Godzilla vs Kong: What is a King to a God?
Godzilla vs Kong: What Is a King to a God?
Giant monster movies are a lost cornerstone of entertainment the world over. Once popular thanks to American films like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Japanese properties like Godzilla, films and other media about giant monsters duking it out have taken a backseat in recent years to superhero films among other products that have garnered more attention. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence in popular media of giant monster properties—often referred to as kaiju, the Japanese term for giant monsters in fictional works. Some of these programs have involved humans fighting against these beasts, such as Legendry’s Pacific Rim franchise or popular anime series such as Studio Trigger’s SSSS Gridman. The major contributor to bringing kaiju back into the public spotlight, however, is its most iconic mainstay: Godzilla.
2014 saw the release of an American re-imagining of the cultural powerhouse, leading to a revitalization for the franchise, especially in Japan. This included 2016’s Shin Godzilla—taking the giant lizard back to his roots of representing chaos, destruction, and nuclear weapons—as well as a trilogy of anime films on Netflix. He and other monsters have also been redesigned and reimagined for another anime project, Godzilla: Singular Point (airing now). On the American side of things, though, Godzilla has become one of the stars of Legendary Pictures’ “Monsterverse,” a franchise that seeks to utilize Western properties as well as monsters from Godzilla’s lineup to create a shared universe where kaiju are king (and are referred to as “Titans” instead). Godzilla 2014 was the first in this lineup, followed by 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, shifting King Kong (who goes only by “Kong” in this film) into the last living guardian of his home, Skull Island. 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters followed shortly thereafter, further cementing Godzilla’s role in the franchise as he battled against other familiar monsters from his lineup.
Which brings us to 2021’s Godzilla vs Kong, the final film in what some are considering to be the first “phase” of the Monsterverse (Note: At the time of writing, the Monsterverse is unofficially over in the movie department, though there are rumblings that new films are in development thanks to this latest film’s resounding financial success). Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs Kong sees Godzilla—the peacekeeper between Titans and humanity—running amok in different cities attacking civilians. As this is uncharacteristic of him in this franchise, his antagonism could be cause for an apocalyptic event. Coming into the spotlight in all of this is Apex Cybernetics, a company whose facilities were destroyed in some of Godzilla’s rampages. The CEO of the company partners with Dr. Nathan Lind—played by Alexander Skarsgård—to negotiate with Monarch—the government branch that captures and observes Titans—to use Kong to stop Godzilla. Apex wants Kong to lead the team of researchers to the Hollow Earth, which holds a power source, though its connection to Godzilla remains unclear at first. Either way, the plot and subsequent journey to the Hollow Earth acts more as a flimsy excuse to get Godzilla and Kong to fight.
And they do. A lot.
Going into this film, I was very hesitant as to how everything was going to be handled. Not only had the previous three films spent ample time on human characters instead of monster brawls, but director Adam Wingard’s last two works on pre-established media franchises (Blair Witch, a direct sequel to The Blair Witch Project, and Death Note, an adaptation of the manga/anime series of the same name) were poorly received, both by the general public and fans of the respective properties. But, as it turns out, third time’s the charm, because this film was very well-crafted and did what it set out to do. We were promised monster fights, and that’s exactly what we get. But not only are the fights throughout the film entertaining; they also look fantastic, especially compared to visual effects from King of the Monsters just two years ago. Unlike the previous two Godzilla films, this one shows its monster fights in broad daylight, letting audiences glimpse every scale and hair on its two biggest stars. The effects and the choreography of the battles mesh very well with one another, every detail and movement making Godzilla and Kong feel like they really are punching each other on warships or smacking each other into buildings. While on occasion the CGI can feel a little stretched—most especially on close-up shots of Godzilla—there is still a vast level of improvement between this film and its predecessors. Coupled with fights that feel so much more fast-paced and less clunky than anything I’ve seen in either franchise, and this film is bound to go down in history for its fight sequences alone. No cutaways to human characters unless necessary. No commentary over every little thing that happens. It’s just there, and it’s glorious.
I could discuss the acting here, but honestly, that’s not why anyone is interested in this film. Everyone plays their parts just fine and serves their roles in accordance with the story. But what makes this film stand out in the Monsterverse is something they tried that made the movie so much more engaging: They gave the monsters personalities. Instead of being hulking beasts with vaguely blank expressions, Kong and Godzilla grin, grimace, and at one point even laugh. While it’s the kind of cartoonish detail you’d expect out of a cartoon more than a live-action reimagining, the decision to focus more on the Titans than the humans this time around lent to its necessity. To focus more on Kong and Godzilla meant the audience had to care about them and their personalities, which meant giving them the spotlight to shine as characters of their own. Doing this really made the plot and the humans feel like the vehicles they were for telling the story of these two monsters. And—at the risk of sounding like a clickbait headline—that’s a good thing.
Because the one place where Godzilla vs Kong falters is its plot. The setup is very flimsy, to the point where it’s difficult to gauge why Monarch—a branch of the US Government—would be so trusting of Apex—a very new, independent company—when it came to the power source in the Hollow Earth. That setup feels a little wishy-washy to me, as do the characters whose archetypes are never expanded upon. This makes it difficult to care much about the humans in the film, but it also makes the setup for the premise flimsy. The human stuff doesn’t really matter, I should add: That’s not what anyone is going into this movie for. But the setup could have been delivered a bit better and with a bit more meat on the bones if it had spent a little bit more time establishing Apex, and its place in the Monsterverse.
And a lot of this has to do with the movie’s runtime. Because it’s short. Very short. Clocking in at 1 hour and 54 minutes, with a good 9 of those minutes being dedicated to intro logos and the credits (generously). This leaves 1 hour and 45 minutes, give or take a few, to set up the story, watch the giants duke it out, and wrap everything up. While I’m impressed that everything was accomplished so well in such a short amount of time, there was still a lot left to be desired that could have made the film better. While this is a bit of a spoiler, I think it’s important that, going into this, you know: If you are expecting a film where the screen time is as equal for Godzilla as it is for Kong, you are going to be disappointed. While it makes sense not to focus entirely on everyone’s favorite atomic-breathing lizard, especially since King of the Monsters established his place in the universe pretty well, the uneven amount of screen time gives little in the way of Godzilla’s motivations as presented throughout the film. There isn’t as much time with him when it feels like there should have been. What we got with Kong was great, as were the scenes we had with Godzilla! Well executed and to the point, never feeling rushed at all. I just wish we’d gotten a better introduction to the film’s plot, and that we were able to see both sides of the kaiju coin in an equal manner.
But the last thing I want to do is discourage you from watching the film, because there are plenty of surprises that I haven’t even touched on yet. That includes what happens during the fights, which Titan comes out on top, and what special guests show up (including a possible cameo from one of Godzilla’s most formidable enemies. And it’s not King Ghidorah). There’s also the fact that Wingard confirmed that, while there is no after-credits scene in this film like the previous two, they not only shot it, but hid it as a scene in the film itself. Something to mull over once you’ve seen the movie for yourself. Because I highly recommend checking out Godzilla vs Kong. While our stars don’t get even focus on their stories, they do have an equal amount of strength on the battlefield. Through the effects, choreography, and camerawork, both Titans are brought to life in a fantastic showdown that lives up to the hype. It’s an exciting film that I’m looking forward to watching again soon. What is a king to a God? Sit down with a bucket of popcorn and crank the volume up if you’re ready to find out.
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