One Will Fall

Godzilla vs. Kong is the MVP of the MonsterVerse. All audiences want to see is a giant lizard fight a giant ape on the biggest screen possible. Though Legendary didn’t intend it to be a remake, Godzilla vs. Kong was every bit as successful as King Kong vs. Godzilla in 1962. The Godzilla franchise continued from 1964 to 2019 with a multitude of sequels and reboots made in Japan and America. The King Kong franchise picked up in 1967 with its latest incarnation in 2017. The MonsterVerse was always building up to a crossover between Godzilla and Kong. It was a long time coming, since Toho had trouble replicating the success of King Kong vs. Godzilla when the rights to Kong fell through.

Godzilla vs. Kong proved Hollywood was just as capable of bringing the 2 icons together. Although Godzilla: King of the Monsters seemed like a difficult kaiju battle to top, never underestimate seeing 2 alphas fighting for dominance. My brother and I were instantly won over the moment we saw the action-packed trailer. Unfortunately, we were forced to wait over a year when the Pandemic struck. Warner Bros. eventually followed in the footsteps of Wonder Woman 1984 by releasing the movie simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. My family made the right decision to see Godzilla vs. Kong in theaters and it’s honestly one of my all time favorite movie going experiences…

Godzilla vs. Kong on a ship

Godzilla vs. Kong is like watching a wrestling match between 2 giant monsters. Every director in the MonsterVerse had their own style, but Adam Wingard finally understood the assignment. Wingard’s career was less definable with mostly horror movies and few successes. Though he was offered the chance to direct Skull Island, making a movie with both Godzilla and King Kong was the next best thing. Godzilla vs. Kong is one big spectacle with a sense of humor, fan service, and a brisk runtime under 2 hours. It’s basically The Avengers of the MonsterVerse. Decades after the events of Kong: Skull Island, Kong has aged into a formidable alpha with a touch of grey in his fur. The CGI motion capture makes him easy to empathize with despite increasing to approximately the size of Godzilla. My brother and I joked about there being a crossover between 1998 Godzilla and 2005 King Kong, but that wouldn’t have made sense with their height difference.

2017 Kong was always meant to fight 2014 Godzilla, but they’re kept apart since 2 alphas can’t coexist without conflict. Especially since Godzilla and Kong are the last of an ancient rivalry between the Titans. Kong is kept on Skull Island under a giant dome built by Monarch that he tries to break using tree branches. Rebecca Hall plays Kong whisperer Ilene Andrews who spent years studying his behavior. Though it would be easy to make her the beauty in Kong’s life, his strongest bond actually lies with deaf Iwi child Jia played by the unknown Kaylee Hottle. Jia became Ilene’s adoptive daughter after her people were wiped out. She connects with Kong through sign language and interprets for him. It would also be easy to call Kong the hero, but Godzilla was never the villain.

Even though he’s first seen attacking the Apex research facility in Pensacola, Florida. Since Godzilla’s eyes are glowing like his atomic breath, it’s obvious that something is provoking him. Apex Cybernetics is a technologically advanced company run by Demián Bichir as CEO Walter Simmons. Simmons works with the Japanese Shun Oguri who plays Dr. Serizawa’s never before mentioned son Ren. Since Zhang Ziyi and Jessica Henwick were both cut, Oguri ended up being the only Asian in the cast. You’d think we’d learn a lot about him as the son of Serizawa, but he’s barely in the movie. Simmons and Serizawa recruit Alexander Skarsgård who plays Monarch geologist Nathan Lind. Like Brooks, Lind worked on a Hollow Earth theory and lost his brother in a failed attempt to reach the core. Using futuristic reverse gravitational aircraft called HEAVs, Simmons hopes to extract a great power for his mysterious weapon.

Brian Tyree Henry is either the biggest scene stealer or an over-the-top conspiracy theorist. Either way, Bernie Hayes is an Apex employee who attempts to expose the company and witnesses Godzilla’s attack. His Titan conspiracy podcast is heard by an older Madison Russell. Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler ended up being the only returning characters from King of the Monsters. Brown really grew into her role with a much bigger part as the independent Madison. Her father Mark is severely reduced as part of a Monarch response team, but it is ironic that Chandler ended up in another Kong movie after appearing in King Kong (2005). Lance Reddick is also barely in the movie as the new director of Monarch. Godzilla vs. Kong is mostly split between 2 distinct groups of humans.

