Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) review (HBO Max)

 

‘Creature features’ have been a staple of film for many decades, and when it comes to this particular genre, there are two cinematic monsters who reign supreme. First, there was King Kong, the titular 24-foot-tall prehistoric gorilla, dubbed the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, who debuted in the 1933 film of the same name directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. With groundbreaking stop-motion effects by Willis O’Brien and an iconic finale in which the title character scales the Empire State Building, King Kong quickly became one of the most highly regarded films of all time, undoubtedly inspiring numerous generations of filmmakers. Case in point, in 1954, another giant monster came onto the scene known as Gojira, a 164-foot-tall radioactive reptilian beast. Created in the wake of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the tail-end of World War II, Godzilla (which is the character’s English-translated name) also became a landmark for both the monster genre and the art of special effects while simultaneously revolutionizing the genre of Japanese giant monster films AKA Kaiju films. Following their quintessential debuts, both characters would go on to appear in several other films over the years. The original King Kong, for example, was notably remade twice; one in 1976 starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange and the other in 2005 directed by Peter Jackson. As for Godzilla, he would end up appearing in a whole bunch of follow-ups with the character’s parent company, Toho, producing over 30 sequels that span 4 distinct eras and saw the King of the Monsters face off against new and exciting creatures such as King Ghidorah and Mothra.  

But while these two towering icons have mostly operated on their own accord, they did notably appear together on-screen in Godzilla’s third official cinematic outing, 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla. Primarily spawned from a story outline from Willis O’Brien that had King Kong fighting a giant-sized version of the Frankenstein monster, this concept evolved into a figurative and literal ‘clash of the titans’ that ended up being one of the Godzilla franchise’s most popular installments. But now, nearly six decades after the original’s debut, the ‘King of the Monsters’ and ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’ are back at it again in Godzilla vs. Kong, the latest installment of Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse series which reimagined the titular characters for a worldwide audience. It all began, of course, in 2014 with the release of the second attempt at an American-made adaptation of Godzilla after the infamous 1998 adaptation directed by Roland Emmerich. A sequel would follow in 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, while King Kong headlined his own cinematic reboot two years prior with Kong: Skull Island. For this latest installment of the franchise, directorial duties go to Adam Wingard who, like his immediate predecessor Michael Dougherty (who directed King of the Monsters and has a story credit for this film), is mainly known for his work in the horror genre, having directed films such as the 2011 slasher You’re Next and the 2014 thriller The Guest. In short, it goes without saying that this has been one of the most anticipated films in recent memory, and while there are plenty of instances where it showcases some of the MonsterVerse’s most common shortcomings, Godzilla vs. Kong still manages to be a delightfully entertaining crossover event.   

With humanity now fully aware of the existence of gigantic creatures known as ‘Titans’, much of their attention has been geared towards learning more about the Titans’ homeworld, Hollow Earth, that’s hidden directly underneath the planet’s surface. This includes Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir), the CEO of tech conglomerate Apex Cybernetics, who recruits geologist Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), a former member of the Titan-studying organization Monarch, for a mission to travel to Hollow Earth and retrieve a power source that they could potentially use to deal with Godzilla, who has recently been on a series of inexplicable rampages around the world. As part of the operation, Lind recruits Monarch linguist Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), who has been monitoring the apex predator of the mysterious Skull Island, Kong, and has also been looking after the island’s last native, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a young deaf girl who has a unique friendship with Kong. But, as to be expected, their journey to Hollow Earth soon results in Kong crossing paths with Godzilla, thus putting Lind and his team in a time-sensitive situation as they race to give Kong a fighting chance against his incredibly imposing adversary. Meanwhile, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), her best friend Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison), and conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) go undercover to investigate into Godzilla’s recent attacks, which leads to them uncovering a sinister plot by Apex that could result in devastating effects for both them and the Titans.

