Titans collide in Godzilla vs Kong, a gleefully over the top monster movie that provides mass level entertainment.
Never underestimate the appeal of giant creatures that go “roar!” Beginning with 1933’s King Kong, the monster movie has been a permanent and important fixture in the evolution of cinema, with the likes of 1975’s Jaws and, of course, the original 1954 Godzilla (released in Japan as Gojira) following in its wake.
Godzilla vs Kong, the fourth film in Warner Bros. Pictures “Monsterverse” franchise, brings the giant monster movie to new giddy heights of mayhem and creature feature filmmaking. Big, loud, and filled with a keen awareness of what kind of film its is and what its audience wants, Godzilla vs Kong exemplifies the very best of switch-off-brain, chow-down-popcorn blockbuster filmmaking that has been absent for the past year.
The film begins with reptilian mega-monster Godzilla unleashing hell upon an unsuspecting city for reasons unknown. Convinced Godzilla has gone feral, tech oligarch Walter Simmons (Damian Bichir) assembles a team of scientists, among them Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgard) and Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), to lead the mighty Kong to a hidden world under the Earth’s surface with the aim to solve the worlds Titan problem. That is if Godzilla and Kong don’t destroy one another first.
Of course there is more to it, and indeed half the fun of Godzilla vs Kong is the wacky paths Adam Wingard (The Guest) and his team of writers take this story, which is more sci-fi heavy compared to other films in the Monsterverse, with much emphasis on flying fluorescent super-jets, an eye-popping display of high-speed inner-space travel that makes Stargate look like child’s play, and a mecha monstrous surprise in the films third act.
Even the films human characters, which also features Millie Bobby Brown and Julian Dennison as sleuthing teens who uncover a vast conspiracy, are an upgrade compared to previous films. But we all know why everyone is watching Godzilla vs Kong, and the clash of these titans does not disappoint in its large-scale violence, with excellent visual and sound effects work bringing to life these iconic cinema creations, who hold a surprising amount of character amongst the roaring rampage.
Infectious in spirit, fantastic in craft, and with its entertainment factor turned up to 11, Godzilla vs Kong lives up to its promise of a monster good time.