Godzilla vs. Kong

This article is about the 2021 film. For the 1962 film, see King Kong vs Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. Kong
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Adam Wingard
Screenplay by	Eric Pearson Max Borenstein
Story by	Terry Rossio Michael Dougherty Zach Shields
Based on	Godzilla and Mechagodzilla by Toho King Kong by Edgar Wallace Merian C. Cooper
Produced by	Thomas Tull Jon Jashni Brian Rogers Mary Parent Alex Garcia Eric McLeod
Starring	Alexander Skarsgård Millie Bobby Brown Rebecca Hall Brian Tyree Henry Shun Oguri Eiza González Julian Dennison Lance Reddick Kyle Chandler Demián Bichir
Cinematography	Ben Seresin
Edited by	Josh Schaeffer
Music by	Tom Holkenborg
Production company	Legendary Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures (Worldwide) Toho (Japan)
Release dates	March 24, 2021 (2021-03-24) (International) March 31, 2021 (2021-03-31) (United States)
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$155–200 million
Box office	$145.5 million

Godzilla vs. Kong is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to both Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Kong: Skull Island (2017), it is the fourth film in Legendary's MonsterVerse. It is also the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. The film stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, Kyle Chandler, and Demián Bichir. In the film, Kong clashes with Godzilla as humans lure the ape into the Hollow Earth to retrieve an energy source to stop Godzilla's mysterious rampages.

The project was announced in October 2015 when Legendary announced plans for a shared cinematic universe between Godzilla and King Kong. The film's writers room was assembled in March 2017, and Wingard was announced as the director in May 2017. Principal photography began in November 2018 in Hawaii, Australia and Hong Kong, and wrapped in April 2019.

After being delayed from a November 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Godzilla vs. Kong was theatrically released internationally on March 24, 2021, and in the United States on March 31, where it was released in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the visual effects and action sequences, but criticism towards the human characters. It has grossed $145 million worldwide, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2021.

Plot

Five years after Godzilla defeated King Ghidorah, Kong is monitored by Monarch within a giant dome on Skull Island. Kong is visited by Jia, the last Iwi native and Kong expert Ilene Andrews' adopted daughter, who is deaf and communicates with Kong via sign language.

Bernie Hayes, an employee of Apex Cybernetics and host of a Titan conspiracy theory podcast, extracts data suggesting sinister activities at a Pensacola facility. However, Godzilla suddenly attacks the facility; during the rampage, Bernie stumbles on a massive device. Madison Russell, a fan of Bernie's podcast, enlists her friend Josh to investigate Godzilla's attacks. Apex CEO Walter Simmons recruits Nathan Lind, a Hollow Earth theorist, to guide a search for a power source into the Hollow Earth, the homeworld of the Titans. Nathan is initially hesitant as his brother died on an expedition to Hollow Earth due to a strong reverse-gravitational effect. He agrees after Walter reveals that Apex has developed HEAVs, specialized crafts able to withstand the pressure exerted by the gravity field.

Nathan meets with Ilene and convinces her to let Kong guide them through the Hollow Earth via an outpost in Antarctica. Nathan, Ilene, and an Apex team led by Walter's daughter Maia board a modified barge escorted by the U.S. Navy that carries a sedated and restrained Kong. Godzilla attacks the convoy and defeats Kong, but retreats after the ships disable their power and trick him into thinking they are destroyed. To avoid alerting Godzilla, Kong is airlifted to the Hollow Earth entrance, and Jia convinces him to enter the tunnel while the team follows him in the HEAVs.

Madison and Josh find Bernie, who joins their investigation. They sneak into the wrecked Apex base, discover a secret facility underground, and are inadvertently locked into an underground monorail transport to an Apex facility in Hong Kong, where they unwittingly stumble on a test of Mechagodzilla. It is telepathically controlled by Ren Serizawa, the son of the late Ishirō Serizawa, through the neural networks from a severed head of Ghidorah, but is hobbled by its power supply's limitations. Walter intends to harness the Hollow Earth's energy to overcome Mechagodzilla's limitations.