Godzilla vs Kong knows exactly what kind of film you’re here to see, and as always, this franchise more than delivers when it comes to its monster-based action sequences. In fact, this one even manages to surpass all its predecessors, especially the Godzilla films, by having multiple sequences take place during the day rather than at night, and even when they do have a night-time action sequence, they’re lit far better than the ones from previous films. Tonally, this film is more in line with the generally light-hearted Kong: Skull Island rather than the more serious Godzilla films, and while it is admittedly a bit jarring to see the returning characters from Godzilla: King of the Monsters partake in some of this film’s wackier antics, it’s also arguably a far better route to go for a film of this nature. However, as entertaining as this film is, it goes without saying that it maintains one of the most recurring problems that the MonsterVerse has faced over the years in that all that great action can’t entirely make up for its mediocre plot. In this instance, we have what is probably the franchise’s most sci-fi heavy premise to date given everything revolving around Apex Cybernetics and the journey to Hollow Earth… and yet, it still manages to feel like a complete afterthought with a bunch of extraneous characters and plotlines. But like I just said earlier, the fact that this film is more upbeat in tone than the previous films helps to alleviate much of that since, at the very least, it’s not trying to take itself too seriously.    

As always, the human element of the MonsterVerse films has never been the point of the franchise. Case in point, Godzilla vs. Kong follows in the footsteps of Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters by featuring an impressively stacked ensemble cast… and doesn’t really give any of them anything of value to work with. Still, for what it’s worth, I do think that this film handles the human side of its story better than King of the Monsters, where I’d argue that the human plot was even more poorly executed than usual. Obviously, Godzilla vs. Kong isn’t that much better by comparison, but there are a few decent character moments here and there, namely via the friendship between Kong, who’s basically the main character of the film, and Jia, the last surviving member of Skull Island’s Iwi natives. Newcomer Kaylee Hottle and Rebecca Hall headline the film nicely as Jia and her adoptive mother Ilene, respectively, in what is probably the franchise’s best example of human characters who have a strong connection with one of the title characters. Everyone else in the cast from Alexander Skarsgård to Brian Tyree Henry is just there, for the most part, but they work well enough with what they get. This includes the returning Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler from King of the Monsters as Madison Russell and her father Mark, and while Chandler is sadly limited to an extremely minor supporting role this time around, Brown thankfully isn’t sidelined like she was for most of the previous film. Granted, her role here is arguably the most prominent case of the film’s ‘extraneous’ plotlines, but at the very least, she does get more to do this time around.      

If you’ve been following this site for a while, you might recall that my thoughts on the MonsterVerse have varied considerably from film to film. Overall, I thought that the first Godzilla from 2014 was a solid kick-starter for a new cinematic universe style franchise a la the MCU. Sure, it didn’t have much of the title character and the main human protagonist was the very definition of a bland and generic lead but at the very least, director Gareth Edwards did a fantastic job of mirroring the serious tone of the original Godzilla film from 1954, especially when compared to the franchise’s campier follow-ups. As for 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, it’s easily my favorite of the first three MonsterVerse films. While it was arguably a major case of style over substance, its unabashedly extravagant visual style helped make this full-on homage to 1970’s war films an incredibly entertaining watch. Conversely, the second of the MonsterVerse’s Godzilla films, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, was a film that, unfortunately, I wasn’t too big on when it first came out, and upon my most recent re-watch… well, nothing’s really changed on my end. Granted, I fully understand why this film became such a hit with fans of the franchise, namely due to how it delivered on many of the things that they didn’t get from the first film such as the sight of Godzilla fighting some of his most iconic adversaries such as King Ghidorah. Overall, though, the film suffered immensely from some incredibly sluggish pacing, and while the lack of any decent character development is to be expected from this franchise, this is one instance where I’d argue that the human side of the story almost derailed it entirely.

