“Whoever wins, we lose” was the very clever phrase with which ‘Alien vs. Predator’ in 2004, trying to emphasize the dimension of the clash between monsters. Although, in reality, a monster movie that crosses two iconic creatures has to be a triumph for the viewer, a opportunity to enjoy unparalleled destruction.
It is something that Adam Wingard undoubtedly understood very well in the biggest commission he had received up to then. A great responsibility, not only for doing collide the two most impressive monsters in cinema (although it was not the first time they met), but because it had to be released at a difficult point in the pandemic where we needed to remember how much a show can be enjoyed when you can see it in a movie theater. And boy did ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’.
gigantic crossover
The film arrives at HBO Max ready to replicate the same impact that made us vibrate in the seats in 2021. The great event of the Monsterverse that Warner and Legendary had been building the previous decade with several films with these characters, although none of them is really essential to enjoy what it offers: monsters hitting like there’s no tomorrow.
It is not even necessary to review a premise that involves a series of humans trying to have a hand in a great battle that is obviously great for them. Godzilla starts rampaging through cities for no reason (but oh boy is there a reason) and the best response some can come up with is to throw Kong to fight him. With that, Wingard and his scriptwriters create a show that, even more complicated, offers everything you expect from him.
The human part is again the part that falters the most in these movies, with several parallel plots with different groups of characters that never manage to arouse interest. But of course, nobody puts ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ to see Rebecca Hall doing the parody version of Jane Goodall or Millie Bobby Brown teaming up with a conspiracy podcaster. The important thing, the clashes between monsters, are up to expectations.
‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: fight in full color
Wingard makes each clash between ape and nuclear reptile produce the euphoric feeling it’s meant to provide, being the best possible version of recreating the feeling of being a child colliding with two toys. The special effects work manages to be at stratospheric levelsrecreating details with such precision that you do not question the reality of what you are seeing, and the use of colors creates images that border on the painterly as well as providing clarity so that we do not get lost among so much destruction.
There will be those who find this hypertrophied exhibition of effects and brainless fun to be insufficient. It’s okay, it’s legitimate, this is not your movie (another day we will recommend something by Stanley Kubrick to compensate). For those who do not reject a crazy and uninhibited blockbuster, this offers tons of euphoria based on understanding very well what is expected of her and performing at key moments. Sometimes all you need on a given day is to see Kong swinging an ax or Godzilla spewing radiation.
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