THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The first time that Godzilla and Kong ever had a crossover involving them fighting each other occurred in 1962. When it eventually appeared outdated, modern moviegoers wanted to see an updated version. So during the 2010s, Legendary Pictures set up a shared universe involving both iconic monsters (2014’s Godzilla, 2017’s Kong: Skull Island & 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters) before their retold crossover would come to theaters in 2021.
PLOT
The film takes place five years after Godzilla defeated Ghidorah in Boston, Massachusetts, maintaining the title as king of Titans. Within the time since, he has conquered other creatures in his way. Monarch linguist Ilene Andrews has Kong held in a dome in Skull Island against his will to avoid being killed by the king, aware of an ancient rivalry between both species. The only human Kong interacts with is a young deaf Iwi named Jia. Ever since her tribe was killed in a storm, the Titan promised to protect her as did Ilene; She communicates with him via American Sign Language. Meanwhile, Conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes, host of ‘Titan Truth Podcast’ attempts to find sinister activities in the corporation Apex Cybernetics. He infiltrates the facility he works for in Pensacola, Florida and Godzilla attacks before he could take any proof of his suspicion. What he does find is a massive device that glows red. Madison Russell, who listens to the podcast, believes that Godzilla is being provoked. She shares this to her father Mark but he tells her to ignore it. She doesn’t and decides to travel to Florida with her friend Josh to find Bernie and investigate with him. Apex CEO Walter Simmons convinces former Monarch agent Nathan Lind to enter Hollow Earth, the homeworld of Titans to find its power source. Lind has hesitance to go because his brother died in his attempt, due to a strong reverse-gravitational effect. Simmons keeps him on board when revealing that he’s made aircrafts known as HEAVs (Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicles) that can withstand the effects. Lind convinces Ilene to allow Kong to guide them through a HE outpost in Antartica. As they travel by sea, escorted by the US Navy, they get a side bump when Godzilla attacks. Kong does defend himself but the king retreats when being mistaken that those that survived are dead after they trick him, by disabling the power of their ships momentarily. To avoid anymore conflict for the rest of the trip, Kong is airlifted all the way to Antarctica. Madison and Josh do find Bernie and agree that Godzilla is being provoked. They go to the damaged facility at Apex Pensacola and discover a secret elevator. They inadvertently enter a container full of Skullcrawler eggs, that takes them to a facility at Hong Kong. Upon arrival, they discover a mechanical Titan inspired by Godzilla, quickly naming it ‘Mechagodzilla’. They then find the source that is a neural link between a severed Ghidorah skull and Ren Serizawa, sun of the late Ishiro. The problem with the machine is that it’s not fully powered, hence the need of HE energy source. At Antarctica, the group of Lind, Ilene and Jia pass through the portal alongside Walter’s daughter Maia. They follow Kong and discover a whole new world out of Hollow Earth. They also find a throne room made from Kong’s ancestors, proving the war between him and Godzilla’s race, along with an axe made of a dorsal plate. Madison, Josh and Bernie get caught for trespassing by Apex employees and meet Walter. He explains that his excuse to provoke Godzilla was to have a chance against all Titans and ensure humans to be alpha species again. At Hollow Earth, Maia does send some of its energy signature to the Hong Kong base, which fully activates Mechagodzilla. Despite Ren’s worry of not testing before Godzilla’s arrival, Walter insists the activation. Just as Ilene disapproves of her actions, Godzilla arrives in HK to track down his new foe. However when sensing Kong as well, he directly drills a shaft into the throne room with his atomic breath. Maia does try to escape but when making the mistake of shooting at Kong, she is quickly crushed by him. The group of Lind, Ilene & Jia go through the drill as the eighth wonder of the world fights his rival again. Despite the use of the axe, the ape is overpowered by the king, having a dislocated shoulder in the process. The fully functional Mechagodzilla quickly goes haywire under the influence of the energy source and the neural network, electrocuting Ren and killing Walter when destroying the base. The conspiracy trio survive the attack but watch from afar as the new threat attacks an overwhelmed Godzilla. Lind jumpstarts Kong’s heart with a HEAV and the ape fixes his shoulder to help fight the mechanical Titan. Unable to figure out the password and hack Mechagodzilla, Josh decides to short circuit the controls with Bernie’s flask of liquor. As that happens, both Titans overpower the machine. When Godzilla charges Kong’s axe with his atomic breath, the ape is able to chop it in pieces to achieve victory. As Madison reunites with her father, everyone in HK witnesses Godzilla & Kong acknowledge each other respectively, before the king enters the ocean. The film ends with Kong residing at Hollow Earth, whereas Ilene leads a new Monarch observation post there.