I’m happy to report, however, that I’m far more positive towards Godzilla vs. Kong, which is basically the cinematic embodiment of the MonsterVerse franchise in a nutshell. From a visual perspective, it goes above and beyond to present some of the most exciting action sequences involving cinema’s most iconic monsters. But from a narrative perspective, it’s barely held together by a bare-bones plot, and while the film does boast an excellent cast, said cast is just there to help move things along. Thus, at the end of the day, it ultimately comes down to how everything came together in the end, and this is where I’d argue that this film turned out to be a lot better than Godzilla: King of the Monsters, especially when it comes to these films’ overall tone. Whereas King of the Monsters took itself a bit too seriously, Godzilla vs. Kong fully understands that what we’re mainly here to see is the awesome sight of a giant monkey punching a giant lizard in the face. Thus, while it’s undoubtedly the MonsterVerse’s most undemanding installment to date, its lighthearted tone and far more vibrant color palette compared to some of the other installments of the franchise helps to make up for the usual narrative shortcomings, for the most part. In other words, Godzilla vs. Kong is an incredibly fun popcorn flick whether you’re watching it at home via HBO Max as part of Warner Bros.’ simultaneous theatrical/streaming plan for its 2021 releases or in theaters, where it has arguably been the most successful blockbuster that’s been released since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Rating: 4/5

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) review

In the world of Marvel Comics, Spider-Man is quite arguably the company’s most iconic superhero. Ever since his creation in 1962 by Stan Lee (R.I.P.) and Steve Ditko, everyone’s favorite web-slinger has made an incredible impact on readers worldwide and has had one of the most prominent roles in Marvel’s comic history. This, of course, has also translated quite well to his run on the big-screen, with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man playing a major part in redefining the superhero film genre when it was released in 2002 and spawning a highly successful trilogy. Admittedly, the franchise then had to go through some tricky times in the early 2010s with an attempted series reboot that ultimately didn’t go anywhere, but the ‘second’ attempt at a live-action reboot is doing well so far. 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming was the highest-grossing superhero film of the year, and a large part of its success was thanks to Marvel Studios’ involvement with it. This was thanks to a deal that they made with Sony (who currently own the character’s film rights) that allowed Spider-Man the chance to finally participate in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while Spidey’s next adventure, Spider-Man: Far from Home, will be hitting theaters next summer, right now we’re getting something a little different from this long-running franchise in the form of an animated Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This new film, the latest from Sony Animation, primarily comes courtesy of the duo of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, both of whom are producing it while Lord is the primary screenwriter. And under their influence, Into the Spider-Verse is a highly entertaining spin on the Spider-Man mythos that boasts some of the best animation to come out of a film in recent years.

In the borough of Brooklyn, teenager Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) prepares to start school at the prestigious Visions Academy. However, while spending time with his uncle Aaron Davis (voiced by Mahershala Ali) one night, Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him the same spider-like abilities as the beloved hero Spider-Man AKA Peter Parker (voiced by Chris Pine). Unfortunately for Miles, Spider-Man ends up dying at the hands of crime-lord Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin (voiced by Liev Schreiber), thus leaving Miles with the responsibility of continuing where his predecessor left off. But as it turns out, thanks to Fisk’s recent test of a device known as the Super Collider, the door has been opened to a wide variety of alternate dimensions. And because of this, Miles soon finds himself meeting another Peter Parker, this time a far more disheveled Peter B. Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson), who was transported to Miles’ dimension. Although initially hesitant to serve as the mentor of an up-and-coming Spider-Man, Peter B. agrees to help Miles learn the ins and outs of being a superhero, and together, the two work to ensure that Fisk doesn’t use the Super Collider for his sinister purposes. To do so, they must use it themselves so that Peter B. can return to his dimension after the two realize that he can’t stay in Miles’ dimension forever. This situation only becomes further complicated, however, by the arrival of other Spider-based superheroes from other dimensions, including Gwen Stacy AKA Spider-Gwen (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld).

