*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Godzilla vs. Kong*
In May 2014, my 16-year old self sat down to watch Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla on opening night in a sold-out IMAX 3-D theater. The reaction to the film’s incredible climax, after constantly teasing at the upcoming presence of the film’s titular character, was unlike anything I’d ever experienced on the big screen before. In only about fourteen minutes, Edwards delivered an exhilarating action sequence that finally did the iconic Kaiju monster justice after failing to Americanize it in 1998. With this, seeds were planted for a MonsterVerse. Two highly distinct sequels, Kong: Skull Island and the criminally underrated Godzilla: King of the Monsters, followed suit, whose action sequences were panned by critics for being “too dark.” Yet, it was my wildest childhood dream come true—seeing Godzilla (on fire!) fighting King Ghidorah directed with such expert visual splendor by Michael Dougherty. King of the Monsters’ fight sequences played with darkness to create visually arresting action through lightning and the impeccable timing of large-scale explosions. The latest film in the MonsterVerse, Godzilla vs. Kong, directed by Adam Wingard, unfortunately, misses the mark. Even two titans of the big screen duking it out can’t save this film from its bland visual style and an overcomplicated plot that relies too heavily on its poorly-written human characters.
The overall plot of Godzilla vs. Kong alternates between two human storylines. The first focuses on a scientist named Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), who developed theories on the Hollow Earth’s existence, where the titans supposedly live. He gets hired by Apex Cybernetics CEO Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) to lead an expedition to extract an energy source from Hollow Earth, with the aid of Kong and Monarch anthropologist Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), who has kept the titan in captivity, inside a HEX-like dome. Simmons does not tell Lind that he and Ren Serizawa (Shun Oguri) intend to use the energy source to power Mechagodzilla and kill the last two remaining titans. The second focuses on Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown, who reprises her role from King of the Monsters) and her friend, Josh (Julian Dennison), investigating Godzilla’s attack on Apex Cybernetics with conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), who hosts the “Titan Truth Podcast.” These storylines eventually interweave during the film’s bombastic climax but none of them are particularly interesting or inherently complex. They exist only as a pretext to set up a fight between two giants of monster cinema.
In past MonsterVerse films, the human element of these stories had emotional weight. Sure, some characters only served as exposition dumps to contextualize the monsters—most notably Ken Watanabe’s Ishirō Serizawa, whose sole purpose was to present the titans. However, he does share a heartbreaking scene with Godzilla when he sacrifices himself to bring him back to life in King of the Monsters. There’s almost no mention of that movie’s past events or how Emma Russell’s (Vera Farmiga) sacrifice in King of the Monsters affected Madison and Mark (Kyle Chandler). It’s almost as if King of the Monsters never existed.
Almost every human character in Godzilla vs. Kong is underdeveloped, with the two storylines moving at a rapid pace in order for the film to get to “the good stuff.” Writers Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein have crafted a story with too many characters who all seem to be detached from the battle between Godzilla, Kong, and, finally, Mechagodzilla. Compared to the previous three films, which added each director’s own visual flair, Godzilla vs. Kong’s action sequences are mostly bland due to the movie’s glossy visual style, which looks like any type of corporate-made blockbuster without an ounce of personality. Gareth Edwards incorporated his use of a dynamic, mobile camera from Monsters during the action sequences of Godzilla, which added lots of weight and kinetic excitement to them, while Jordan Vogt-Roberts and Michael Dougherty went all out in creating literal paintings designed to be hanged in a museum, for both Kong: Skull Island and King of the Monsters respectively. It’s a damn shame to say that Godzilla vs. Kong’s two major action set pieces have no sense of weight or visual excitement to them.
Since there’s no compelling story to draw audiences in quickly, most of the buildup for Godzilla and Kong’s matchup feels quite stale. There was no reason to have a human corporate antagonist with a hidden agenda who wants to harness the Hollow Earth’s energy to awaken and control a sentient weapon version of Godzilla. Mechagodzilla’s appearance is cool enough, and there are instances in which the robot is used brilliantly during the climax, but the “corporate” part of the creature’s inception and Bichir’s “evil plan” to kill the Titans could’ve been cut entirely and instead could’ve been concentrated to further develop the conflict between the two monsters. The other human characters don’t necessarily contribute to Godzilla vs. Kong’s buildup either, since the screenwriters didn’t craft enough reason to care about any of them, which also includes Godzilla and Kong, who somewhat feel terribly underused in their own movie.
With a runtime of 112 minutes, Godzilla vs. Kong’s biggest problem is its pacing. It wants to move quickly beyond the first act’s massive exposition dumps to get to the fighting, which sacrifices any instances of character and story development. It could’ve been an insanely fun blockbuster if it focused on the stars of the film—the titans—instead of the humans. It spends way too much time developing a story that most audiences don’t care about. They want to see pure mayhem, destruction, and chaos unfold through Godzilla and Kong’s senseless demolition while brawling in the streets of Hong Kong. Godzilla vs. Kong has no emotional weight, style, or the entertaining clash of the Titans the trailers promised us. You’re much better off watching Ishirō Honda’s incredibly campy King Kong vs. Godzilla, whose entertainment factor is far more exciting than anything Godzilla vs. Kong presents us.
