The highly anticipated beatdown between Godzilla and King Kong has finally arrived. It's a
mega-dose of monster action, with a side of human moments that maybe aren't as good. Let's
break down the best and worst scenes in Godzilla vs. Kong.
Don't worry – King Kong doesn't recite Shakespeare or start bad-mouthing Godzilla in the middle
of their battle. But he has learnt to communicate in a very basic way in Godzilla vs. Kong.
He's vowed to protect a young, deaf girl named Jia, a survivor of the Iwi tribe on Skull
Island, and has forged a connection with her.
Jia converses with Dr. Ilene Andrews through American Sign Language, and in a surprisingly
serene moment in a storm, it's revealed that Kong has picked up ASL from Jia.
"Home."
"Did the monkey just talk?"
On the way to Antarctica, Kong signs to Jia on the boat that he wants to go home; clearly,
he's not happy about being chained to the deck of a cargo ship. It's a quiet moment
before the bombastic action really kicks in, and it gives the audience a brief, tender
insight into the connection between man and monster. It's arguably the film's only moment
of genuine depth, but it works a treat.
Ah, Madison Russell — you caused some havoc back in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, didn't
you?
When Godzilla vs. Kong picks up, Millie Bobby Brown's plucky Titan enthusiast is away from
all the Monarch madness and attends school with her dorky friend Josh. Madison refuses
to believe that Godzilla is out to hurt humanity, choosing to track down a paranoid podcaster
named Bernie for insight.
After picking up a few clues on Bernie's whereabouts and learning that he showers with bleach (which
is undeniably alarming), Madison and Josh show up at a convenience store that Bernie
supposedly frequents and try to bribe the clerk for information on the conspiracy theorist.
The entire exchange between the three is pretty painful to watch, as the movie attempts to
inject a dose of humor into the story. It's cringeworthy – especially when Josh slaps
money down onto the desk — and just feels out of place. Sure, Madison, Josh, and Bernie's
story winds up leading to a not-so-shocking third-act reveal, but the trio are an example
of the rather weak writing behind most of the human characters in the film, and this
scene demonstrates that.
One of the biggest battles in Godzilla vs. Kong is during Kong's journey to Antarctica,
when Godzilla tracks him down while he's chained to the deck of the cargo ship. The nuclear-powered
behemoth quickly decimates most of the fleet, gives Kong a beating, and even capsizes the
ship in the process. With all the carnage taking place in the open ocean, it's impossible
not to feel just how vulnerable Kong and the human characters are at this point.
Once the playing-field is leveled a bit, the punch-up really gets going and Kong gives
Godzilla one hell of a beating. It's the duo's first confrontation and sets up their conflict
for the rest of the film.
This scene also demonstrates how director Adam Wingard got quite inventive with some
of the supporting cast in how they fight to stay alive on the remaining ship while two
Titans battle it out above and below them. Plus, it's an incredibly cool scene to watch
— but you knew that already.
Madison, Bernie, and Josh's sub-plot gets even more yawn-worthy when the trio start
sneaking around the ruined Apex Cybernetics lab that Godzilla attacks at the beginning
of the story. Maybe we're thinking too practically, but they manage to make their way into a secret,
sprawling underground sector of the building without being spotted. They're not exactly
a stealthy group either — if anything, they're quite hapless.
"Ahh!"
"Oh, my god."
"It's so massive."
Although the narrative is that they're trying to uncover the shady research that Apex is
conducting, Madison, Josh, and Bernie spend most of the time running between corridors
while Bernie constantly talks about his weird habits and obsessions.
A movie called Godzilla vs. Kong shouldn't dedicate so much time to a sub-plot for human
characters — that's not really what the audience has signed up to see. And though
there's something to be said about the lengths that the creative team went to to add emotional
stakes that lead into the final, final battle, this scene slows down the film's pace.
It's especially disappointing because Brian Tyree Henry is excellent in Atlanta and If
Beale Street Could Talk, Julian Dennison is excellent in Deadpool 2 and Hunt for the Wilderpeople,
and Millie Bobby Brown is excellent in Stranger Things and Enola Holmes, and their talents
feel underutilized here.
When it's finally time for Godzilla and Kong's rematch following their first round of fisticuffs,
Hong Kong is the chosen battleground, since Godzilla shows up to the city looking to destroy
something developed by Apex Cybernetics. Once Kong makes his way up from the Hollow Earth
armed with a powerful new axe, their fight gets brutal. Neither of them hold back: Kong
hacks into Godzilla using the dorsal fin axe, and the nuclear beast throws the protector
of Skull Island through a number of skyscrapers.
If you have issues with the overuse of CGI in the third act of blockbuster movies, then
Godzilla vs. Kong might not be the film for you, but it's hard to deny that the film's
Hong Kong fight scene looks absolutely stunning. It's drenched in an array of neon lights from
all the buildings, making the various explosions and Godzilla's glowing eyes and atomic breath
look that much cooler.
The sequence only gets more interesting when the long-rumored Mechagodzilla shows up and
devastates the duo. While the fight has a pretty predictable ending, it's still a ton
of fun to watch three behemoths fight it out like they're the stars of the world's biggest
beat 'em up video game.
When Godzilla and Kong's fight reaches a violent crescendo, Apex Cybernetics CEO Walter Simmons
unleashes Mechagodzilla in an attempt to ensure that humanity is the only dominant force on
the planet.
But it's really hard to take Demián Bichir's character seriously when he's the living personification
of the mustache-twirling villain stereotype.
Simmons spends most of his screen time drinking whiskey and waxing lyrical about his creation
and not caring about the natural order of the planet that's supposed to be his biggest
personal concern.
It's safe to say that doesn't exactly go well for Simmons, and his own demise comes from
the very thing he created.
In a last bid at shocking the audience, it's revealed that Mechagodzilla runs off a very
specific power source: the consciousness of King Ghidora from Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
It's an unnecessary addition to the film that only raises more questions about the practicality
of how technology works in this world — because it's all getting very futuristic.
But then again, this is a movie about a nuclear-fire-breathing lizard and a massive monkey wielding an axe,
so, why not? Godzilla vs. Kong may not be the kind of film to win any Oscars, but its
energetic fights and the sheer scale of its action make it an entertaining watch.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite
movies and TV shows are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so
you don't miss a single one.