Movie Review: Godzilla vs Kong

 Movie: Godzilla vs Kong

Stars: 3 1/2

Cinema: The Sun, Yarraville

What other movie to do take four ten-year-old boys to? Peter Rabbit 2 or Tom and Jerry? No, they're too old. Raya and the Last Dragon. Nope they're too old for that too.

And what do they want to see? Of course it's Godzilla vs Kong. They're boys, after all. 

Owing Blarney's twin ten-year-old boys about three movies for the last year for their birthday and Christmas presents, I wanted to start paying down this debt - and after seeing the cast for this, and despite Blarney saying she'd rather stick pins in her eyes than see this, somehow, I talked her into this, and today was the day. We're both on holiday. The kids are on holiday. And the other two ring ins were coming over on a play date. Fun. And then there's the cast. I mean, it has Alexander Skarsgard in it - how bad can it be? (tee hee - yum)

So I schlepped out to Yarraville picked up the tickets and was greeted by Chance and Lance, and their mates Ollie and Marco - and Blarney. After the necessary purchase of popcorn, fizzy drinks and a banana choc top for me, in we went. 

And yeah, in front of us there was an hour and fifty two minutes of entertainment. 

Godzilla vs King Kong is just that. Entertaiment for the masses. This isn't a movie which is going to win acting awards - but it's not like you're watching one of the cast of Married at First Sight doing Richard III. It's not like you're going to be pondering the meaning of life after seeing this. But you'll come out of the cinema feeling a little bit better about the world after seeing two CGI monsters belt the shite out of each other, while you have a bit of a giggle in the mean time. 

The plot, according to Rotten Tomatoes is as follows: 

"Legends collide in "Godzilla vs. Kong" as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The epic clash between the two titans - instigated by unseen forces--is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth."

There are two separate plot lines which meet near the end. The first is the King Kong tribe, with Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), Peter Lind (Alexander Skarsgard) and the rather luminous Jia (Kaylee Hottle - who is deaf in real life and signs through the film and is one of the best things about this film). With the threat of Godzilla, they decide to move Kong from his island home to quash the threat of Godzilla. 

The second plotline sees Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), a high schooler, succomb to the words of Bernie Hayes' (Brian Tyree Henry) a conspiracy theorist's podcast. Her father (Kyle Chandler) is a big wig at a company which is researching Godzilla - and their labs have been destroyed by the creature. She's joined by her best mate, Josh (Julian Dennison, once again relegated to chubby mate) as they break into the lab to get to the bottom of what's going on. 

Oh, and there's the baddies, played by Demian Bechir and Eiza Gonzalez, who are multi-billionaires and want to milk this situation for all it's worth. These are the above mentioned unseen forces. 

I'll leave the plot there. 

Needless to say, the CGI is incredible. You can see that this was originally made to be see in 3D, but COVID probably scuppered this. But it's a movie you want to see on the big screen you to get all the detail in. 

You'll end up for barracking for one side or the other - Kong or Godzilla - or heaven forbid, both. You'll also end up cheering when the baddies are disposed of. 

Oh, and they may have found a solution as to what to do with Hong Kong... It might be easier than bringing in Chinese rule. 

For a silly monster movie, it's actually quite good. Go in expecting a silly monster film and you get a bit more. I was happily surprised. As I said, the little kid steals the show - as they always do. 

Don't dismiss this film. It's an enjoyable, light-weight diversion. A deviation from the art-house and quality films I normally see.

And if you want to win over a group of ten-year-old boys, take them along. They'll love it. 

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