As someone who has become a fan of the monsterverse, Godzilla vs. Kong(2021) took a familiar approach from the last one, Godzilla: King of The Monsters(2019), surprising many fans and critics with amazing monster versus monster battles.

As the story presses forth, however, it began to feel like a over exaggerated and corny film. The fight scenes were amazing–watching Kong and Godzilla battle with an ancient rivalry, the kaiju going blow for blow, until victor is chosen–was captivating. However, the movie’s storyline would consistently border on falling into predictable cliches.

The story follows the experiences of a couple scientists who are trying to find a mythical portal, or path, to the hollow earth–which only a titan can lead you too. The characters are bland, and constantly overstate everything that happens, or going to happen, leaving nothing to the imagination. They try and transport Kong off of his island and all the way to Antarctica, where they believe the portal will open for a titan who can travel through, leading the group of scientist to explore with him.

Besides the fight scenes being executed with precision and captivation, it is easy to appreciate how Godzilla vs. Kong(2021) is focused upon Godzilla and Kong, rather than the humans studying them. The scientists did contribute to the tense, ending fight where Kong and Godzilla settle their differences to double-team Mechagodzilla–finally revealing the true “bad guy.” But, if you came to watch this movie, you were watching it for the iconic battle: Godzilla vs. Kong, not the scientists. Many movies have a difficult time finding a balance between focus upon the humans and the creatures, blurring the line between setting up the storyline–a product of the humans’ actions–and giving us way too much information about the lives of the humans.

When the movie revealed Godzilla’s all-time nemesis, Mechagodzilla, for the first time to fight him since 2003, I felt the tension. and it built the story. It made it whole, and easier to support, and relieve, the fan bases of both Godzilla and Kong. When it was made clear that Godzilla and Kong would have to team up because Mechagodzilla was really
“handing it” to Godzilla, you realized quickly that neither Kong nor Godzilla were going to be deceased by the time the film was over, but both titans would walk away as equals, respecting each other.