Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

[Eric Duncan]

Discuss!

 

#TeamKong

[grim22]

Perfect example of a movie knowing why people are watching it and giving the audience exactly what they want. Once the setup is dispensed with in the first 40 minutes, the next hour is great. The GvK fights are great and I am so thankful there was no hiding the monsters like Godzilla 14, and no obscured night time fights like Pacific Rim, and no rainy debris filled fight like KOTM.

 

Was most surprised by this scene being in the movie tbh 

 

 

[Cap]

This is the prime example of why we need movie theaters.  I watched about an hour of it before work -- found it super boring and generic, because why do they have humans in these movies? Why are you making me suffer through "portal to hollow earth blah blah blah".  Just let them fight!  Del Toro got this in Pac Rim.  Anyway, I turned it off to go to work, and I finally got another to finishing the last 30 minutes.

 

By that time the day had passed, and all of the momentum was gone.  The third act is solid.  Thank God for fights in the day time!  Yet I couldn't shake the fact that this would've been awesome in a MOVIE THEATER.

 

So it was perfectly adequate.  The best part is Kong, and how they manage to humanize him and his suffering.  That was lovely.    

[OncomingStorm93]

I watched Kong Skull Island and Godzilla King of the Monsters, both for the first time, and then and Godzilla Vs Kong. Skull Island was the strongest of all three films, KotM had gorgeous visuals (I liked the rainy/snowy/flamey night effects. Added a gritty texture). GvK unfortunately was the weakest, with mostly uninspired visuals and the weakest human dialogue of all these Monsterverse films. Millie Bobby Brown was playing an entirely different character in GvK than she played in KotM.

 

Also feels like GvK got the Josstice League edit treatment. It's an hour and 45 minutes before credits, and it's obvious that many scenes were cut out of the first half. It's a very lean edit. Lean in the sense they trimmed so much fat off the film, but also in the sense the editing is generic. Little of the ingeniuty that was seen in Kong Skull Island.

 

It also feels like this had the smallest budget for practical shooting of all the monster films. I'm talking about the non-CGI production values. All seemed like a step back from KotM.

 

It's only fair to acknowledge that any time both Kong and Godzilla shared the screen together, this was a 10/10 movie. Those sequences were worth the hypothetical price of admission. But every scene without Godzilla and Kong punching was a dud. Man this script was weak.

 

Kong Skull Island --> Godzilla --> King of the Monsters --> Godzilla Vs Kong.

[MOVIEGUY]

This was good fun. Action scenes were actually great. This is a capital B-movie and it knows it. I loved that whole boat setpiece, they were not going for any sense of realism and it just added to the fun how implausibly dumb everything was. Every time Godzilla or King Kong got some contrived "assist" from the humans it cracked me up (that last one, LMAO). The "hollow earth" setpiece was great fun, that alone would make the movie worth seeing in IMAX. The human scenes, while not "good", aren't a complete and utter chore to get through, and that's all I ask of these movies.

 

Best part of the movie was Godzilla chasing down Kong with the laser breath, had that bitch ass monke shook. Also kinda thought the movie lost steam when Kong & Godzilla teamed up against Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla was a fun addition but the final fight felt kinda rushed and the scene where the little island girl convinced Kong to help was fucking duuuumb lol.

 

Definitely the best Godzilla movie in this universe. Haven't checked out Skull Island yet

 

Spoiler

If it was a REAL movie Godzilla would've killed the stupid monkey when he had the chance

 

Edited April 2, 2021 by MOVIEGUY

[CoolioD1]

Enjoyed this a lot. the last half hour was godlike. I'm team Kong but I'm still happy with the way that this played out. You follow him through 90% of the film because the filmmakers know he's more inherently interesting to watch than boring Godzilla, you give Godzilla the W in their match up because you know his fans are the type of nerds who care about power levels and shit but you still give the big hero moment to Kong at the end. Satisfactory. 

