Godzilla vs Kong

The titanic clash between two of cinema's most iconic monsters takes centre stage in Godzilla vs. Kong.

Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, and Rebecca Hall among others, this action-packed spectacle pulls no punches when it comes to visual grandiosity and bone-crushing showdowns.

While it leans into its blockbuster bravado, sidestepping an intricate narrative, the film delivers exactly what it promises: an epic battle between Godzilla and Kong that will leave fans on the edge of their seats.

It's pure adrenaline and eye candy for fans of the kaiju genre.

This is the big one, in all senses. Marvel superhero movies have already demonstrated the money-making power of using several films to lead into one big smash up spectacular.

Ever since 2014’s Godzilla reboot by Legendary Entertainment, we have been leading up to this.

I have been following the ‘MonsterVerse’ series very happily since the aforementioned Godzilla. As a movie reviewer, I tend to bang on about things like ‘character development’, ‘symbolism’, or ‘complicated weaving narratives’.

Regardless, there is always a place for a movie that casts aside all that and jams the screen with the kind of action that makes your brain go, ‘cor, blimey!’ Godzilla vs Kong most certainly fits into that description.

What Is Godzilla vs Kong About?

Notwithstanding what I just said, these movies do need plot and character because without them even the biggest spectacle would get oversaturated to the point of tedium.

The three preceding movies have been inconsistent but, for the most part, contained enough to build up the big monster fights. Kong: Skull Island was a high point with its aesthetics and genuinely interesting characters. Godzilla: King of the Monsters had enough eco-terrorism to keep things chugging along.

Unfortunately, Godzilla vs Kong has lost steam and fails to give its cast anything to do, with characters reduced to info-dumping cardboard cutouts.

Millie Bobby Brown returns but brings attitude without substance, and Kyle Chandler is in pure Dad mode without any of the (admittedly flimsy) transferrable animal behaviour knowledge that previously justified his inclusion.

New additions pass by as either plot lynchpins (Hollow Earth theorist, Alexander Skarsgård from Hold the Dark) or passable comic relief (Brian Tyree Henry as your standard swivel-eyed conspiracy theorist).

Frequently you’ll lose track of why and where we are where we are, but the gaps are filled in enough that the movie doesn’t drag at least.

You are here for the monster battles though, aren’t you? Godzilla vs Kong delivers plenty of massive-scale simian scraps and nuclear blast battles.

After an apparently unprovoked attack by Godzilla on an Apex Cybernetics facility, King Kong is transported away from Skull Island by the human cast to locate a hazy ‘power source’ thing deemed to be in the centre of the Hollow Earth.

However, Godzilla and King Kong are apparently ancient rivals, and the movie is built around two huge battles between the pair: one at sea and one in the middle of some very unlucky skyscrapers.

Godzilla vs Kong Official Trailer

Is Godzilla vs Kong Worth Watching?

Director Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest, Death Note) delivers big on the scale. You can feel both major battles shudder with bass thumps and technicolour kerpows even on your small home screen.

Kong in particular is animated to be an emotive loadstone of the movie. His historical tenderness with children returns; he has equal moments of softness and brutality.

With more expressions to play with it certainly gives the movie some much-needed emotional heft to see Kong’s feelings of fury, fear, and concern flash across his face during the battles. As for Godzilla? Well, he’s King of the Monsters, obviously!

Godzilla vs Kong is definitely the most – ridiculous – of the movies. Come the final battle there is plenty of wonderful kaiju destruction as both Kong and Godzilla are flung bodily into high-rise buildings, and the movie keeps one more utterly daft ace in the sleeve to take things up to 11 for the climax. Once you are in the final 20 minutes, it’s all juicy bash smash crash, which is what we are here for.

Overall Godzilla vs Kong is the weaker film compared to the two that came before it. Those films at least managed to feature enough human character beats to make it seem like a shared world, where the awakening of ancient Titans had some kind of repercussion for life as we know it.

