PLEASE NOTE - THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF THE MOVIE. I WILL NOT REVEAL ANY MAJOR PLOT POINTS FROM THE MOVIE.
It’s been a tough year. Recent global events causing many things to shut down, including cinemas. And while there have bene some new releases available on streaming platforms, movie studios are trying to hold back their biggest releases for when cinemas reopen. There are certain movies that demand to experienced on the big screen for the first time. Giant monster movies tend to be one of them. However, rather than waiting a month or more to watch two of the biggest monsters in cinematic history finally battle each other (again), I thought i’d bite the bullet and catch it on Amazon Prime. Godzilla vs Kong was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, especially given the last few entries in the franchise, none of which blew me away, but had their moments and were enjoyable enough. This may be a result of lockdown, but the trailers for this movie got me super hyped. So, will the stick the landing in this battle of the Titans? Who will win? And are you team Godzilla or Team Kong?
THE STORYGodzilla appears to be attacking humanity for an unknown reason and so Kong is brought in to help redress the balance. But is there more going than anyone is aware of?
OVERALL OPINIONWho doesn’t love a good monster movie? Especially nowadays, there are a welcome distraction. Happily, the filmmakers of Godzilla vs Kong have learned their lessons from Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters and finally cottoned on to the fact that audiences come to a monster movie for……the monsters. Not some human drama story tacked on. GvK delivers on the premise of the title and gives us some epic battles between the two titans.
The plot is fairly simple and straightforward, but it is difficult to discuss without giving away spoilers. However, I found myself thoroughly entertained. The comedy from Brian Tyree Henry and (to a lesser degree) Julian Dennison lands more times than it doesn’t, leaving other characters to focus on the two big leads. Visually, the movie is stunning. I know we live in an age where good CGI is to be expected; I think er have reached a point where audiences notice bad CGI more than good. But the effects works on both Kong and Godzilla are amazing. They always do some interesting camera shots during the fights, which adds a new dimension to things. However, unlike in a Michael Bay Transformers movie, you can see everything that is going on and know the geography during a fight scene.
Human wise, the cast does what is expected of them, although some characters have a lot more screen time than others. But no-one is annoying or has any cringe dialogue. And even the “villain” isn’t OTT (although he isn’t particularly memorable either).
Does GvK deliver on what we saw in the trailers? Yes. Would it have been a better, more enjoyable experience seeing it on the big screen. Yes. Am I glad I saw it? yes. It actually made me want to go back and watch all the other movies again in order. And maybe I will one day.
However, the one burning question I know everyone is dying to ask is “who wins?”. I won’t spoil that that here. But, whether you are team Godzilla or team Kong (like I am) you won’t be disappointed with anything in this movie.
THE PERFORMANCES Alexander Skarsgard - Dr Nathan Lind(Part of the Skarsgard clan (and the one with the most expressive eyes), Alex does a good job with the character, managing to avoid a lot cliche potholes that such a character could have fallen into.
Millie Bobby Brown - Madison RusselllShe has come a long way since Stranger Things. Once again reprising her role from Godzilla: King of the Monsters, she effortlessly steps back into the role, that has appropriately grown up a few years since the last outing. Could have done with a little more screen time, but that was a necessary sacrifice so we could have more of the big two on screen.
Kyle Chandler - Dr Mark RussellLike Millie Bobby Brown, Kyle Chandler reprises his role as her father. However, he has very limited screen time. But, it’s always great to see him.
Rebecca Hall - Dr IIlene AndrewsA new addition to the franchise, Rebecca Hall’s Dr Ilene Andrews is a specialist in Kong having studied him for a few years. Rebecca Hall always brings a natural realism to her roles, which makes them feel very grounded and that is the case here.
Brian Tyree Henry - Bernie HayesThe comedy relief in the movie, Bernie Hayes is a bit of a conspiracy theorist who ends up discovering he was right all along. Fortunately the comedy is not cringe-worthy or overdone, making the character very likeable. And Brian Tyree Henry also managed to bring some unexpected emotional depth to the character too, which never seems to happen with these types of characters in disaster/monster films.
Julian Dennison - Josh ValentineThe other comedy relief in the movie but not given as much screen time as other characters. Julian Dennison is very likeable and funny (he comedy bits were a stand out in Deadpool 2 for instance) but he gets overshadowed by Brian Tyree Henry.
Kaylee Hottle - JiaLike in the movie A Quiet Place, I like that they cast a deaf actress to play the role of deaf character. Despite being young, she was very impressive with her ability to convert emotion through just her facial expressions. And the connection she has with Kong is quite touching.
OTHER STUFFThe ScoreI’m not usually one to notice movie scores unless they are truly exceptional or stand out. And here, nothing stood out (not even the soundtrack). I did keep waiting to see if the excellent music from the trailer would play when Kong and Godzilla faced off. But, alas, no.
The ActionTHERE IS LOTS OF ACTION. However, as I said, it is very easy to follow and great to see the two Titans battle it out. I know a lot of people think Kong is the underdog due to Godzilla’s arsenal, but that what made the fights scenes so compelling.
The PacingAt a shoe under 2 hours, it is a fairly long movie. However, it is paced very well that it doesn’t drag in any places, I never got bored and I was never willing it to hurry past the “human” parts to get to the monsters.
FINAL VERDICTIf you normally find these kind of movies silly, then it won’t convert you (and that’s ok). However, if you are looking for a fun monster movie, where two titans kick the crap out of each other (that also has a little world and mythology building at the same time) then this is the movie for you.
Run time - 1h 53m
Rotten Tomatoes critics score (at time of writing) - 76%
My Score: 8/10 MY MOVIE RATING SYSTEM
10- Citizen F*%king Kane (A+)
9- Bloody Great (A)
8- Really rather good (A-)
7- Pretty decent (B+)
6- Definitely above average (B)
5- Middle of the road average (C)
4- Mediocre (D)
3- Meh (E)
2- Crap (F)
1- Why the hell did I waste my time and money on this abomination (Unrated)