Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse.
Godzilla Vs Kong is a 2021 action thriller, directed by Adam Wingard, the picture stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, and Rebecca Hall. The story picks up after Godzilla: King of the Monsters and is the epic next chapter in the cinematic Monsterverse which pits two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against one another – the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong – with humanity caught in the balance
Under The Lens: Runtime and Lore
Runtime: Godzilla vs Kong’s runtime is at once one of the picture’s strengths and weaknesses. It runs 1h 53min with credits and 1hr and 45mins without credits, it is the shortest “Monsterverse” motion picture and this is both a good thing and a bad. The story is neatly trimmed and there is zero fat, everything happens for a reason and advances the plot, there is little to no downtime as we move from set piece to set piece and monster fight to monster fight.
However, I could not help feeling like the narrative would of benefit from an extra 30mins of runtime to let the story breathe a bit, for example, we are introduced to the son of Dr. Serizawa (from the previous pictures) however he is shown here as a villain, has about 5mins of screentime then is killed off. His legacy as the son of one of the universe’s iconic characters should have been explored more. Another example is how we find out that Apex is using one of King Ghidorah’s skulls to control Mechagodzilla, after the beast is powered up it becomes self-aware and kills Ren Serizawa and Apex’s CEO, has Ghidorah’s mind survived in Mechagodzilla? We never know as the plot bounds past this very interesting plot point to get to the fight.
Adding an extra 20-30mins to the runtime would have allowed the plot to breathe a bit, and explore the villains and heroes of the picture a bit more.
Lore:
One of the highlights of Godzilla vs Kong was the pictures lore, it connected to the previous three monsterverse titles while also taking bold new steps. It would have been easy to be lazy with this story, however, Godzilla vs Kong delves into the lore of where the Titans come from and what gives them their power.
The picture uses the hollow earth theory to develop the Titans as earth’s first inhabitants and showcases Kong’s race as the ones who rule the hollow earth. The attention to detail helped to flesh out this picture more, what could have been a very dumb brawling match, instead teased a larger mythological world to explore. A mythological world that looked very interesting and left me wanting more.
Highlights
The Kong vs Godzilla fight in Hong Kong was beautiful and wonderfully shot
The picture has some amazing and eye-popping visuals such as the Hollow earth
The picture acts as a nice “Conclusion” to the Monsterverse as a whole or to the end of Phase one
Quotable Quote
Ilene Andrews: Kong bows to no one
Something to think about
When it comes to monster movies, do you like having human stories play out alongside the monsters?
Conclusion
Godzilla vs Kong is overall a good conclusion to the first set of the Monsterverse, we see a natural ending to many storylines and the picture ends with the world entering a new era of peace and exploration. The picture is a visual delight, with eye-popping CGI and landscapes that trumped all the previous monsterverse pictures. Alas, Godzilla vs Kong trips itself up with its script, sacrificing interesting characters and subplots to push the action forward. The picture is an experience almost like a theme park ride, it’s fun, flashy, and makes you cheer, but feels slightly empty at the end. Godzilla vs Kong would have benefited from a truncated cast and padded-out runtime, a truly fun and engaging picture, but one that could have been great.
Those looking for fun lore and monsters in a smackdown of the ages will not be disappointed and the picture is worth seeing in theaters if you have the opportunity!
