Godzilla vs. Kong Finds the Balance Between Monster and Human – Film School Rejects

The primary critical argument against the three previous films in the MonsterVerse franchise Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) has been focused almost exclusively on the human element. Basically, the human characters and storylines in those three films long overstay their welcome, and the issue is exacerbated by idiocy, convoluted details, and more. The counter has always been that you dont watch a giant monster movie for the humans, but while thats true, their ubiquitous presence has always been hard to shake. King of the Monsters came close, but its the fourth film in the franchise thats finally gotten the balance right as Godzilla vs. Kong focuses on the big brutes and leaves the people to fight for scraps of attention at their feet.

Its been five years since Godzilla declared himself king of the monsters, and these days he only pops up periodically to destroy high-tech laboratories. King Kong, meanwhile, is living a far more sheltered life as Monarch the shadowy organization overseeing titan activity has erected a dome over Skull Island to keep Kong in and Godzilla out. It cant last forever, though, so when an ex-scientist named Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgrd) comes asking if Kong can come out to play his keepers say yes. Nathan needs the great ape to help them find an ancient power source in the earths hollow core, and Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) needs a new home for the big lug, so its a win-win. Well, in theory, as the two titans seem inexorably drawn towards each other, and both have bloodlust in their eyes.

Godzilla vs. Kong succeeds because it understands the very first rule of a giant monster movie is to focus on the damn giant monsters. There are plenty of humans scrambling around including a couple of returning characters Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) and his daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) and several new ones, but theyre thankfully and blissfully kept to a relative minimum in favor of Kong and Godzilla. Director Adam Wingard does fine work with his first blockbuster (and you just know hes to credit for the Lethal Weapon 2 nod), but its the CG spectacle, monster mayhem, and epic carnage that rule the screen.

While there are attractive visuals throughout, primarily in the hollow earth and Hong Kong, the films not quite the showcase for gorgeous shots that the two previous movies managed to be. Its still a movie best watched loudly and on the biggest screen at your disposal, though, as both Godzilla and Kong are beautifully rendered as is the destruction left in their wake. Cybernetic factories in Florida and Hong Kong are leveled, monstrous threats lurk in the hollow earth, and a face-off out at sea plays havoc with a naval fleet. Its thrilling stuff, and the action remains clear throughout keeping everything in understandable geography.

The one hiccup on that front, though, is an inconsistent scale between the two titans of Godzilla vs. Kong. Its acknowledged that Kong has grown since we last saw him, but ships and aircraft seem to give a fluctuating sense of size between the two as sometimes the ape looks smaller than Godzilla while they appear evenly matched elsewhere. Its far from a deal-breaker as the action and spectacle hold focus.

The script, by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, still manages plenty of the expected human silliness, but either through restraint or post-production editing, its never overwhelming or enough to drag down the films momentum. Fighter pilots still fly within arms reach of the giant beasts, theres still a weird bond between titans and little girls, and brilliant scientists capable of reaching the earths hollow-core inexplicably need Kong to find them a very obvious magic mountain for them, but the monsters take precedence. The desire to ensure human characters play a pivotal role does become laughable once or twice as the writers throw them a bone for a brief heroic moment or feeling of continuity seriously, remove both Madison and her father and not a single element would have played out differently here but Godzilla vs. Kong belongs to big guys.

This is the shortest of the four films, and the action and momentum keep things moving at a strong pace. Junkie XLs score adds to the adrenalized feeling, and the personable nature of the cast helps ensure an easy watch. The body count is high, like tens of thousands high, but the overwhelming majority are off-screen or as unseen specks within the CG devastation. We get the expected themes greed and a hunger for power are bad; working together is good; people are endlessly stupid but we also get an energetic action film featuring big, messy brawls, giant monsters, Kong scratching his bare ass on his way to the shower, and more. Honestly, what more could you want in a MonsterVerse movie? Now go see Godzilla vs. Kong so theyll make another one and we can finally get Godzillas adopted son, Minilla, back on the big screen where he belongs.

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Godzilla vs. Kong Finds the Balance Between Monster and Human - Film School Rejects