Editor’s note: SPOILERS AHEAD

Godzilla vs. Kong has been one of the most expected movies of the year. It’s a movie that’s been made before, so what makes this version so different? What’s the hype all about?

Since the pandemic hit I’ve been very skeptical about going to the theaters. Now after almost a year, I decided to go and watch this movie. When purchasing the tickets I made sure to buy them a day before. I’m glad I did as the tickets for that same night were all gone. I believe this movie will solely be the reason movie theaters begin business as usual. Although this movie is available on HBO Max, nothing beats watching it in theaters. 

The pros:

For starters, the film did a great job in making these monsters look realistic. I was so impressed with how realistic they seemed to be. A lot of films do a terrible job of making something look like it belongs and this film did just that.

One of the things I most liked about the film was the idea of humanizing Kong. In the movie Kong learns sign language, so he is now able to communicate with humans. I think that’s such a cool concept. We all know monkeys and gorillas to be super smart so I think it was fitting they allowed Kong to sign language. It helped me understand the monster’s emotions and it helped develop the plot.

Another thing that I liked is that Kong had an ax as a weapon. I was skeptical on how it would be a fair fight for Kong but giving him that ax made the playfield more even. Especially since that ax was made out of Godzilla’s scales. 

I liked the different theories and myths this movie had brought to life. It was cool to see the idea of hollow earth play out. It was something I had never heard of before and to make that relate to Kong’s origin was very interesting. 

Cons:

The film was a bit predictable. As it took on the typical approach of two great monsters fighting each other, but end up teaming up to fight something bigger than them. I would have appreciated it if the movie was centered on just the two of them fighting, but I understand the film aspect of that. It’s a strategy used not to name a clear winner to not upset fans if one monster won against the other.

 But the plot was all over the place. Since it involved a separate story that uncovered the plan of Mechagodzilla being created. Although it was cool to see how it all connected, I don’t think it was necessary. They should have included more fight scenes instead. 

So who won?!

Since I am team Kong, it saddens me to say the winner of this fight was Godzilla. Nonetheless, Godzilla had more of the advantage. Kong had a near-death experience after his third encounter with Godzilla. He would have died if it wasn’t for the help of the humans. 

But hey if it wasn’t for Kong’s help Godzilla and humanity would have died at the hands of Mechagodzilla. In the fight at the end of the movie, they both needed each other to finish off the greater enemy. I think both of them were portrayed amazingly. I wished that Godzilla would have made more of an appearance as I felt like this movie was more centered around Kong. 

Final thoughts:

The rating I would give this would be a 9/10. It was a great movie with lots of action, fascinating scenes, and some humor. I would watch this movie again. I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys mythical creatures and myths.