The Titans. Mighty beings whose with strength and abilities that could destroy cities, countries or even the entire world. When a titan comes along the world faces a shift, with powerful countries running to allies knowing they can't face the enemy alone. But what happens when there's more than one enemy, or when they're fighting one another?
With a title like Godzilla vs. Kong you have to pick a side, and I'm deffo Team Kong. Looking back at all of the monster titan movies I've seen, I always felt that Kong was sympathetic to the cause and a true defender. When Kong: Skull Island was released I was so much happier with the story and telling of it compared with the earlier rendition King Kong. When Godzilla came out in 2014 I found it really drawn out, with not a lot of action to meet my expectations. I'm not a huge fan of Aaron Taylor-Johnson anyways; I personally think he lacks range in his characters and their personality, which draws me to the next point - there was a definite need of a strong human character to counteract the world's favourite monster, who was also pretty absent from the movie now that I think about it. But anyways, onto the film at hand!
So the movie starts out with Godzilla attacking an Apex facility in California, with no clear cut reason or explanation that we can see. A secretive device is shifted from the California branch across to Hong Kong, with no more mentioned. It's decided that Kong will be moved from his current prison, which is what appears to be a rainforest inside of a dome created by scientists to contain him in order to ensure he remains undetectable by Godzilla. Why they've chosen this exact moment to transport him across the globe, with Godzilla on a path of destruction, I don't really know. On the bad plan scale of 1 to 10, I'm gonna say it's atleast an 8. Whilst this is happening a familiar face is drawn into the story, with Millie Bobby Brown returning, seeking out the identity of an anonymous titan conspiracy Podcaster. That part excited me, where they took it did not - totally unnecessary part of the story which didn't bring anything exciting to the table. You could have used all of the scenes that Madison and her companions were in, but without any of them, and it wouldn't have made much of a difference at all. The use of her dad was null and void too - if it were a debate he'd be a moot point. The Podcast guy though, I'd be happy to keep him in it in some way. Love me a conspiracy.
The story takes a turn and, although it's titled Godzilla vs. Kong, that isn't where the movie went and at maybe only 2 points is the focus of the story. Yes, we get to see them fighting, but it seems so odd. It isn't what Godzilla seemed to be aiming to do, but at the same time it doesn't feel like he is trying to do anything else. Very misguided! If the film was just the titans, with the human aspects of the story removed, I'd be up to maybe an 8. There is a surprise appearance which feeds you a little bit more of the classic MonsterVerse that some people have been gagging for! I thought it was lame. Oguri Shun is on of my favourite J-Drama actors and he had hardly any lines, with next to no screen time, and it was a real disappointment for me. When I saw him billed I was so excited! Ugh. I mean, without trying to spoil everything, how was what happens even possible - if you know about the meaning of the word they use to describe what they are trying to do, they'd know that what they have isn't enough to achieve said thing... moving on!
The movie was visually impeccable. I love the emotion they show on Kong's face. It's so human like and so powerful. I thought that the special effects were mostly great, with a vibrancy we've come to enjoy from this film series. The neon skyline and city fighting scenes were a pleasure to watch! Felt a little bit Tron like. The scenes from hollow earth are exactly what I was hoping for. The upside down layer in the sky was a nice touch.
The soundtrack was stunning - a farcry from the previous Junkie XL soundtrack I made light of in my last review (Zack Snyder's Justice League). There was strength behind our titans, with a sense of humility where needed.
Now then, I've touched on it a little, but what really let me down was the human based story. The redeemer on that front would be Jia, the little girl who is Kong's bestie. She doesn't need to speak for us to know what she thinks or feels. She shows everything in her face. A great little actress who I can see going places for sure! Outside of this her relationship with Ilene is also a nice feature - they've formed a strong bond and it's clear that Ilene has come to love Jia like a daughter. So sweet! Military people are pretty useless, see 'Exhibit A' Godzilla 2014 for another time that they were rubbish. As for scientists all wanting to try and create problems for the world, why oh why is it now cool for this to happen?! Bad scientists.
Overall I would say it's worth a watch, but it definitely isn't the strongest movie of 2021. Will it bring about the solid return of the cinema? Unlikely! I would probably watch it again on the big screen though because I think watching it at home doesn't quite do it justice. It's a well put together film, it's just the story and characters that have let it down for me!
Review by CB
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