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<\/a><\/div>\nAdam Wingard returns to the Monsterverse franchise, which is very much in franchise movie mode now. Gone are the auteurist ventures of Gareth Edwards\u2019 2014 reboot Godzilla<\/i> instead, we\u2019re in grand, globe-trotting, landmark-smashing, pulp fun. It pales in comparison to Godzilla Minus One<\/i>, let alone Shin Godzilla<\/i>, yet it doesn\u2019t try to be a copy-cat, it instead trades it in for something new and different: a big monster mash that answers: what if we put King Kong and Godzilla in a supersized buddy cop movie?\n<\/p>\n
The result is a mixed bag. Much of the Monsterverse worldbuilding bogs down the fun and the film feels very plot-driven, which means the action sequences are few and far between, but when they hit, they hit! If you wanted a film where the Titans fight in a fun, more light hearted way than the self-serious King of the Monsters, this feels like closer at home to Skull Island in how it goes about it and recognises the mixed reception of the previous entry, Godzilla vs. Kong<\/i>, which focused on what many perceived to be too much on the human characters. They\u2019re still present here, no more Millie Bobby Brown, but I love how Godzilla vs. Kong<\/i> has made deaf actress Kaylee Hottle front and centre of this film. She\u2019s the humans\u2019 sole connection to King Kong and it\u2019s their dynamic that really makes this film so watchable, Kong really is the movie\u2019s beating heart and it lets the audience emphasise with his quest to find more of the Great Apes, his species, more empathetic and relatable. The animation on Kong in particular is spectacular \u2013 with Godzilla taking a relative back seat as always, but the King of the Monsters is best used in small doses \u2013 not as impactful as prior entries, but always a force, with a cool new look.\n<\/p>\n
I do think Godzilla vs. Kong<\/i> struggles with a sense of scale and substance. The Hollow Earth focus and it being so empty most of the time robs the film of watching the titans showcase their sheer size so that it feels jarring when they\u2019re pulled into places like Egypt and Brazil for the final battle \u2013 we watch cities smash but the sudden change of location feels stilted and awkward; the film spent the whole time making us care about the conflict on the Hollow Earth only for us to be dragged back into the main Earth in the final act. It\u2019s stilted and disjoined \u2013 and it doesn\u2019t quite land the epic feeling that this film is going for as a result; but it\u2019s still quite a bit of fun all the same \u2013 there are echoes, as with any vs. movie, of Batman v. Superman, but the tone is more light-hearted and jovial. It isn\u2019t really a vs. movie, which helps \u2013 it\u2019s a buddy cop movie; and watching Godzilla and Kong join forces was superb. But that leads to a new problem – you have to have a villain fearsome enough for the two to fight, but I never felt that was the case about Godzilla vs. Kong<\/i>. It felt like victory for the two titans was assured from the moment the film started, and yes, we know that\u2019s happening anyway, but some suspense wouldn\u2019t have gone amiss \u2013 there\u2019s never a real sense of danger or fear that this film has; because how can you create something that rivals Kong or Godzilla working together? You just can\u2019t \u2013 and that\u2019s why this film doesn\u2019t quite get everything right.\n<\/p>\n
The fun factor, thankfully is there in spades. Adam Wingard very clearly loves Dan Stevens more than the rest of us and he really shines in the role of a Titan Vet; giving Kong the advantage that he needs. The chemistry between Stevens and Hall is serviceable for their roles and Bryan Tyree Henry\u2019s podcaster conspiracy theorist plays comic relief but grows tiresome quickly. The balance is there so that these characters don\u2019t overstay their welcome or take too much time away from the monsters, yet them too, are never in any real peril. I did like how Wingard plays with the needle drops that play a crucial part of Stevens\u2019 character, yet if you\u2019re watching a Monsterverse movie for the characters you\u2019re not really there. I wonder that said; how things would\u2019ve turned out different if or the Monsterverse if it had had people like Stevens around from day one, rather than the bland cast that was the weak link of the 2014 film.\n<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a couple of scenes of blatantly obvious commercial product placement, nowhere near as bad as Michael Bay\u2019s transformers, but noticeably glaring to the point that it takes away from an otherwise tender emotional moment that is the film\u2019s beating heart \u2013 Rebecca Hall and Kaylee Hottle. I would\u2019ve liked a bit more time with these two characters to flesh out their relationship as if anything Godzilla vs. Kong<\/i> is course-correcting too much in the other direction: gone are the days of too much human characters, instead; not enough. That feels like a watchword for the entire film \u2013 not enough. It\u2019s perfectly serviceable but it could be so much more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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