THOUGHTS
As a 2000s kid, I loved monster movies and it was always a dream seeing a rebooted depiction of this event. That same kid would be just as satisfied as I was checking this out in a theater safely, rather than streaming it on HBO Max. I made this move because these two titular characters have been around since before modern viewers like myself were ever born. So it felt respectable to see this in the biggest screen possible. Having said that, it was worth witnessing on IMAX. Director Adam Wingard easily gave us the best entry to the Monsterverse by remaking a collision for the ages. Thanks to Ben Serensin’s cinematography, the visuals couldn’t look any more stunning. And it couldn’t get any more epic without Junkie XL’s score. When it came to picking a side, I was on Kong's side not because of being a fan, but based on how the story approaches it. This interpretation of Kong is easy to root for because despite being an intelligent brute force, his loneliness makes us mistake him to be human. With that in mind, he is the only Titan with instinct to protect humans and only attacks those who would do something to warrant it. What he does have in common with Godzilla is how they both can be territorial. The difference on that take though is that the king sees all of Earth as his turf and will eliminate every possible threat, making Kong no exception. With the ancient rivalry being known, it couldn't make their fights personal for them but investing for us. Kong may have been overpowered, but he did not submit like few thought would happen. When he roared back at Godzilla, he implied that he was willing to keep going. I was spoiled on the revelation of Mechagodzilla but it had a good buildup nonetheless. You don't expect a monster movie to have a similar story like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but this again kept things interesting because I think it would've been weird if it just ended after the fight. Mechagodzilla has been part of Godzilla lore since the 70s and while the original version had a complicated origin. But here, it feels simple to understand in comparison. I knew the severed Ghidorah head would be a factor when seeing Jonah take it in the post credit scene of King of the Monsters; And that made the tie in for Mechagodzilla satisfying as it connecting the dots so well. Seeing Godzilla and Kong fight each other is already one dream come true, but teaming up did not ever cross my mind. Every time they would pull Mechagodzilla away from each other, my mind would lose it because I would not ever think that two territorial monsters would ever put their differences aside and defeat something worse. That temporary alliance was the best thing you can get to a peace treaty between the two behemoths. It did feel like a Toho film whereas the human interactions was limited to keep us invested with the bigger picture. That does sound good due to how it felt over the top in the prior film but with the made sacrifice, it does create flaws within the story. First off, why would Chris Chalk's character ask Andrews if she saw Kong tossing a tree to his cage? She was in there, so there'd be no way to miss that. We then see Bernie in the opening annoying a coworker to hack info to figure out what Apex is up to. So, what would he do if the guy didn’t leave? I mean of course his rambling is annoying, but it would’ve been interesting to see him talk about backup scenarios. I like Kyle Chandler but him casually saying ‘Godzilla is hurting people’ gives me the most cringe. Saying he’s attacking sounds more shocking than hurting because it sounds logical. Godzilla is bound to hurt people when making way in a city. Plus, he took only eight lives at that facility? I don't want any 9/11 numbers, but eight ain't realistic. There wasn't even acknowledgement of injuries, which makes it worse. I still got peeves for continuity errors and there was one that bothered me big time. When Ilene shares how ‘Kong bows to no one’, I can clearly tell it was done in different takes due to how her voice sounds different. I know scenes need more than one take, but they should’ve done one where she sounds the same in the prior shot. Also, If Ilene wanted to ensure Kong wouldn’t be spotted by Godzilla, then they should’ve airlift him the whole trip and not by ship. I was rooting for Kong the whole fight and I think had he gotten the axe first, he likely would’ve won with the sneak attack. And why didn't Walter have security at the destroyed facility? If he wants Mechagodzilla to be a secret until getting the energy source, that should've been as much of a priority as getting what he needs. Lastly, I’m not rooting for the villain but if Maia wanted out of harm’s way, she should’ve not shot at Kong during her getaway. I mean that was so stupid, I laughed when Kong killed her. However, I still think the movie is fun to watch once ignoring all said flaws. Returning to the goods, I do think that the ensemble at hand make up with what's given in the shown interaction. Millie Bobbie Brown is one of the returning stars and remains likable with the role of Madison. She is here because it is her curiosity that helps her find the truth of Godzilla. Going into the new cast, I enjoyed Brian Tyree Henry more than I thought as Bernie Hayes. He comes off over the top but is a crusader when it comes to finding the truth, hence bonding with Maddie with so quick. I got a laugh out of Julian Dennison as Josh because of how he is a third wheel who may be intelligent but has a hard time catching up with what’s at hand because he’s nervous of the result. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Alex Skarsgård but I did like him as Nathan Lind. In the humans’ standpoint, he is an reluctant hero because he’s not entirely equipped for the stuff that comes his way but does what he can to do what’s right. He is looked at as cowardly, but has courage deep down due to being able to revive Kong in time for the main event. I enjoyed Rebecca Hall as well because as Ilene, she reminded me of Ishiro as in knowing how special the Titans are to this world. The one thing she had in common with Lind was pursuing the truth, hence allowing to use Kong to reach Hollow Earth. Her motherhood towards Jia shows that she is just as compassionate to humans as she is for the things that are bigger than her. Breakout Kaylee Hottie was great as Jia because of how she represented Kong’s voice and became his heart. Without her, he wouldn’t be so cooperative towards Monarch. Shun Oguri doesn’t have a lot of screen time as Ren Serizawa, but his presence spoke volumes. This is a a character that is living the opposite of his father’s legacy due to the anger he has towards his passing. He blames Titans for it, thus making him xenophobic in the process. I really wish he got screen time so all of this could’ve earned an emotional depth. Lastly, Demián Bichir was a solid choice as the villain Walter Simmons. He played it well on pretending to be affable when actually egotistic. The same can be said with Eiza González with the role of Maia, whereas she is one with authority and doesn’t care what she has to do to get she wants. With both having quite the shock of comeuppances, it’s hilarious how they walked into their demise(s). Overall, Godzilla vs Kong is the entertaining monster mash that lives up to the hype. If the Monsterverse finds a way to continue, I'll be open minded on which direction it goes. If you love your dose of monster mayhem, see this movie now.
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