“Kong Vs. Godzilla is some of the most fun, thrilling action ever filmed in a movie of this caliber. What a blast from start to finish and a great tag-team start to these two legendary characters.”
THE FILM
Two of cinema’s most revered and iconic monsters have finally fought their way back to the big screen in a modern, epic big-blockbuster action film called Godzilla vs. Kong, carrying the story from the three previous films set in that universe (Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla, and King Of The Monsters). The two behemoths are the stars of this spectacle, rarely missing any screen time in this visually stunning home-run of a movie that is sure to please everyone of all ages with its remarkable action sequences. Godzilla vs. Kong is highly entertaining and some of the most fun anyone can have watching a film. It’s an absolute blast. Highly Recommended!
Indie-horror filmmaker Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest) takes the reigns of the director’s chair and knows precisely how to frame these epic fights as nobody has ever done before – even besting Peter Jackson. The story takes place a few years after Godzilla saved humankind once again from Ghidorah, where Godzilla and King Kong are now the last two Titans on Earth. Godzilla is swimming around the ocean, while Kong resides in a giant, simulated dome on Skull Island for his protection against Godzilla. Luckily Kong can communicate with a young deaf girl named Jia via sign language to keep him calm.
Meanwhile, the Apex Cybernetics Corporation is supposed to be protecting the world from other big monsters, which is led by Walter Simmons (Demian Bichir), however, he greedily has ulterior sinister motives that will put more money and power in his pocket with a top-secret project he’s working on that requires some strange artifacts and otherworldly power from monsters. Godzilla is alerted to this seismic power and begins to destroy cities in search of taking out what he thinks is a villain, which is where Kong comes in to try and stop things from getting worse by traveling to the center of the Earth. Like a boxing match, there are several rounds of impressive fight scenes between Godzilla and Kong before a bigger threat might have the two pulling a Batman v Superman moment (their mothers aren’t named “Martha”) that guarantees a ton of audible cheers.
Godzilla vs. Kong is by far the best-looking and most energetic and fast-paced film set in this universe. It’s almost two hours long and it feels like a brisk 80 minutes with little to no time to settle down and breathe. That’s a good thing because the script from Eric Pearson (mostly an uncredited writer for Marvel films) does nobody any favors with its truly bland and lifeless dialogue that only seems to exist as a segue to the next big action sequence. In fact, the film could have been dialogue-free and nobody would have missed a beat or anything important. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because it still focuses everything on Kong and Godzilla, and rightfully so, because Wingard uses his camera to give each Titan some much-needed and wonderful character beats and facial expressions that have been missing before. Seeing Kong and Godzilla figure things out as they’re happening on screen and showcasing real emotions is pretty fantastic, whether it be Kong doing his morning routine of showering and waking up or Godzilla crossing paths with a giant Ape and calculating its next move to strike and kill to become the Alpha.
There’s even a side plot with a former Apex employee turned conspiracy theorist podcaster who teams up with Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friend Josh (Julian Dennison from Hunt For The Wilderpeople), as they try and stop Apex and help Godzilla. They have a fair amount of screen time and mostly provide some of the cringe-worthy comic relief, but their entire existence could’ve been cut out and nothing would have changed the film. Most every character and human plot point are similar to this rote and lazy element, but again, every scene flies by fast with giant explosions and fights, because that’s exactly what this film is, a series of amazing matches between two giant monsters from start to finish, and it’s glorious.
The way Wingard uses Hong Kong at night is marvelous, pitting these two Titans against a backdrop of stylized neon-colored buildings that simply light up the dark sky with purples, greens, blues, and reds that mix perfectly with all the fiery explosions that erupt on a consistent basis. It’s a visual masterpiece as well when Wingard uses some clever camera angles to convey the size and these Titans and the destruction they cause, including a shot from inside a fighter jet, taking off at full speed, and seeing Kong in the background wreaking havoc. There are a ton of original shots like this throughout the film and it gives the image and these characters some great perspective and depth to see them in different light and angles. Godzilla vs Kong is the ultimate showdown and one of the best action films where two dialogue-free characters carry the entire film on their shoulders.
