I have to start with a little bit of a confession, while I have watched the two Godzilla movies preceding this one, neither of them really stuck with me. They were fun, and I can remember some of the events, but when I left it didn’t really stick with me. Skull Island, on the other land, had the visuals and soundtrack that really stuck it in my mind. So going into this I tried to keep it as neutral as possible, so we will see.
So lets start with the pros. If you want big sights, a lot of destruction, action from the jump, and a nod to the movies that brought us here, then you will love it. They got it right with the amount of fight people are looking for in a movie like this. I know its a big monster fighting movie, so that is what we expect, right? They had a great cast to carry us from fight to fight, even if they get lost in all the action.
Where it fails for me is, the cast gets lost. I re-watched the movie again just today so I could write this, but I already am having a hard time remembering what the human plots were other than the unexpected (no it was expected) plot twist at the end. I know, as I said, it’s a big monster fight movie, but it could be done well and still have room for a story that is more than humans running from point to point and only getting in the way. Plus the whole storyline was formulaic, but I guess if you start out knowing the formulas to writing movies it stands out a little more.
The overall, its a good action movie, a little predictable, the people get lost in the all the chaos and seem to only be used to have a break from action set pieces, but mindlessly enjoyable. It probably wont stick with you if you liked Skull Island, and you might find a couple plot holes that makes you ask questions.
Should you go see it? Yes. Is it a great movie? Not so much, but it a fun one yes. 3/5 stars on the scale.
Godzilla vs Kong is available right now on HBOMax and in select theaters near you.