Warner Brothers and Legendary Entertainment have had a difficult time establishing and expanding its MonsterVerse, a shared cinematic franchise that follows the exploits of famous monsters like Godzilla and Kong as they interact with humanity.
Godzilla (2014) and Kong: Skull Island (2017) prioritized focusing on human characters and the symbolism of mankind’s malicious exploitation and industrialization of nature that these famous kaiju have always embodied, and 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters cultivated a rich and sensational aesthetic that retained attempts at human drama but also exponentially increased the number of monster fights to middling effect, as many cited both as being oversaturated.
This franchise’s predominant issue is finding the optimal ratio of human characters to kaiju altercations while weaving in organic exposition and mythology. In all three of the aforementioned films, the people occupy and propel the story but lack depth, which makes the entire experience vapid, bombastic and uninvolving, especially in structure. This film, however, is radically different, deliberately streamlining its humans to fodder, and though I still believe there is a way to make compelling characters dramatically relevant to kaiju brawls, this film proves to fulfill its intentions in areas its predecessors were unable to do.
The plot, exposition and human characters are kept to a bare minimum and mostly better for it. Why would Godzilla challenge Kong? Well, his animalistic tendencies as an enforcer demand so. Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), an anthropological linguist for the monster monitoring corporation Monarch who specializes in Kong upkeep and research, and Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), a geologist and chief cartographer also for Monarch, team up to use Kong as a guide to the Hollow Earth, a prehistoric realm underneath the surface, and, thus, his original home. On the other side of the story, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), daughter of Monarch scientist Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), and her friend Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison) join forces with kaiju conspiracy podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry; this man can take my money because I will see him in anything) to find answers for Godzilla’s recently volatile and erratic behavior. To no one’s surprise, these dual plots collide in spades.
For the first time, this series of films has become fully cognizant of its audience’s expectations and serves them wholly. Its human characters are simply catalysts for these ancient titans to engage in tumultuous battle, and this forms a structure that is surprisingly symmetrical and cohesive, composed of monsters that are integral to and bear weight on the story as well as the brawls. In fact, this film is about the monsters more than any mere human being.
Director Adam Wingard brilliantly keeps the focus on Kong and Godzilla as the beloved characters they are as opposed to objects, which is the exact inverse of previous films. He allows both to emote and have motivations and taut stakes, which enrich the battles. Kong particularly feels compelling and even achingly human-adjacent as a fierce protector who vows to protect a young deaf girl named Jia (newcomer Kaylee Hottle) who communicates and connects with him. A rain-drenched scene during the dead of night is extremely mesmerizing as Jia sympathetically touches a bonded Kong’s finger. This is the type of spectacle and grandeur that is astonishing to behold and present throughout the movie, and it is completely liberated from excessive storytelling constructs.
However, the fight scenes between the titular titans are unequivocally the highlight of this picture, of course. There is a lucidity and fluidity that are exhilarating in the simulated camerawork, which is varied and eclectic. Wingard makes every battle vibrant and fresh from a mobile scuffle in the middle of the ocean to a set of neon-soaked beatings in Hong Kong.
Godzilla vs. Kong thrillingly achieves its aims as a rollicking, deliriously entertaining film that delivers on its promises. It does limit its quality to exclusively vacuous fun, but it proves hard to not have a blast when Wingard and company are so deeply committed with panache and flair to spare. Godzilla vs. Kong is a lark at its most natural, but instead of human machinations, we get a giant ape lugging an axe at an alpha lizard before the lizard pins him down and claws at its chest like a scaly, belligerent feline. It’s our most basic demands as filmgoers being met. It’s neither atrociously silly nor indulgently serious. It’s gleefully dumb and brazenly pulpy. It’s like a candy bar: disposable yet nevertheless delicious. It’s a great time.
Grade: B-
Photo Credit // Warner Brothers
