Godzilla vs Kong (2021)

While the original King Kong vs Godzilla attempted to satirize contemporary Japanese media the Legendary-released Godzilla vs Kong is a direct sequel, played as serious as the other movies in their giant monster franchise the MonsterVerse, to both Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Skull Island from 2017. This makes Godzilla vs Kong the 4th movie in the MonsterVerse.

The movie weaves together multiple plot threads from previous films: the rebirth of giant monsters after a period of dormancy and their fight for dominance, the monsters (called Titans) having a way of sensing each other and alternate threats, the Hollow Earth idea introduced in Skull Island, a secret government organization (Monarch) responsible for controlling the monsters, Human's possessing super technology, and then pits two of the most famous giant monsters in cinema against each other.

The human portions are split into two separate tracks. The first one, which delves into a conspiracy involving a multinational technology firm called Apex Cybernetics is led mainly by Millie Bobby Brown (who you might have seen as Eleven in Stranger Things). The other side features a cast of scientists and soldiers that are on a quest to go into the Hollow Earth.

The conspiracy portion of the human plot is more lighthearted but serves to set up a major plot point and explain the climactic final battle in the movie. All of the characters are eccentric, though Madison Russell (played by Millie Bobby Brown) is the most serious of the characters involved in this arc. The other two are a conspiracy blogger (Bernie Hayes played by Brian Tyree Henry) and Madison's friend Josh Valentine (played by Julian Dennison). Bernie is full of eccentric ticks and habits and brings some levity to the screen to help lighten the often somber mood and Josh plays the comedic foil and butt of a few jokes even as he helps save the day.

The other human plot is build around the plan by Dr. Nathan Lind (played by Alexander Skarsgård) to use Apex Cybernetic's resources to enter the Hollow Earth - and they'll use King Kong as their
guide. Rebecca Hall plays Dr. Ilene Andrews, Monarch's chief Kong scientist, who looks after an Iwi (Skull Island native) girl named Jia (played by Kaylee Hottle). Together they use a military naval task, cutting edge technology, and a cast of additional supporting characters to descend into the Hollow Earth and investigate it, learning more about King Kong and his ancestors, which helps provide Kong with the resources he needs to battle Godzilla.

These two human plots mostly exist to provide the context for the giant monster battles. The first monster fight is at sea, involving Kong and Godzilla fighting amongst a US Navy fleet, using the ships as stepping stones and floating platforms to stand upon. There's a real sense of danger during this fight with Godzilla's mobility in the water giving him the same menacing feeling of a shark. Kong's need to breathe helps drive the drama and action of the scene with the humans ultimately helping resolve the conflict.

The second battle takes place in Hong Kong and is a gorgeously rendered set piece with dramatic and effective effects. It looks good. It has a great tempo. And it's a treat to see.

The audio effects in the movie have a great sound to them. The high-tech looking machinery sounds appropriately slick and futuristic. The monsters have their trademark roars and breathing sounds. The crunch of punches, crash of buildings, and explosions are all lovingly delivered by the audio engineers. The soundtrack has a few outstanding moments in it as well, such as the pompous horns delivered by it during the first fight between Kong and Godzilla, harkening back to the brassy soundtrack of Toho's older Godzilla films.

In the end, this is a stronger Godzilla movie than many of the entries in the Showa-era but the computer graphics lack some of the charm of the old Toho Suitmation style of movie. The movie delivers a solid audio-visual experience with the only weak portions, predictably, being the human cast's segments of the film. Whenever something big and stompy is on screen, or we're taking in the otherworldly, almost videogame-like Hollow Earth, the movie is in its prime and delivering on all reasonable expectations.