Adam Wingard (“You’re Next,” “The Guest”) might just be the smartest person to ever work on Warner Bros.’ MonsterVerse. This cinematic universe of films all based around Godzilla and his Kaiju friends has had its ups and downs ever since it tentatively started with Gareth Edwards’s 2014 “Godzilla.” While the films haven’t been awful per se, they’ve always left audiences wanting a bit more. “Godzilla (2014)” could’ve used more Godzilla, “Kong Skull Island” felt a bit too serious (if cheesily so), and even to its defenders, “Godzilla King of the Monsters” had far too much human subplots for a movie built on Kaiju chaos.
The reason that Wingard, the director of “Godzilla vs. Kong” seems to be the smartest person to work on this series yet, is that he understands this. “GvK” feels like a final draft of a gloriously action-packed thesis statement on Kaiju films. The previous ones got certain things right, and this one combines it all into one thrilling package that might just be the best one yet.
First things first: yes, this is a movie where the prime attraction is seeing a monkey the size of the Sears tower fight an equally large radioactive laser spewing lizard. If you’re going in expecting anything more, then you’re likely an idiot. That doesn’t mean it can’t provide more than your average smash and grab blockbuster, look at “Fury Road” or “John Wick”, but these are the exceptions, not the rule.
When Kong and Godzilla are slugging it out, it’s a glorious showcase of visual effects and cinematography. The action is framed in some excellent ways, whether shooting Kong and Godzilla like their average sized actors or peering up at them from the perspective of one of the many humans caught in their fight. Cinematographer Ben Seresin (“World War Z,” “The Mummy (2017)”), utilizes scope and scale excellently here, as is color. While there doesn’t necessarily seem to be a reason for it, Wingard throws as much neon around as humanly possible, allowing the film to escape the rather drab looks of the previous MonsterVerse films. Its hard to be bored when everything is lit up in bright greens, pinks, and blues.
These phenomenal fights are also underscored, no pun intended, by a thrilling musical score courtesy of Tom Holkenborg (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Alita: Battle Angel”). With every note the strings sing blended with thumping electronic beats, its as if he’s found a way to turn the impacts of fists and feet into a melodic rhythm.
That’s just speaking on the fights though, and while Wingard clearly knows that’s what people came to see, this still has to be a film with a plot, and that’s where the 5 different writers come in; story writers Terry Rossio (“Aladdin (1992),” “Shrek”), Michael Dougherty (“Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Krampus”), and Zach Shields (“Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Krampus”), and screenwriters Max Borenstein (“Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “The Terror: Infamy”) and Eric Pearson (“Agent Carter,” “Thor Ragnarok”).
As much as it has been improved from the abysmal characterizations in “King of the Monsters”, the humans and their plots here haven’t been improved by that much. Effectively, there are two “teams” that the film swaps between, one following Kong and one following Godzilla. This allows for the information about each Kaiju to be relayed in a way that avoids infodumping too much, and its even kind of thrilling as these two groups never truly cross paths. However, the Kong side has far more interesting things to work with, as well as just better performances from Alexander Skarsgård (“Big Little Lies,” “Battleship”), Rebecca Hall (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Christine (2016)”), and newcomer Kaylee Hottle. Skarsgård hams it up with just how earnest his Dr. Lind is, landing somewhere around a professor with some rugged Han Solo-like charms. Hall’s Dr. Andrews is more no-nonsense, and her bond with Hottle’s Jia is the lifeblood of the film. There’s a real kind of care that establishes an emotional connection that’s easy to root for. Likewise, Hottle is pulling some pretty great work for her first role. She and Kong have a friendship and connection that’s easy to believe, and she’s yet another example of Hollywood having a deaf character who isn’t some sort of burden and is instead the film’s emotional lifeblood.
Unfortunately, while far more intriguing with its easter eggs and winks at general Kaiju history, the Godzilla team is far less interesting compared to Kong’s. Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things,” “Enola Holmes”) is barely passable, mainly just due to how annoyingly her character is written. Julian Dennison (“Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” “Deadpool 2”) isn’t bad so much as he’s just painfully forgettable, with the only bright spot being Brian Tyree Henry (“Atlanta,” “Widows”) chewing every piece of the digital scenery he can. He clearly understands what kind of film this is and abandons all subtly to go for the gold in overacting. He’s plain and simple the best part of Godzilla’s plot.
Despite making strides towards a brighter future for the MonsterVerse, “Godzilla vs. Kong” is by no means a perfect film. Yet, it’s as close as this new MonsterVerse has gotten, and thanks to Wingard direction, the cinematography, music, action, and some of the acting, it might just be the best of this new series. It eschews many of the previous films more glaring flaws (not enough Godzilla, the boring middle of “Skull Island,” the length and too many humans of “King of the Monsters”) and brings it all in under 2 hours. Its leaner and meaner, and while it may be junk food, its bright, colorful, and the kind of junk food that takes your breath away. 4/5
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