movie: Godzilla vs. Kong
director: Adam Wingard
genre: sci-fi
release date: March 31, 2021
star rating: four out of five

review by Kyle Lavin

(Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead.)

“Kong bows to no one.” Finally, the epic collision of two major movie monsters. After a year of living during a pandemic, Godzilla vs. Kong appears to have been a great comeback for film entertainment across the country. This installment has greatly surpassed the previous three films in terms of scale and intensity.

When the first trailer was released, the feeling of excitement overwhelmed me as Kong took his first punch at Godzilla. Watching this film in theaters is a must, despite its simultaneous release on Warner Bros.’ HBO Max streaming platform. As with many “versus” movies, such as Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, two protagonists are pitted against each other and ultimately must team up to fight a greater threat in the film’s climax. Something that this film did really well was that it focused mostly on the two main protagonists, Godzilla and Kong, and left the story driven mostly by Kong’s character and background, which hadn’t really been explored much. It’s a great way to put fans of the characters into an emotional investment of the characters that they love.

I think that whenever I see a “versus” film, I want to see a clear-cut winner as to who would win in a fight, and some could argue for either side based on this film’s outcome. However, the film does make it clear who should wear the crown of king, and that is Kong. Godzilla vs. Kong is a hilarious thrill ride with great, supporting human characters that you’ll have compassion for and villains that will disgust you. Perhaps it’s about time we start heading back to the theater to enjoy action-driven adventures.