Much has been said about this film’s animation, and sure enough, it’s undoubtedly one of its greatest aspects. The filmmakers and animators did such a phenomenal job when it comes to recreating, for lack of a better term, the ‘comic book’ style. This may be a computer-animated film, but practically every shot in this looks like it came from a traditionally-animated 2-D film that was straight-up ripped from the comics themselves. And while the main influence behind this film’s animation style is the works of artist Sara Pichelli, who helped co-create the character of Miles Morales with writer Brian Michael Bendis, the film does a great job when it comes to honoring the art styles of all the Spider-Men and Spider-Women who are featured in it. This great attention to detail also carries over well to the story, which is very well-handled especially considering that, on paper, it’s mostly just your basic superhero origin story. Simply put, it does go through all the usual plot developments in a story about a main protagonist who gains superpowers and is then immediately thrust into a situation where he initially struggles with learning how to use them properly. But thanks to the implementation of the ‘multi-verse’ plot-line, this film’s plot does have more of a unique flavor to it compared to other superhero origin stories. And, of course, being a project that was worked on by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, this film’s humor is strong throughout. Whether it’s a bit of meta-commentary on Spider-Man’s pop-culture status or a visual sight gag that pays homage to the comics, this is up there with the likes of Thor: Ragnarok and Deadpool 2 as one of the funniest superhero films ever made.

Into the Spider-Verse has the distinction of being the first Spider-Man feature film to focus primarily on the character of Miles Morales, currently the most famous occupant of the Spider-Man persona aside from Peter Parker. While it has been reported that Morales will be implemented into the MCU in the future (his uncle Aaron appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming played by Donald Glover, who happened to be one of the main inspirations behind the character), this film is ultimately the place where he gets to make a first impression. And overall, he does make a great first impression as the sympathetic up-and-coming superhero that he is, with Shameik Moore (star of 2015’s cult hit Dope) bringing much personality to the role. There’s also a lot of heart to this character as well, namely thanks to his relationships with his uncle Aaron (especially after Miles learns his uncle’s dark secret) and his father, police officer Jefferson Davis (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry). And as for the OG Spider-Man himself, Peter Parker, we get not one but two great and vastly different interpretations of the character. First, there’s Chris Pine, albeit in a very brief appearance, as a traditional Peter Parker who’s said to be an amalgamation of all the live-action interpretations of the character. And then for the rest of the film, we focus on the more bumbling Peter B. Parker, with Jake Johnson doing a fantastic job as a hilarious and far more apathetic take on this classic character. The other Spider-Man based heroes in this are major standouts as well, including Hailee Steinfeld as the badass Spider-Gwen, Nicolas Cage as the 1930’s-inspired Spider-Man Noir, and John Mulaney as, yes, Peter Porker the pig AKA Spider-Ham. And finally, in a manner akin to Vincent D’Onofrio’s critically-acclaimed take on the character in the recently canceled Daredevil series, Liev Schreiber’s Kingpin is a solid villain whose motivations for using the Super Collider are emotionally-driven.

Alternate universes have always been a long-standing aspect of superhero comics, effectively giving readers a wide array of unique spins on classic characters. On the big screen, however, there hasn’t really been any major attempts at a multiverse story arc when it comes to the current era of live-action superhero films. Granted, it has been done in superhero TV shows like DC’s current lineup of shows airing on the CW, but on film, the most prominent cases of audiences getting a different take on an established character are usually just whenever the role is recast. As such, it could be argued that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse could potentially pave the way for future superhero films to tackle the multiverse concept. And even if it doesn’t, it is still one of the most electrifying superhero films of the modern era. While its main plot is a traditional superhero origin story, the added layer of the multiverse does give this film a lot more meat to it compared to other entries in the genre. And thanks to the involvement of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, this film’s humor is on point throughout while never losing sight of the heart of the story of how a kid from Brooklyn named Miles Morales became Spider-Man. But, of course, the biggest reason to see this film is for its amazing animation, as its impressive recreation of the classic comic-book style legitimately rivals the likes of Disney Animation and Pixar. As such, it seems like this year’s race for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars is shaping up to be an exciting 3-way competition between this, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Incredibles 2. Regardless of who wins it all, however, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a big win for Sony Animation… which is a big deal considering what happened last year with The Emoji Movie.  

Rating: 5/5!