Godzilla vs. Kong

***Godzilla vs. Kong*** is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to *Godzilla: King of the Monsters* (2019), *Kong: Skull Island* (2017), and *Godzilla* (2014), it is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures' *MonsterVerse*. It is also the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. After being delayed from a November 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, *Godzilla vs. Kong* was theatrically released internationally on March 24, 2021, and in the United States on March 31, where it was also released on HBO Max simultaneously. A sequel is in development, with filming scheduled to commence later in the year in Gold Coast, Queensland and other locations in South East Queensland.

## Plot

Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home. Along for the ride is Jia, an orphaned girl who has a unique and powerful bond with the mighty beast. However, they soon find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla as he cuts a swath of destruction across the globe. The initial confrontation between the two titans -- instigated by unseen forces -- is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the planet.

## Why Godzilla Doesn't Need to Fight Kong

1. The idea of the usually heroic Legendary Godzilla being perceived as a threat to humanity is an interesting new touch to the film. It also doesn't come off as a retcon since they explain that he destroyed the Apex Cybernetics facilities due to how he sensed that the humans there were potentially hiding an alpha that was challenging him (which turned out to be Mechagodzilla with Ghidorah's conscious.
2. Epic fight scenes with entire cities being reduced to rubble by both Godzilla and Kong.
3. Kong is a really likable character in the film, as he listens to his fan to fight Godzilla.
4. Mechagodzilla makes a return after 18 years and this time, Ghidorah's consciousness is uploaded into it, making it a (technical) rematch with Godzilla from the last film.
5. As always, the CGI designs for Godzilla and Kong are nice. Kong's design is also updated to make him look older and more rugged.
6. The intro of the film is nice, regarding the effects.
	* With an addition to that, you can also see the credits in both the intro and the outro.
7. It has an interesting scene that you wouldn't expect from a movie, which is where Kong threw a tree branch into the sky and then it looks like he broke the scene, but then reveals that Skull Island is now inside a biodome.
8. Even the humans in the movie are likable (despite taking over most of the movie, causing filler), two of the notable examples are Bob and Jia, with the latter being a companion to Kong.
9. During the fight scene between Godzilla and Kong, the scene where Godzilla opens his mouth and lets blue energy out of it nicely resembles the poster from the previous film.
10. Kong lunging his axe into Godzilla's throat is a neat reference to the original 1962 movie, where Kong did the exact same exact thing with a tree branch, but in a more modern, realistic take.
11. It introduces Mechagodzilla, the Warbat, and the Hellhawk to the MonsterVerse.
12. Fantastic soundtrack by Tom Holkenborg, the same composer as the *Sonic the Hedgehog* movie.
13. Great cinematography.
14. Good direction by Adam Wingard.
15. Although expected and understandable, it is better than the 1962 film, in terms of human plot, and the battles between Godzilla and Kong.

## Bad Qualities

1. The scene where one of the Hellhawks eats a soldier's face is quite disturbing for a PG-13 rated movie.
2. Like with most other movies featuring these characters, since the movie mostly focuses on the humans instead of Godzilla and Kong, it just bloats the movie with filler.
3. The ending is just sequel-baiting.
	* The role of Godzilla being a villain in this movie is just annoying and frustrating to some people since Godzilla had save the world, therefore it is the reason why the sequel is sequel-baiting. Although fortunately, the sequel is confirmed.
4. The monsters occasionally have strange, sudden bursts of speed and some unrealistic movements.
5. The pacing is quite slow at the beginning.
	* However it does pick up when Godzilla starts fighting Kong.
6. The title of the movie might be confusing to some new-comers, whether it would be a remake of the 1962 *King Kong vs. Godzilla* film.

## Reception

*Godzilla vs. Kong* received generally positive reviews, with praise for the visual effects and action sequences, but criticism towards the script and human characters. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 348 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The verified audiences score was 91% based on 1,0000+ ratings. The website's critics consensus reads: "Delivering squarely on its title, Godzilla vs. Kong swats away character development and human drama to deliver all the spectacle you'd expect from giant monsters slugging it out.", while the Audience Says section reads, "This long-awaited blockbuster matchup makes it easy not to think about the so-so story and characters by serving up plenty of action and incredible effects.". According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on 57 critics, the film received "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale (the highest of the MonsterVerse), while PostTrak reported 86% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 74% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Despite the positive reviews, it was review bombed by Snyder Cut fans on IMDb because they are angry with Warner Bros. over not continuing the Snyderverse.

### Box office

A week prior to its United States release, *Godzilla vs. Kong* was released in 38 overseas countries and was projected to gross around $70 million over its first five days. In China, where it was projected to debut to around $50 million, the film made $21.5 million (RMB 140 million) on its first day.

## External Links

* Template:IMDb
* Template:Rotten Tomatoes
* Template:Metacritic