Godzilla vs Kong: no losers in epic monster vs monster flick

In the 3^rd instalment to Legendary's Monsterverse, Adam Wingard takes over the helm from Michael Dougherty to direct the second showdown between Godzilla and Kong after nearly 60 years. It's safe to say, Wingard managed to overcome the shortcomings of the last 2 instalments with Godzilla vs Kong.

Unlike Godzilla (2014) which focused too much on the human aspect of the story, or Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) which came packed to the brim with colossal monsters but struggled with poorly shot fighting sequences, Godzilla vs Kong delivers an action-packed balance of both monster and humans throughout its runtime of 1 hour 53 minutes.

Following the core idea of the 1962 classic, this iteration of the showdown pits the underdog Kong against the reigning King of the monsters, Godzilla. For the first half of the movie, the audience gets enough emotional scenes to really feel for Kong as a peace-loving, intelligent creature. On the other hand, a step away from the story till now, a rampaging Godzilla is set up as the antihero and no longer humanity's protector.

Where the previous movies failed, Wingard portrayed the Titans with distinct facial expressions—of rage, rivalry, dominance and even fear and loneliness. Both Kong and Godzilla feel more like characters themselves than mindless forces of destruction. While Godzilla is driven by the instinct to maintain his supremacy, Kong fights to protect the humans he bonds with. But the movie delivers just the right balance of power between the two Kaiju to make both sides of the fandom happy.

While the monsters provide some spectacular action sequences across different terrains, the human side of the story doesn't feel dragged out either. Though the jump in technological prowess since the last movie often feels unbelievable, the human side of the story remains true to the franchise's usual trend of pro vs anti-monster factions. But what truly feels different about the humans this time around, is the depiction of fear and chaos. Unlike the previous films where human crafts and cities being run over by giant monsters felt like a backdrop only, Wingard succeeds in showing the helpless, disoriented human point of view while the Titans clash above. As if paying homage to Toho's classic Godzilla destroying Tokyo trope, a charged-up Godzilla emerging out of the sea to trample the city of Hong Kong manages to send the right amount of chills down the audience's spine.

The soundtrack may be the only downside to the movie. While Bear McCreary's composition for Godzilla: King of the Monsters provided fan-pleasing remixes of the classic theme songs from the Toho movies, Thomas Holkenborg's music for Godzilla vs Kong feels a bit bland in comparison, especially during the titanic clash towards the end of the movie.

Beyond the jaw-dropping action and special effects, the movie also offers enough twists to keep the audience at the edge of their seats. With a first-look into the "Hollow Earth" concept only alluded to in previous movies, Godzilla vs Kong leaves enough content to set up future movies in the Monsterverse, that is if the movie is met with expected success. Otherwise, Godzilla vs Kong may be the explosive conclusion to Legendary's Godzilla trilogy.

The verdict

Godzilla vs Kong is an improvement in almost every way from the previous movies. No matter which Titan you side with, the movie is sure to thrill any monster flick fan. With 60 years of history, anticipation and fierce rivalry fanning the flames, the epic rematch between these pop-culture giants is definitely worth the watch.

A long-winded history

Godzilla and King Kong are probably the most recognisable symbols in pop culture worldwide. Since their birth in the last century, these movie icons have inspired many sequels, remakes, cartoons, comics, video games and even theme park rides. Sometimes rampaging monsters, fierce rivals and sometimes defenders of humanity, these titans share an interesting history both on and off-screen.

In 1933, the first King Kong was released by Radio Pictures to become a sensational success, essentially giving birth to the giant monster trend in the world of cinema. Nearly two decades later, King Kong was re-released in 1952. Following its commercial success, Toho Cinemas released their own giant monster flick, Godzilla (1954)

Applauded as a commentary on Japan's still lingering fear of atomic weaponry, as well as a marvel of automation and special effects, the first Godzilla film became an instant classic in the genre. Despite the success, a rushed sequel, Godzilla Raids Again (1955) met with a lukewarm response from the audience and critics, limiting Godzilla to the status of a single-installation classic.

Fast forward to the 1960s, King Kong's stardom was diminishing after pumping out a series of remakes and reboots with the same old plot. In 1962, when producer John Beck was looking for funds to make the next Kong movie, Toho from Japan stepped in with a long-standing desire to make a film featuring Kong, who had inspired their own atomic monster. And thus the world got to see one of the most iconic monster versus monster movie, King Kong vs Godzilla (1962).

Until the release of Shin Godzilla in 2016, the first showdown between Kong and Godzilla held the title of the most successful Godzilla movie in Japanese theatres, attracting 11 million viewers in its first run. The cross-over was just what Toho needed to establish the monster-fighting monster formula that fuelled Godzilla to become the longest-standing movie franchise in cinema history.

Since their first run-in, Toho's Godzilla franchise kept expanding with new monsters and plots across 35 movies. On the other hand, King Kong was pushed a bit to the side-lines with an overused story and no fresh ideas. That was, until decades later Godzilla came back to return the favour, under the banner of Legendary Entertainment, which breathed new life into Kong with 2017's Kong: Skull Island. With both Toho's iconic radioactive reptile and the King of the apes once again sharing the same cinematic universe, a rematch between the two Titans was highly anticipated by both their fandoms.