THE VIDEO
Godzilla Vs. Kong comes with an impressive 2160p 4K UHD transfer from Warner Bros. and is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio that looks simply incredible. The color palette is bold, rich, and better than the previous film as this one brings a ton of neon colors to its spectrum. The Dolby Vision and HDR10 enhance these colors into their nuanced shades throughout. Right from the start, the nighttime sequences of Godzilla’s attack on the city look incredible with some deep and inky black levels that are distinguishable from the dark buildings in the background and the darker shades of the giant lizard king. Contrasting nicely with this element, the daytime sequences outside by the beach are ripe with green grass trees and a blue ocean, which looks amazing.
Moving onto the big fight sequence in the big city is one of the coolest and best-looking fight sequences in cinema. Kong and Godzilla have a giant “Steel-Cage” match within the steel skyscrapers of the metropolis city that are all lit up with fantastic neon colors of yellow, purple, green, blue, pink, red, and orange. These colors reflect off their skin with the perfect amount of glow and color that is so insanely balanced and nuanced, that it looks hyper-realistic. It’s rather fantastic. The bluish-white glow of the fire breath from Godzilla looks amazing and the red evil glow from Mechagodzilla is remarkable against its silver metallic coat. Black levels are always deep and never murky. Skin tones are natural and organic as well.
The detail is vivid and sharp, even in the darker scenes or during the heavy CGI action sequences which never go soft. Every individual hair on Kong’s body is distinguishable and flows in the wind whichever way it blows. Scales and scares on Godzilla are present and look great too. Textures in clothes and Titan skin, along with closeups of the actor’s faces showcase all the necessary detail in each lighting condition and scene. There are absolutely zero issues with this fantastic 4K video presentation.
THE AUDIO
This release comes with a phenomenal Dolby Atmos track that just explodes from the very beginning in the best of ways. Sound effects are robust and loud with every piece of action being heard for a fully immersive experience. Every building destruction and piece of debris falling can be heard flying through the speakers. The fight scenes between Godzilla and Kong are fantastically well-balanced with every punch and takedown sounding perfect and are distinguishable between what part of the body is being injured. The hefty low end of bass is consistent and has a brilliant rumble at all times, whether it be the incredible score and music cues or when trouble is brewing in the city or on the ocean.
Atmospheric sounds of people screaming, taking, or footsteps running away from the Titans all sound exquisite. Missles exploding, aircraft carriers bursting into flames all bring a big sound that is amazing and never rocky. The height speakers bring in the rain, thunder, and other elements from the sky down into the soundscape, which all sound pitch-perfect. Dialogue is clean and clear and free of any audio issues. This is a dynamite Dolby Atmos track.
THE EXTRAS
There are about 74 minutes of bonus material, all of which are wonderfully produced and give a ton of fun and informative insight into the making of the film.
Audio Commentary – A delightful commentary track by director Adam Wingard is delivered perfectly as he discusses making the film, his love of both monster franchises, and constructing the fight scenes. There are some excellent easter eggs he mentions too, including some advice from Christopher Nolan and a Simpsons reference hidden in the film. A great listen.
The God (HD, 17 Mins.) – Separated into two different segments, the cast and crew discuss Godzilla’s origins, his first attack in the film, the lizard’s slate of films from the ’50s onward, and how big an imprint he’s made through the years. Interviews and behind-the-scenes footage are included here.
The King (HD, 31 Mins.) – Much like the extras above, this is separated across four different segments and tackles King Kong. His origins, films over the years, and his story arc and actions in this particular movie are discussed by the cast and crew. Stunt work, behind-the-scenes footage, and motion capture are all focused on, along with interviews with just about everyone.
The Rise Of Mechagodzilla (HD, 7 Mins.) – The cast and crew talk about bringing Mechagodzilla to life in this modern era, with interviews with the cast and crew, original artwork, and its transformation to screen, and more.
The Battles (HD, 19 Mins.) – Separated into three different sections, this covers the three main fight sequences in the film between the two Titans. The ocean fight, the nighttime city fight, and the tag team pairing are all discussed as the cast and crew discuss how it all came together and how the fight choreography came about. WWE is even mentioned.
THE ULTIMATE WORD
Kong Vs. Godzilla is the ultimate Titan movie. It’s some of the most fun, thrilling action ever filmed in a movie of this caliber. What a blast from start to finish and a great tag-team start to these two legendary characters. This 4K set has top-notch video and audio presentations with some excellent bonus features as well. There is a Blu-ray copy of the film where all the extras are located and an insert for a Digital Copy of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!