godzilla vs. kong (adam wingard, 2021)

Are you going to tell me that you didn't know in advance whether or not you wanted to see Godzilla vs. Kong? It's just a case of variants ... put them in order, with the best at the top, but know that some people are going to watch all of the Godzilla/MonsterVerse movies and some will avoid them all like the plague. I thought King of the Monsters was the weakest, with the 2014 Godzilla the best and Skull Island in the middle. Put Godzilla vs. Kong alongside Kong: Skull Island in the middle and you'll have them about right.

Humans often get in the way in monster movies, and the best that can be said for most of the humans in GvK is that they aren't too awful. Brian Tyree Henry is always good, even with a role like this where he is almost comic relief. Opinion on Millie Bobby Brown is divided, but I thought she was fine, it was the character that annoyed. The clear winner is Kaylee Hottle making her film debut as Jia, the deaf friend of Kong. Hottle is herself deaf, and her fluency in American Sign Language is useful in this role, but she uses her face to express emotions that even those of us lacking in ASL knowledge can appreciate. There's an interesting angle to her relationship to Kong that I'll keep spoiler-free.

But you go to a movie called Godzilla vs. Kong for the monster fights, and they are pretty good. I won't give away who wins, but I'll mention, since this was leaked months ago, that Mechagodzilla does make an appearance. Meantime, sit back and enjoy, or, if you're so inclined, watch something else entirely.

We've come a long way since the last time these two battled it out:

One last note: Godzilla vs. Kong runs 113 minutes. Other makers of blockbusters, please take note ... you don't need 2 1/2 hours.