Worth: $15.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Kaylee Hottle
Intro:
...an absolutely bonkers good time.
The thing about “vs” movies is, they usually sound better on paper. Too often, when two cinematic titans are pitted against one another, the result is a bit… meh. Usually, the combatants realise that they should stop fighting one another and turn on a third foe. Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2015) is probably the most recent – and egregious – example of this, but it’s a curse of vs movies all over.
Godzilla vs. Kong, now the fourth so-called MonsterVerse movie, does somewhat fall into this trap, which is a bit of a pity. However, it more than makes up for that fact by being an absolutely bonkers good time.
Godzilla vs. Kong takes place in the aftermath of Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), with the only titans left on earth being the scaly one and Kong. The plot contrives to have these two face off in pretty short order, with director Adam Wingard showcasing some excellent, impactful fight choreography, but then the plot takes a turn for the better (and weirder).
Due to a subplot involving Alexander Skarsgård (as a dorky, shy nerd of all things!) and his obsession with the Hollow Earth theory, Godzilla vs. Kong fully embraces a genuinely jaw-droppingly silly (but fun) conceit, involving futuristic hovercraft, corporate conspiracies and a hidden world beneath our very feet.
It gets even more bull goose loony in the third act, with robotic titans, Millie Bobby Brown uncovering a terrible secret and monster skull telepathy (or something?), but unlike some of the other MonsterVerse flicks, remembers to have a good time with it all.
The result is a film that, while it does stick to the vs movie script a little too much, offers a fast-paced, occasionally baffling, always enjoyable beastie battle that will appeal to anyone who knows how much joy can be sparked watching a giant monkey lay the boot into an enormous, lazer-breathing lizard.
Can we please stop describing everything as “bonkers”. It’s the most overused word in film reviewing ever.
I love the word bonkers
I really like the use of the word bonkers in your review thanks
What a bonkers review – I’m tempted to do the bonkers thing of paying to see such a bonkers movie.
I saw it today, and it was utterly bonkers, and I loved every second of it!
The bonkers bonkered the Bonker bonker (not to be confused with the bonker bonker, another character of the Bonkerverse). It’s all bonkers!
These comments are pretty bonkers but not nearly as bonkers as this great review thanks dude