GODZILLA VS KONG

 

Two icons of cinema, one film to try and contain them both. The MonsterVerse established back in 2014 with Godzilla roars back on to our screens with Godzilla vs Kong, an almighty clash of the titans that, with many cinemas still shut around the world, may cause a lot of TVs to give way. It's a battle for the ages but who's your money on?

Legends collide as Godzilla and Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, clash on the big screen in a spectacular battle for the ages. As a squadron embarks on a perilous mission into fantastic uncharted terrain, unearthing clues to the Titans' very origins and mankind's survival, a conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever.

With Godzilla having had two films centered around him in the MonsterVerse and Kong only having one so far, the former who even has top billing finds himself taking a backseat because Godzilla vs Kong is very much a film for the iconic ape to take centre stage. The narrative leans more into the lore of Kong with the Hollow Earth an exciting new area to explore in the franchise and somewhere I hope they revisit in future instalments, if there were to be more. 

The human characters are as expendable as they ever have been in the franchise, save for Rebecca Hall's Ilene Andrews, a scientist studying Kong on Skull Island and Kaylee Hottle's Jia, a deaf girl native to Skull Island who has formed a bond with Kong through using sign language. It's something that allows a proper emotional connection to be made with the ape for the first time since Peter Jackson made his epic outing for the character back in 2005.

The likes of Alexander Skarsgard, Kyle Chandler, Eiza Gonzalez and Millie Bobby Brown don't really offer much other than their fair share of exposition throughout. To say they're wasted is a little harsh because they're not really what anyone is watching Godzilla vs Kong for in all honesty.

What we are all here for is watching these two duke it out and the results really are as spectacular as you could ever imagine. The bouts are visually stunning, their first encounter at sea emphasising just how incredible the visual effects work is on this film, while the fight amongst the eye-popping neon-soaked skyline of Hong Kong is remnant of Adam Wingard's visual style. It's certainly one of the better looking films in the MonsterVerse so far.

The camera movements throughout the action sequences are incredible, bringing coherency to each and every beat of action while also taking the audience close-quarters to the brutality of the fights, the final one being an absolute belter full of carnage that reminded me of the Attitude Era of the WWE in the best way possible. The shot of Kong popping his shoulder back in before zooming to his face with an exhale of breath, signalling he's ready for a fight, is just one of the moments that left a huge smile on my face.

Accompanied by a thunderously loud score from Junkie XL, himself having a memorable year in his career, Godzilla vs Kong is, quite literally, the biggest film of the year that truly delivers on what was promised. Films like this are why cinema was created. 

Verdict: ★★★★