.
