‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ Spoiler Free Review Of A Dull Movie

The forth film in Legendary Pictures “Monster-verse” saga finally delivers a rematch 59 years in the making. Adam Wingard’s big-budget, titan showdown ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ is available in theaters and on HBO Max. Off of an estimated budget of around $175 million, the film grossed 161 million in its first two days. Currently, the film sits at 76% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Kyle Chandler and Millie Bobby Brown are the only returning cast members from ‘Godzilla: King of Monsters’ but whether they are used effectively remains to be seen. 

‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ takes place five years after ‘King of Monsters’ and since the events of that film the world has seemingly moved on forward as normal. Monarch has transitioned from being a shady monster hunting agency to yet another bureaucratic branch of the government. All the while, having learned nothing from the past five years, they have dedicated a huge amount or resources to keeping King Kong locked up. Although the film will tell you that this is because “no two alpha titans can exist at the same time” and what they are doing is for Kong’s own good. A sentiment that always turns out a-okay in movies. 

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The action in ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ is top notch.

Both literally and figuratively, this movie pulls no punches. There are two major GvK fights in the movie, both of which have been shown in the trailer. Additionally there is a second battle at the climax with the films main antagonist which is equally as impressive. ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ certainly delivers on the titular showdown better than other “verses” movies have in the past. However, with that said, there are several glaring issues with this movie.

First and foremost, ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ falls into the same trap that ‘Batman V. Superman’ did. What do you do with the rest of the story and cast when the main characters are not fighting? This characters in the film have absolutely nothing to do. When Kong or Godzilla are not on screen the pacing slows to a snails pace and the movie suffers for it. ‘Godzilla: King of Monsters’ leaned in to bring a big dumb action movie.

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‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ is neither big and dumb enough to be enjoyable nor is it small and smart enough to hold the audience’s attention.

Additionally, the world in which this movie takes place is hard to understand. There seems to be little to no fall out from ‘King of Monsters’. While this would be fine if the last movie was small and contained, however ‘King of Monsters’ was anything but.  Strangely enough, there is no indication that any of the previously seen titans still exist. The final shot of ‘Godzilla: King of Monsters’ shows the titular lizard in alpha mode, surrounded by dozens of other titans. Come ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ they must have all taken a holiday or were otherwise too busy to help the king fight an ape. 

Sadly, the titular showdown of ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ does not make up for an overall lackluster movie. Furthermore, the world that has been created for Legendary Pictures “Monster-verse” has become so detached from reality that future films will have a difficult time telling a worthwhile story. This movie suffers from an identity crisis between the film they want to make and the film fans expected. At the end of the day, it would have been wise to either make one more movie before Kong and Godzilla fight, or dedicate the entire film to the conflict. However at the end of the day ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’, a movie about a giant lizard fighting a giant ape, some however managed to be boring.