MOVIE CORNER
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021 Warner Bros.) ★★1/2☆☆☆
The last time the two mammoths monsters Godzilla and King Kong – one a reptile, the other a mammal – fought one another was in the 1962 film by Japanese director Ishiro Honda. Back then men dressed as Godzilla and King Kong battled it out, costing thousands of lives. In that film the battle between Godzilla and King Kong climaxes on Mount Fuji.
Director Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong, as to be expected, uses plenty of C.G.I. (computer-generated imagery) making the beasts larger than ever. Oh, how Godzilla and Kong have grown in size since their beginnings! Today both beasts are as big as – if not bigger – than the skyscrapers they easily knock over. And the way it looks in Wingard’s hyper C.G.I. version, it’s Godzilla who is the villain. I think.
     What also can be said (and in more recent movies on Godzilla or Kong) is that the Japanese get a big breather from both beasts who in the past have made it a point to level or near level their cities and leave thousands of deaths. This time Godzilla appears in Pensacola, Florida upstaging the city and everything in it. Kong on the other hand is taken from his haven on Skull Island before he’s attacked at sea by Godzilla. They battle at sea in the midst of warships and aircraft carriers while F-16s swoop down from the sky firing missiles at the great beasts.
I think it’s safe to conclude Godzilla vs. Kong delivers what it promises: ultimate fighting at its best between Godzilla and Kong. But the only lifts (and there’s barely a handful) is the battle between the iconic monsters who leave billions of dollars in property damage and numerous lives lost. The human characters are essentially insipid and without much depth. Although I’m a big fan of many of the earlier Godzilla films as well as some of the King Kong films, I’m not eager for more C.G.I. Godzillas or Kongs. For heaven sakes, let these behemoths rest.
Cast: Alexander Skarsgard (Nathan Lind), Millie Bobby Brown (Madison Russell), Rebecca Hall (Ilene Andrews), Brian Tyree Henry (Bernie Hayes), Shun Oguri (Rey Serizawa), Kyle Chandler (Mark Russell). Director: Adam Wingard. Cinematography: Ben Serevin. Music: Junkie XL.
Running time: 113 minutes. Rated: PG-13