Inside the Hollow Earth, Kong and the team find an ecosystem similar to Skull Island. They discover his species' ancestral throne room, where they find remains of an ancient war with Godzilla's kind and a glowing axe made from another Godzilla's dorsal plates. As they find the power source, the Apex team sends its signature back to their Hong Kong base despite Ilene's protests. Attracted by Mechagodzilla's activation, Godzilla arrives in Hong Kong, and sensing Kong, he directly drills a shaft to the throne room with his atomic breath. In the ensuing mayhem, Maia and the Apex team attempt to escape but their HEAV is crushed by Kong. Kong, Ilene, Jia, and Nathan ascend to Hong Kong, where Godzilla and Kong battle. Godzilla is initially overpowered by Kong, but Godzilla emerges victorious while Kong loses consciousness.

Madison, Josh, and Bernie are caught by security and taken to Walter. Despite Ren's concerns over the power source's volatility, Walter orders him to activate Mechagodzilla. They lose control of Mechagodzilla, who kills Walter and electrocutes Ren, and then attacks Hong Kong. Godzilla and Mechagodzilla battle, but Godzilla is overwhelmed. Nathan revives Kong by destroying the HEAV, and Jia convinces him to help Godzilla. As Mechagodzilla overpowers both Titans, Josh short-circuits Mechagodzilla's controls with Bernie's flask of liquor, momentarily interrupting the mech. Godzilla supercharges Kong's axe with his atomic breath, allowing Kong to destroy Mechagodzilla. Madison, Bernie, and Josh reunite with Mark Russell, while Godzilla and Kong acknowledge each other before the two go their separate ways. Sometime later, Monarch has established an observation post in the Hollow Earth, where Kong now rules.

Cast, in order of appearance

• Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie Hayes:
  A former Apex Cybernetics technician turned conspiracy theorist aiding Madison and Josh to expose Apex. Henry described Bernie as a "crackpot" with a level of "heart" and "loyalty." Henry noted that the tragic death of Bernie's wife shaped him to become a conspiracy theorist with a podcast and further elaborated, "his goal is to use the tools at his disposal to bring the truth to the people. I always refer to Bernie as Anonymous. He can see the injustices, but no one really listens to him." Due to Bernie's protective nature of Madison and Josh, Henry jokingly likened Bernie to Brienne of Tarth.
• Rebecca Hall as Dr. Ilene Andrews:
  A Monarch anthropological linguist, and Jia's adoptive mother. Hall described her participation as "overwhelming" due to the film being her first project after her pregnancy, but found the experience "thrilling." Hall described Ilene as "the Jane Goodall of Kong."
• Kaylee Hottle as Jia:
  A young orphan deaf Iwi native who forms a special bond with Kong, and is Ilene's adopted daughter.
• Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell:
  The daughter of Monarch scientists Mark and the late Emma Russell. Madison believes there is a reason for Godzilla's erratic behavior, suspecting a conspiracy formulated by the Apex Cybernetics. She proceeds to investigate with Josh Valentine and Bernie Hayes. Brown described the film as a coming of age story for Madison, noting that the character has "grown-up" and become more "independent" since the events of the previous film, stating, "Her storyline has definitely evolved greatly in the way she deals with things, her attitude towards life, how much more stronger of a person." Producer Alex Garcia described Madison as the "advocate for Godzilla in this film" who tries to "vindicate" Godzilla and his reasons.
• Kyle Chandler as Dr. Mark Russell:
  Madison's father, Monarch's deputy director of special projects, and an animal behavior and communication specialist.
• Demián Bichir as Walter Simmons:
  Maia's father, CEO, and founder of Apex Cybernetics, a tech organization invested in trying to solve the Earth's "Titan problem," secretly creating Mechagodzilla to exterminate them. Walter is a visionary entrepreneur and billionaire who wants to help humanity and make the world a safer place, but clashes with Monarch over their differing ideals on what is best for humanity. Producer Alex Garcia said Walter "has risen to a place… in the seats of power, and is wanting to help to stem and stop the madness and the destruction." Garcia stated that Walter is not necessarily a villain or a Machiavellian character but is "a very complex character who believes he's doing the right thing. And he may be, but that's where the mystery at the core of the film comes into play."

