Seven years after Godzilla (2014) first roared onto the scene and launched the MonsterVerse, which further expanded into hardcore sci-fi insanity with 2017’s Kong: Skull Island and 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the franchise’s magnum opus is finally here: Godzilla vs. Kong.
**This review contains mild spoilers from Godzilla vs. Kong**
Five years after the events of King of the Monsters, Godzilla has finally resurfaced, and he’s pissed. This sends the entire world into a panicked frenzy as different sides work to simultaneously slow him down, uncover the mystery behind his rage, and also do their best to protect Kong from his warpath. There’s a very real sense of urgency throughout, but it’s about as straightforward a plot as you can get, with every early moment designed only to further the anticipation for the fight of the century.
Luckily, director Adam Wingard (The Guest; Death Note) doesn’t keep us waiting for long and once those two monstrous icons share the screen space for the very first time, it’s a chill-inducing moment that you’ll want to watch over and over again. The aircraft carrier fight is arguably the most inventive we’ve seen in the MonsterVerse and is well worth the wait, delivering highlight blow after highlight blow. Thankfully, that’s only the tip of the iceberg as the brutality is upped nearly tenfold in the Hong Kong rematch, which is beautifully realized and just plain awesome, so get your popcorn ready.
Kong is the heart-and-soul of the movie, and essentially serves as the film’s leading man as we watch many of the events unfold from his point-of-view. In lieu of a direct sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong gives us an ample amount of time to follow Kong’s emotional journey to Hollow Earth as he attempts to reconnect with his heritage and unlock the mysteries of an ancient power source, ultimately resulting in him fully embracing his role as the King Kong we know and love.
Godzilla is basically, for lack of a better term, a God in the film and is treated as such. But with his sequel still relatively fresh in our minds, we don’t spend a whole lot of time with him until the final half hour. His early appearances pretty much amount to him showing up, unleashing hell with his atomic breath, and then bouncing, further increasing the intrigue while delivering plenty of excitement. His motivations are pretty clear almost immediately, but it takes a while for the humans of the picture to figure it out.
While the trailers have unfortunately spoiled a lot, Godzilla vs. Kong’s worst kept secret is that there is a major third player in the film, which even the director has since revealed is MechaGodzilla. Fortunately, even knowing that reveal going in doesn’t ruin any of the enjoyment because once he enters the ring for the jaw-dropping finale, you’re in for quite a treat.
As for who comes out victorious, well, the short answer is the audience, but if you’re wondering whether there’s a clear winner between Godzilla and Kong… you’ll have to wait and see!
The main cast is split between Team Godzilla (Millie Bobby Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Julian Dennison), Team Kong (Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Kaylee Hottle), and Team MechaGodzilla (Eiza González, Demián Bichir, Shun Oguir), but no one is particularly memorable, save for the young girl played by Hottle. While Team Kong gets to further expand the mythology with their expedition to Hollow Earth, there is a familiarity with Team Godzilla that makes them slightly more fun to follow as they unravel the film’s central conspiracy, although there is nowhere near enough Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights). Clear eyes, full hearts aside, Wingard wisely opts to use his human players sparingly, keeping the primary focus on his two enormous stars.
There really aren’t many other surprises, and without a post-credits scene, it seems as though this may really be the end of the line for the MonsterVerse. If that proves to be the case, at least it went out with a bang. Those stunning final shots will stay with fans for a very long time.
Godzilla vs. Kong is pure monster movie mayhem at its absolute finest and easily the best entry in the entire MonsterVerse. It fully delivers on our massive expectations for epic action and show-stopping spectacle, as these two iconic Titans finally give us the monster showdown we’ve been waiting for.
Godzilla vs. Kong hits theaters and arrives on HBO Max tomorrow!