 

Did think this movie missed some of the grandiosity and scale that Godzilla '14 totally nailed though. Both of them are just kinda introduced with such little fanfare here. They don't feel HUGE like the monsters do in that movie.

[FilmFincher]

Watched it twice now

Mixed feelings on the film. The first half is rough. But I was mostly entertained by the second half. A definite step up from KOTM. 

 

Characters

Spoiler

 

Team Godzilla is awful throughout the film. Absolute waste of Brian Tyree Henry and Julian Denison. Henry's character is so obnoxious and irritating and it seems like Mille Bobby Brown's character has been indoctrinated by him (they're both on board with bleach showers?). They were especially annoying in the 3rd act. Leave the monsters to it, cut them out of the film. Godzilla is portrayed as more villainous through the film and gets less screen time but that didn't bother me too much. 

 

Team Kong fairs stronger. Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skasgard were in the film and didn't annoy me. The little girl and Kong were solid enough. Kong has a really nice personality to him throughout. Felt like they could have milked more out of this finding a new home arc. When the film was focused on him it worked.

 

Damien Bashir and Eiza Gonzalez are playing the role they need to. Wasn't bothered by them.

 

The attempt at backstory for Skasgard and Henry's characters were woeful.

 

2 seconds of Lance Reddick was hilarious. Saw his name in the opening credits and waited for him to show up the whole film and we never see him again.

 

 

Script/Plot

Spoiler

 

I had zero problems with zanier plot elements, the technology, Godzilla breathing a hole to the centre of the earth, Ghidorah skull controlling Mechagodzilla etc. I've accepted the universe/tone for what it is now, like I've had to do with Jurassic Park. But that doesn't mean you can half ass the things a film needs to be entertaining. If this is what they're going for, take a page out of Fast & Furious' books. Hell, import the cast over. 

 

This might be the laziest script I've had to endure in a long time. Some of the dialogue these actors have to say. I felt bad for them. The Mechagodzilla pilot was Serizawas son and it had zero bearing. There's mentions of Eiza Gonzalez and Damien Beschir being father/daughter which adds nothing. The two chekhov's gun in the final act of the alcohol and the ship with enough power were revealed in the most trite ways. 

 

The titular fight is entirely built up through a couple of lines from Rebecca Hall about how there's a theory of ancient rivals. The film itself fails to build any anticipation for these two coming head to head. It's almost an afterthought in the grand scheme of the plot. I thought at the very least we'd get cave paintings of the two fighting or something in the hollow earth.

 

I thought Kong's personal storyline and the stuff with the kid worked pretty well though. Could have used more focus in fact. I reckon you can get away with a film just from Kong's perspective based on this. 

 

 

The Action

Spoiler

 

The aircraft carrier set piece was dissapointing. All 20 seconds of the good action and fisticuffs was in the trailers. The rest was lots of explosions and underwater grabbing. 

 

The film really kicks in with the journey to the centre of the earth stuff. Really entertaining. Fun creature designs/battles. Looked beautiful.

 

Hong Kong fight was great. Big improvement on physics and overall CGI from KOTM. The fight had actual choreography to it and changing dynamics between the two. By the nature of it being a rematch, there was some investment in the fight. 

 

Happy with the outcome. Godzilla wins the fight but Kong gets to defeat Mechagodzilla. 

 

Mechagodzilla design is fine. A bit goofy at first. Ready Player One design would have been ideal. Him slicing the Skull Crawler was a good introduction. 

The bit where it becomes self aware is really fun, creeping up slowly in the background. 

 

Loved the beam battle between Mechagodzilla and Godzilla, also when Mechagodzilla tries to use Godzilla own move on him. 

 

Could have used more team up moves between Kong/Godzilla. The film didn't capitalise on that potential but there's a few good moves in there. 

 

 

Directing and Technicals

Spoiler

 

Wingard was much better at directing CG sequences than Dougherty and it was pretty well done. He does approach the monsters with a casualness. There's none of the grandiosity, sense of anticipation or flair that'll you'll find in G'14 or Pacific Rim but he allows himself to revel in the sequences more than KOTM did.