Additionally, Hakeem Kae-Kazim portrays Admiral Wilcox; Ronny Chieng portrays Jay Wayne; John Pirruccello portrays Horace; and Chris Chalk portrays Ben. Zhang Ziyi and Jessica Henwick were cast but did not appear in the final cut of the film, with Ziyi intended to have been reprising her role from Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

• Shun Oguri as Ren Serizawa:
  The son of the late Monarch scientist Ishirō Serizawa, and an Apex Cybernetics scientist and tech engineer, who is the telepathic pilot for Mechagodzilla. Oguri described Ren's goal as trying to "protect the Earth," however, the means to his goal differ from "everyone else, and his father." Oguri noted that Ren "sort of" followed in his father's footsteps but stated, "he doesn’t believe he was heard by his father."
• Alexander Skarsgård as Dr. Nathan Lind:
  A Monarch geologist and chief cartographer who works closely with Kong and charts the mission into the Hollow Earth. Skarsgård described his character as a reluctant hero who is "not an alpha, bad-ass" and "thrown into this very dangerous situation and is definitely not equipped for it." Skarsgård called Nathan an homage to 1980s films like Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, Lethal Weapon, and Die Hard. Skarsgård prepped for the film by researching the Hollow Earth, and learning sign language to communicate with Kayle Hottle.
• Eiza González as Maia Simmons:
  A top-tier Apex Cybernetics executive, and Walter Simmons' daughter. González described her role as a "very smart woman behind a company." She also described the film as "slightly comedic." González noted having enjoyed the fact that her character was a Latina woman with a high position within a company, and not forced into a stereotype.
• Julian Dennison as Josh Valentine:
  A friend of Madison aiding her and Bernie to investigate the source of Godzilla's erratic behavior. Dennison described his character as a "nerd" and Madison as his "only friend." Dennison called Josh Madison's "tech wingman," and the "realist in the duo," stating, "he kind of brings it, 'Oh, we shouldn’t do that because we’ll die.' And she’s, 'No, it will be fine.' So, I think they play very well. And they’re a very good mix of just craziness." Dennison screen-tested with Brown using scenes from Romeo and Juliet.
• Lance Reddick as Guillermin:
  The director of Monarch. Reddick's role was originally larger, Wingard stated, "There was a scene earlier in the film, a big board room scene where they're setting up the mission. He had a larger role, but ultimately we didn’t need that scene."

Production

Production credits

• Adam Wingard – director
• Jay Ashenfelter – executive producer
• Herbert W. Gains – executive producer
• Dan Lin – executive producer
• Roy Lee – executive producer
• Yoshimitsu Banno – executive producer (posthumous)
• Kenji Okuhira – executive producer
• Jen Conroy – co-producer
• Tamara Kent – co-producer
• Owen Patterson – production designer
• Tom Hammock – production designer
• Ann Foley – costume designer
• John "DJ" DesJardin – visual effects supervisor

Development

In September 2015, Legendary moved Kong: Skull Island from Universal to Warner Bros., which sparked media speculation that Godzilla and King Kong would appear in a film together. In October 2015, Legendary confirmed that they would unite Godzilla and King Kong in Godzilla vs. Kong, at the time targeted for a May 29, 2020, release. Legendary plans to create a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" that "brings together Godzilla and Legendary’s King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new." Producer Alex Garcia confirmed that the film would not be a remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla, stating, "the idea is not to remake that movie." In May 2017, Adam Wingard was announced as the director for Godzilla vs. Kong. Wingard had previously been considered by Peter Jackson to direct a sequel to his 2005 version of King Kong that was ultimately unproduced.

In July 2017, Wingard spoke about the outline created by the writers room, stating, "We're going in very great detail through all the characters, the arcs they have, how they relate to one another, and most importantly how they relate to the monsters, and how the monsters relate to them or reflect them." He also stated that he and his team are going "beat by beat" on the outline, stating, "So once again, it's a discussion, and about feeling out how to make it as strong as possible, so that when Terry [Rossio] goes to write the screenplay, he has a definitive breakdown of what to include." In August 2017, Wingard spoke about his approach for the monsters, stating:

"I really want you to take those characters seriously. I want you to be emotionally invested, not just in the human characters, but actually in the monsters. It’s a massive monster brawl movie. There’s lots of monsters going crazy on each other, but at the end of the day I want there to be an emotional drive to it. I want you to be emotionally invested in them. I think that’s what’s going to make it really cool."

