Review by Brad Balfour
Godzilla Vs. Kong
Director: Adam Wingard
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir
Now that I have the AMC Theater as a refuge from mundane noise and my couch, there’s now one film that offers all the hullabaloo, bombast and ballyhoo that suits the place — Godzilla Vs. Kong.
The plot is fairly simple: due to an initially unknown agitation, Godzilla rises from his deep-sea underwater lair and attacks — first in Pensacola and then Hong Kong.
Kong, who has been penned in an environment that simulates the wild world of Skull Island, has tapped into and is agitated by Godzilla’s re-awakening. It’s decided that Kong will be used as a defender of mankind if Godzilla gets full-tilt enraged. And that does happen.
It seems that two things are occurring. The Apex Corporation is tapping into Godzilla’s energy source and the Hollow Earth — yes, an alternate world at the center of the planet — is rumbling and stirring.
Kong fights the first of his several battles with the radiation-spewing mega reptilian. Ultimately, he is transported to Antarctica where the entrance to middle earth, oops, that’s Hollow Earth is — and they set him loose to find his roots.
Without revealing it all, these two Titans go from being rivals to allies who then fight an even greater menace. But At the end of the day, all is good — except for the hundreds crushed by beast stomps and crashing buildings — and the two retreat to their lairs to be awakened again.
Through it all, the most emotional character development is seen in the relationship between Kong and his acolyte Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. Most of the other characters are merely plot devices to move the action forward, which is kind of a waste of such talented character actors as Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Kyle Chandler, and Demián Bichir.
This film is a sequel to Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Kong: Skull Island (2017); it’s the fourth film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. It’s also the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio.
That guarentees there will a sequel since this was the re-opening’s first blockbuster. One serious issue of note: Kong was well designed and felt like a living creature. A little more design development is needed to make Godzilla feel less like a rubber beast. He needs to become a creature with a little more expression and gain a bit more distinction.