Godzilla vs Kong jettisons that and focuses purely on just moving things along to get these two icons of the big screen at each other’s throats for the first time in a movie since 1963.

It delivers what Pacific Rim and many others failed to do: a city-sized battle arena clash of titans where you can throw popcorn at the screen in delight as things get more and more gloriously stupid. Enjoy!

Words by Mike Record

Cast Of Godzilla vs Kong Film

Alexander Skarsgård as Dr. Nathan Lind. He is a Monarch geologist and chief cartographer who charts the mission into the Hollow Earth.

Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell. She is the daughter of Monarch scientists Mark and the late Emma Russell. Madison believes there is a reason for Godzilla's erratic behaviour.

Rebecca Hall as Dr. Ilene Andrews. Andrews is a Monarch anthropological linguist and Jia's adoptive mother.

Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie Hayes, an Apex Cybernetics technician and whistleblower aiding Madison and Josh to expose Apex.

Shun Oguri as Ren Serizawa, the son of the late Monarch scientist Ishirō Serizawa. He is Apex's chief technology officer who is the telepathic pilot for Mechagodzilla.

Eiza González as Maia Simmons, a top Apex Cybernetics executive, and Walter Simmons' daughter.

Julian Dennison as Madison's friend Josh Valentine who helps her and Bernie to investigate Godzilla's erratic behaviour.

Lance Reddick as Guillermin, the director of Monarch.

Kyle Chandler as Dr. Mark Russell, Madison's father. He is also Monarch's deputy director of special projects.

Kaylee Hottle as Jia, a young orphaned girl who forms a special bond with Kong.

Why Did Godzilla Attack Cities? Wasn't He a “Good Guy”?

In Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla begins attacking cities, which confounds fans because he had been depicted as a protector of Earth in the previous films.

It's later revealed that Godzilla is attacking because he senses a threat emanating from Apex Cybernetics.

The company is building Mechagodzilla, a mechanical counterpart designed to replace Godzilla as the apex predator. Godzilla's attacks are motivated by his instinct to eliminate this new threat to the natural order.

What Is Hollow Earth?

Hollow Earth is a theoretical subterranean ecosystem located deep within the Earth's crust. In the Monsterverse, it is presented as the ancestral home of the Titans.

Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) believes that Hollow Earth holds the key to understanding the Titans and even controlling them.

In Godzilla vs. Kong, a quest to Hollow Earth is undertaken to find a powerful energy source that could counter Godzilla's attacks. This mystical realm is visually striking and introduces a new layer to the lore of the Titans.

What Is The Relationship Between Kong And Jia?

Jia, played by Kaylee Hottle, is a young deaf girl who has a unique bond with Kong. She is the adopted daughter of Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), who is a Monarch scientist studying Kong.

Jia and Kong communicate through sign language, and this relationship provides an emotional core to the story.

The connection between Kong and Jia helps humanise Kong. It makes him a more sympathetic figure and is crucial in several key plot points. One is when Kong guides the team into Hollow Earth and aiding in the final battle against Mechagodzilla.

Who Wins: Godzilla or Kong?

The movie builds up to several showdowns between Godzilla and Kong. After all, we're really watching to see two giant monsters slugging it out in a spectacular battle!

In their first major encounter at sea, Godzilla gains the upper hand.

In their second fight in Hong Kong, it initially appears that Kong might win, but Godzilla ultimately overpowers him.

However, both Titans team up to defeat the true enemy, Mechagodzilla, in the climax.

So while Godzilla seems to win the one-on-one battles, the film concludes with both creatures earning mutual respect, and Kong becoming the ruler of Hollow Earth.

Is There A Post-Credit Scene?

Unlike some previous entries in the Monsterverse, Godzilla vs. Kong does not feature a post-credit scene. This decision left some fans speculating about the future of the franchise.

Although the absence of a post-credit scene leaves the next steps for the Monsterverse open-ended, it allows the film to stand on its own without explicitly setting up a sequel. Or maybe it's only the beginning of something completely new!