 

His live action directing was largely lackluster, choppy, and unimaginative though. Lots of off screen ADR exposition. Only thing that stood out were the Deaf sequences. Some nice lens usage at times and I quite liked all the colourful/neon/glowingness throughout. 

 

Sound design was better than KOTM. The score was actually allowed to shine in parts and not just oppressed by noise. The score itself is fine. Junkie XL does his samey stuff for the majority but the synth elements were appreciated. Took me back to The Guest. 

 

 

 

Start the film 51:20 in and you've got an entertaining hour on your hands. 

 

5/10

 

Series Ranking

Godzilla (2014)

Kong Skull Island

Godzilla vs. Kong

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Edited April 2, 2021 by FilmFincher

[titanic2187]

Lack of suspense/horror that we experience in KSI and Godzilla (2014), plot is way too cheap to anchor the epic fight between both, the last team up fight is a bit short and rush. The justification of "versus" element is poorly earned.

 

Overall it is a dumb action flick that cinema desperate need for escapist. 5.5/10 

[filmlover]

A fun big screen experience, and also the most satisfying movie in the Monsterverse to date. There isn't a whole lot here beyond the mayhem (the overqualified cast does whatever they can with the little they are given), but...oh come on. It's Godzilla and King Kong fighting each other while causing billions of dollars worth of property damage. When it delivers exactly what the title promises, who can really complain about everything else? B

[Chicago]

This was the first of these new monster movies that left me wanting more. I admire how they went all out bonkers without having pointlessly serious characters getting in the way of seeing the one thing I paid to see, monster mayhem destruction. Godzilla blasting his way through hundreds of miles of the earth crust to start a fight followed by a team up mechazilla showdown made me think I was a kid again and I loved every minute. 

[Chicago]

On 4/2/2021 at 5:25 PM, CoolioD1 said:

Enjoyed this a lot. the last half hour was godlike. I'm team Kong but I'm still happy with the way that this played out. You follow him through 90% of the film because the filmmakers know he's more inherently interesting to watch than boring Godzilla, you give Godzilla the W in their match up because you know his fans are the type of nerds who care about power levels and shit but you still give the big hero moment to Kong at the end. Satisfactory. 

 

Did think this movie missed some of the grandiosity and scale that Godzilla '14 totally nailed though. Both of them are just kinda introduced with such little fanfare here. They don't feel HUGE like the monsters do in that movie.

I do think Gareth Edwards did a great job on building the suspense and arguably had the best visuals out of the lot, It felt like an old school disaster movie. I just wish the characters had been more interesting to be around whilst waiting for Godzilla to show. 

[Menor the Destroyer]

Overall I really enjoyed this. Script-wise it's better than KOTM but worse than 2014 and K:SI, but what it lacks in plot/character it makes up for in some really nice worldbuilding and visuals. The Hollow Earth sequence was bar none my favorite out of all of these Monsterverse films, I liked the aesthetic of the Apex vehicles and the Godzilla/Kong fighting itself was great fun. The movie did a great job building up Kong, Godzilla was a bit underserved but when he came in it was awesome. Mechagodzilla was also quite cool. I'll give it a B+, very entertaining and perhaps my favorite of the Monsterverse films so far. Wish I could have seen it on a big screen (maybe it'll still be there when I'm finally vaccinated). 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Menor

[Avatree]

Nice to be back in the cinema. This was better than the abysmal King of the Monsters but still has many of its problems i.e. zero interesting characters or reasons to feel invested, and bad CGI fest fighting scenes. There's no sense of weight or size like in Godzilla 2014. Hollow Earth scenes would be cool and have some awe if it weren't for the bad CGI.

 

The kids & Brian Tyree Henry side-plot served no purpose and I dont understand why its in the film.

 

I was very conscious throughout the film that I had no clue what any of the characters' names were. How are we meant to be even slightly interested in what's going on?

 

At least you can actually see what is happening most of the time, unlike KOTM.