Godzilla Vs Kong (2021)

Director: Adam Wingard

Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Lance Reddick, Demian Bichir

Primary genre: Monster

Secondary genre: Fantasy

Overwhelmingly the weakest aspect of a film that has a "vs" in its title is perhaps the plot. Scripts of this caliber not only have to find an organic way of bringing together two (or more) characters from different franchises but have to consider the limitations that each one bears in terms of genre, era, and tone.

For “Godzilla Vs Kong” the reasoning behind their (rather) superficial battle royale rests in a populated story with trivial characters, lackluster motivations, illogical actions and misplaced pseudo-scientific explanations. The film seems to take the monster proceedings seriously aiming for dramatic finesse that unfortunately undermines a simplified story about an oversized atomic lizard and a prehistoric gorilla.

“Godzilla Vs Kong“ is filled with one dimensional walking archetypes (i.e., the bad girl, the nerdy guy) that dump copious amount of exposition at every turn and been-there-to-move-the-plot antics that make no sense and come with a huge suspension of disbelief. Despite signing up solid actors, most of the cast members are into autopilot delivering ridiculous lines (e.g., "Kong bows to no one!", "Godzilla is out there and trying to hurt people and we do not know why!") and extend the running time of a film that does not require to have too much focus on humans and their relationships to begin with. You know you are in trouble when the several talented visual effects artists have managed to infuse both monsters with more traits and personality than any of these scientists, kids, doctors, mercenaries, government and army agents that have been parading in front of the audience.

Director Adam Wingard, a filmmaker with a genre resume, tries to give an initial sense of urgency in the proceedings but the film loses steam half way through when it sides emotionally with Kong and reduces Godzilla as an in-and-out plot device for mayhem. And speaking of the mayhem, if you are still standing with some remote interest, once it arrives, it does not disappoint with Wingard making use of different environment dynamics to present thrilling action. Watching Godzilla employing various approaches to tackle the more agile Kong was an actual joy and their final match might make you smile if you are into that sort of demolition derby. There are some nice touches here and there (e.g., neon lighted Hong Kong) but nothing we have not seen before and with more panache. Yet, he handles the monster conflict on screen well with lovely large scale shots and nifty throwbacks to the Kaiju classics.

"Godzilla Vs Kong" is not embracing its ridiculous concept and premise but instead tries to raise its voice demanding to be taken seriously. Stretching in over two hours and populated with needless characters, a film of this magnitude requires less intellectual human input and more monsters. Irrational decisions, gigantic plot holes and conveniences plummet it almost to the ground as a rather dull and uninspiring face off. Yet, the climax might be worthy of your attention. Maybe that is all you need. But after seeing cities being flattened several times, "Godzilla Vs Kong" is the late comer to a party that has already ended.

The ultimate showdown is a letdown

+ Special effects (mostly)

+ Monsters are more humanized than the cast

+ Fights are solid

- Human characters are annoying and pointless

- Exposition, exposition, exposition

- Serious tone

- Plot conveniences left and right

- Incredibly stupid decisions by humans

- Not enough Godzilla - he is a plot point