Team Godzilla consists of Madison and her pointless friend Josh played by Julian Dennison. They track down Bernie and learn more about his crusade. Though he’s mostly around for comic relief, Bernie is driven by the death of his wife and carries a flask that will be important later. Team Kong consists of Nathan who convinces Ilene and Jia to take Kong off the island to find his home. Similar to King Kong vs. Godzilla, Kong travels by Military boat with chains restraining him. Eiza González plays Simmons’ untrustworthy daughter Maia who oversees the mission on her father’s behalf. Jia keeps Kong calm, but she senses Godzilla approaching in the water. Godzilla tears through ships and jets while the Military debates whether or not to release Kong.

Round 1 is even better than I was expecting. Kong pounds his chest and Godzilla roars as they exchange punches. Highlights include Kong somehow jumping onto aircraft carriers despite his size, using a jet like a paper airplane, Godzilla shooting his atomic breath underwater, and nearly drowning Kong. Kong: Skull Island understood the need to see kaiju action unobscured, but we’ve never seen Godzilla this clear in a fight before. The camera actually holds on the giant monsters without constantly cutting back to humans. Godzilla is made to think he won and leaves. Though it’s not as silly as giant balloons, another homage to King Kong vs. Godzilla is Kong traveling by airlift to the Hollow Earth launchsite in Antarctica. Ever since his creation in 1933, Kong has been fairly grounded. So I never expected to see him free fall into the Earth’s core.

HEAV ships withstand the reverse gravity and follow Kong to his home. Kong establishes dominance by defeating a deadly winged Warbat and drinking its guts. The journey to Kong’s home requires him to run on all fours, but he stands upright once he enters his ancestral throne room. Kong has no family left, but he does claim a nifty axe fashioned from Godzilla’s dorsal plate. Which means it creates a power source that Apex is after. Meanwhile, Madison, Josh, and Bernie find an elevator in the ruined Apex base that leads all the way to Hong Kong. They discover pods containing Skullcrawlers that are being used to test the ultimate weapon. Any self respecting Godzilla fan knows it could only be Mechagodzilla.

This was the first time Mechagodzilla appeared in an American production, but the giant mecha very nearly made its debut in King of the Monsters. It was only a matter of time since Mechagodzilla has appeared just as much as Godzilla’s greatest enemy King Ghidorah. Turns out the surviving skull of Ghidorah is foolishly being used like a supercomputer and telepathically operated by Serizawa. Simmons intended Mechagodzilla to replace Godzilla as the new alpha. Mechagodzilla is entirely CGI with a more robotic appearance that doesn’t look like a suit. It comes equipped with missiles and a powerful internal laser that doesn’t last without the power source. Maia shows her true colors by taking the power and sending it to her father.

Aptly named Hell Hawks descend on the crew, but Godzilla is apparently powerful enough to shoot a hole through Hollow Earth with his atomic breath. Maia tries to leave after shooting at Kong, but he crushes her ship. Only Nathan, Ilene, and Jia are able to escape. Kong actually falls/climbs all the way to Hong Kong where he faces Godzilla for round 2. Hong Kong was the best setting for the climax since it was a colorful Asian city and has Kong in the name. The second fight is more evenly matched with Kong using his axe against Godzilla’s atomic breath. Highlights include Kong jumping onto buildings, Godzilla laughing, and Kong shoving his axe down Godzilla’s throat. The callback to the infamous tree scene in King Kong vs. Godzilla was so satisfying I had to cheer. Kong ends up winning when he brings the axe down on Godzilla.

Round 3 is less fair when Godzilla gets rid of the axe and repeatedly slashes at Kong. The only highlight is Godzilla and Kong roaring in eachothers faces. Godzilla is victorious, but Kong is replaced by a far greater enemy. The power source causes Ghidorah to take over Mechagodzilla and become sentient. It’s a good compromise between the man made Mechagodzilla and its extraterrestrial roots. Serizawa is overwhelmed by the machine and Simmons is killed mid-speech. Mechagodzilla attacks Hong Kong and nearly kills Godzilla. Kong is half dead himself, but the HEAV is used like a defibrillator and Kong fixes his dislocated arm with the side of a building. Did I mention how perfectly ridiculous this movie is.

I cheered again when Kong is convinced to save Godzilla before Mechagodzilla is able to use its laser. Like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a common threat is enough to bring the feuding monsters together. Bernie’s flask is used to take out Mechagodzilla’s computer system long enough for a counterattack. Godzilla charges Kong’s axe and Mechagodzilla is torn apart. Luckily Kong doesn’t drink its motor oil in victory. Despite saving his life, it looks like Godzilla still wants to fight. Kong puts down his axe and they finally call a truce. Godzilla returns to the sea and Kong makes a new home in Hollow Earth. It’s the best possible conclusion that I just can’t imagine a sequel to. Godzilla vs. Kong made going to the movies fun again.

Godzilla vs. Kong in Hong Kong

Preceded by: Kong: Skull Island & Godzilla: King of the Monsters & Followed by: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire