PIC OF THE WEEK!
Movie Review – Godzilla vs. Kong
Review by Ray Schillaci
In this corner, weighing in at 164,000 tons, 581 feet long, breathing out radioactive fire with a deadly tail and knocking down 16 Titans, the Lizard King, Godzilla! And in this corner, weighing in at 55.1155 tons, standing at 338 feet, the primate known to be the fastest and more agile on land with strong legs that have him leap tall buildings at a single bound, enormously powerful arms and fists that pack the most deadliest wallop that has knocked out every manner of creature on Skull Island making him King, Kong! Warner Brothers releases the beasts for a knock down, drag out fight in Godzilla vs. Kong, the purest popcorn movie of the year.
Cast members that have survived the havoc these two have rained down on mankind return in this sequel of the last three monsterfests. At least, those that were either available, didn’t have a dispute over contracts or the writers didn’t deem them necessary. That’s too bad, because sorely missing are Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe and John C. Reilly. Replacing them as different characters are Rebecca Hall, Alexander Skarsgård, Brian Tyree Henry and Julian Dennison. All are very capable, but few display the strengths they have demonstrated in other projects.
That is the only weak link in this monster-rama that flexes its muscles on full display. Director Adam Wingard and his team of talented writers take the best of the previous films and fuel their movie with more humor and spectacle. We haven’t seen this much eye-candy since James Cameron’s Avatar. Too bad it wasn’t shot in 3-D, but then, during the time of COVID that would not make sense.
This tale of two monsters takes place five years after Godzilla: King of the Monsters and 51 years after the events in Kong: Skull Island, which explains why Larson, Hiddleston and Reilly’s characters did not return. Kong appears to be much older and settled into his environment on Skull Island. At least that’s what it appears to be. The big gorilla-like ape launches a tree into the sky and reveals he’s being held in a giant dome on Skull Island. He’s being monitored by the Monarch company and Kong expert Ilene Andrews. The only thing that seems to tame Kong is a little Iwi native who is deaf.
On the other side of the globe, the once believed savior of mankind, Godzilla, lashes out destroying a building belonging to Apex Cybernetics in Florida. An employee of Apex, Bernie Hayes, suspects the company is up to something sinister and may be the reason for the attack. Hayes also hosts a conspiracy theory podcast revolving around Titans which propels him into launching his own amateur espionage mission.
Meanwhile, Madison (played by Millie Bobbie Brown) has become a fan of the Hayes podcast and asks her young friend Josh to help her investigate the attack because she knows down deep in her heart Godzilla would not arbitrarily attack the human race. We know Madison from Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the young girl that found the kindness in Mothra and the protector in the lizard king.
The CEO of Apex seeks out Nathan Lind, a Hollow Earth theorist to find a new source of energy, but they need Kong to lead them to it. The big danger in this is if Godzilla gets wind of Kong or vice versa there will be a rumble unlike any have ever seen for there can be only one king. The rest of the movie revolves around the Kong team venturing into Hollow Earth with Kong while Godzilla attempts to stop them.
But, why? What can be so nefarious about Apex that Godzilla goes from defender of humanity to raging monster? How will all the human characters tie into what will basically be a battle royale? And, who will win King of the Monsters or the Eighth Wonder of the World? Does it all sound convoluted? Yes, but it’s also so much fun.
Anyone with a fondness for monster movies is going to be treated to one of the best all out monster brawls put to screen. The visuals are epic and the sound and music score are thrilling. Godzilla and Kong may have more breadth in the way they’ve been written over many of the human characters. But, monster movie lovers rarely care about that. Godzilla vs. Kong does exactly what it sets its sights on – entertaining us and that’s what makes it so re-watchable.
Godzilla vs. Kong is simultaneously playing in theaters and on HBO Max.
Visit Ray’s blog at themonsterinmyhead.com
Directed by: Adam Wingard
Release Date: March 31, 2021
Run Time: 113 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
Country: USA/Australia/Canada/India
Distributor: Warner Brothers
