The epic next chapter in the cinematic Monsterverse pits two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against one another – the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong – with humanity caught in the balance.
It started with a roar and ended with a whimper. Legendary’s MonsterVerse reimagined “Godzilla” in 2014, with decidedly mixed results but a massive box-office haul, which paved the way to 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island,” 2019’s “Godzilla: King of Monsters,” and now “Godzilla vs. Kong.” Due to diminishing returns, Adam Wingard’s latest entry was planned as the final one — until it made so much money, via its simultaneous release theatrically and on HBO Max, the entire strategy was restructured, and now there’s another MonsterVerse film in the works. But what about quality? Has Wingard reestablished the MonsterVerse as an action-packed, poignant, and (intermittently) intelligent venture?
The answer is both yes and no. The human characters still leave a lot to be desired, relegated to the back seat, allowing the monsters to take center stage. This will come as a relief to those disappointed in the original “Godzilla”’s lack of action, and especially “King of Monsters”’ tepid orchestration of both the action and the character bits. (I actually enjoyed the super-goofy, visually stunning “Skull Island”). Folks still make ridiculous, nonsensical decisions. The dialogue is still terrible. The subplot involving Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) is especially grating, as her character’s motivations are all over the place, her background undeveloped, and her acting shrill when it’s not monotonous.
But then there are the glorious monsters. Wingard, known for tense indie fare like “The Guest,” is smart enough to know that’s what people are shelling out hard-earned dollars for, and in that aspect, “Godzilla vs. Kong” delivers. Both of the giants get plenty of screen time, and it’s never quite clear who deserves your vote. In addition, during the bombastic finale, Wingard introduces another legend from the good ol’ Godzilla days — when the gargantuan trio have at it, you’re guaranteed to be knocked back in your seats.
The plot, in a nutshell: Kong is summoned to battle Godzilla, who for some reason started wreaking havoc upon humanity. A mysterious young girl can communicate with Kong, you see. So a group of pseudo-scientists brings him to the North Pole, where, together with the giant ape, they plunge into Earth’s core, Kong’s home, to retrieve a weapon that can be used to conquer the pesky lizard. Thus, the battle for the title of King begins.
Amongst all the clichés and SFX, moments of joy shine through — especially towards the middle, when our heroes descend into the Earth’s core, Wingard letting loose on the psychedelic visuals (shifting gravity, anyone?). Who knew that a $200M+ blockbuster could be so trippy? The final battle is also well staged; unlike, say, the previous entry, it holds your attention, despite the “been there seen that” mass destruction. And what a cast! Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Kyle Chandler, Brian Tyree Henry, Eiza González, Lance Reddick, Demián Bichir… Tarantino would have a blast with juicy one-liners and quirky traits. Wingard, on the other hand, seems fine with providing each of the actors with exactly one dimension.
The monsters’ proportions are off — in one scene, Kong smashes two giant ships like they’re matchboxes, in another, he battles on top of one — and the entire thing is completely ludicrous. But, and this is crucial, it’s rarely boring (except for those Millie Bobby Brown bits). Wingard keeps the runtime small and the spectacle huge — what else do you want? Here’s to the next MonsterVerse entry.
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