Godzilla vs Kong is the Best Worst Film to Date
There I was in the dark cinema with my hot popcorn for the first time in over a year, a big smile on my face. I was about to watch Godzilla vs. Kong on the big screen.
As the trailers rolled on, I wondered to myself: How epic will this movie be? I sat there nervously, anticipating how the next two hours were going to go.
The film began, then it ended, and all in all it’s fair to say that Godzilla vs. Kong was one of the best worst movies I have ever seen.
The monster part of the movie is spectacular and truly engaging, unfortunately I can not say the same for other parts of Godzilla vs. Kong.
What the movie did well, it did really well. The action sequences were incredible, with Godzilla and Kong stealing the show whenever they were on screen.
Whether they were fighting one another, destroying multiple different cities with ease, or simply bringing to fruition their individual lores, Godzilla and Kong possessed a commanding aura, which made them both very entertaining to watch.
The star of the film, however, was clearly Kong. The film did a fantastic job at allowing him to resonate with the audience, displaying his emotions and feelings, which let him shine as the main character.
Kong’s humane side was illustrated through his friendship with Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a little girl who shared a special bond with him. She taught him sign language, which meant he was able to communicate. This added much-needed depth to Kong’s character, more than we saw in his previous outing, Kong: Skull Island.
When Kong was fighting and smashing monsters it was thrilling, when he was faced with adversity I ended up rooting for him and when he was in trouble I was worried for him.
The film does an excellent job at making you connect with Kong by showing his compassion and intelligence, which is rewarding when he succeeds. It makes the audience cheer for him in the important moments.
Godzilla took a back seat in this movie compared to his previous outings in Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). This let Kong’s storyline shine through. However, Godzilla still incites an imposing feeling when he does emerge on screen. The movie may have not progressed his character much compared to his previous features, but he was still an integral part of the film.
During the movie I found myself questioning Godzilla’s motives and trying to figure him out. On paper this sounds absurd, but the movie does a fantastic job at asking the audience to understand these so-called monsters.
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When the monsters weren’t on screen, however, the human characters were relied on to drive the story. This ended up being just a bit boring.
There were no returning Monsterverse characters except for Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ Maddison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) and her father Mark (Kyle Chandler). Chandler was criminally under-utilised in this movie, playing a very small role, especially given he was a highlight in the previous film and a familiar character for the informed audience member.
This resulted in the film’s other main characters, Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) and Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), trying to drive the story forward in the middle act. Ultimately, it felt like they didn’t matter. Whenever Skarsgård and Hall were on screen, I found myself yearning for Godzilla or Kong to show up and make the movie entertaining again.
Millie Bobby Brown’s character Maddison was part of an uninspiring and elaborate side plot, which was jammed into the main story in the third act in a desperate attempt to make the film cohesive.
The writing felt rushed, and the story arcs that the human characters faced seemed there purely to fill a 2-hour run time.
Ultimately, it felt like the writers did not care about the human characters and their story progression which, in turn, made me not care about them.
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That being said, I still had a fantastic time with this movie – even with its flaws.
I didn’t sit down to watch Godzilla vs. Kong expecting it to be a contender for best picture. I sat there ready to see two big monsters go to war and to enjoy the story, and I can confidently say that I was entertained.
If you can suspend your disbelief for a little bit and not think too hard, the action and twists that the film takes provides for a very enjoyable experience.
All my dislikes about the movie were quickly erased when I saw Kong wielding an axe, eyeing off Godzilla as the pair were about to fight.
When the movie is strong (it’s monster characters and fight scenes), it is very strong, however, the film does have some pretty disappointing elements to it.
This mainly being the blandness of the human characters and their poor story arcs.
But it is a monster movie after all, so if you can look past that and enjoy the movie for what it is, Godzilla vs Kong is well worth going to see.
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