Wingard expressed his desire for the film to have a definite winner, stating:

"I do want there to be a winner. The original film was very fun, but you feel a little let down that the movie doesn’t take a definitive stance. People are still debating now who won in that original movie, you know. So, I do want people to walk away from this film feeling like, Okay, there is a winner."

Wingard also confirmed that the film would tie in with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, be set in modern times, and feature a "more rugged, a bit more aged Kong."

Writing

In March 2017, Legendary assembled a writers room to develop the story for Godzilla vs. Kong, with Terry Rossio (who co-wrote an early unproduced script for TriStar's Godzilla) leading a team consisting of Patrick McKay, J. D. Payne, Lindsey Beer, Cat Vasko, T.S. Nowlin, Jack Paglen, and J. Michael Straczynski. On his experience with the writers room, Rossio stated:

"Godzilla vs. Kong was my first experience running a writer's room, and it was fantastic. It was a blast reading samples, meeting different writers, and crafting a story in a group setting. It felt similar to animation, where the film is happening up on the walls, and the end result is better than any one person could accomplish on their own."

Michael Dougherty, who directed Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Zach Shields, who co-wrote the film with Dougherty, provided rewrites to ensure that certain themes from King of the Monsters were carried over and that some characters were properly developed. Dougherty revealed how he wrote for the title characters, and how the film would address their differing interactions with people. For Kong, Dougherty stated the film would feature "those very unique, and even warm, bonding moments" between Kong and humans since they have been a staple of the character since the original 1933 film. For Godzilla, his connection to humans would be "more implied" as his softer side is rarely shown. Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein received a Screenplay By credit, while Rossio, Dougherty, and Shields received a Story By credit.

Casting

In June 2017, it was announced that Zhang Ziyi had joined Legendary's MonsterVerse, having a reportedly "pivotal" role in both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong, though she ultimately starred only in the first film. In June 2018, Julian Dennison was cast, while Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler were set to reprise their roles from Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Legendary also sent an offer to Frances McDormand for a role. In July 2018, it was revealed that Danai Gurira was in early talks to join the film. In October 2018, Brian Tyree Henry, Demián Bichir, Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, and Rebecca Hall were added to the cast. In November 2018, Jessica Henwick, Shun Oguri, and Lance Reddick were cast, with Oguri making his Hollywood debut. Gurira was briefly named amongst the cast by Collider and ScreenGeek, though neither she nor Henwick appeared in the finished film.

During a review of the film on its release date, filmmaker James Rolfe revealed that he was offered a cameo by Wingard, but he turned it down due the birth of his second child at the time prior to filming started.

Filming

Principal photography began on November 12, 2018 in Hawaii and Australia, and was expected to end in February 2019, under the working title Apex. Production was initially slated to begin on October 1, 2018. For the Hawaii shoot, the crew filmed on the USS Missouri, at Manoa Falls, and in Downtown Honolulu. The crew established a camp in the Kalanianaole Highway, which had been closed until November 21. Local crews and extras were used for the film. In January 2019, filming resumed in Gold Coast, Queensland at Village Roadshow Studios for an additional 26 weeks. Filming locations in Australia included Miami State High School and parts of Brisbane such as the Newstead suburb, the Chinatown Mall in Fortitude Valley, and the Wickham Terrace Car Park. In April 2019, Wingard confirmed via Instagram that filming in Australia had wrapped. That same month, Wingard revealed Hong Kong as one of the final shooting locations and that principal photography had wrapped.

Music

Godzilla vs. Kong: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
File:Soundtrack of Godzilla vs. Kong.jpg
Film score by Tom Holkenborg
Released	March 26, 2021 (2021-03-26)
Genre	Film score
Length	67:09
Label	WaterTower Music
Tom Holkenborg chronology
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) Godzilla vs. Kong: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2021) Army of the Dead (2021)
MonsterVerse chronology
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

In June 2020, Tom Holkenborg was announced as the film's composer. Wingard met with Holkenborg in 2018, where Holkenborg admitted to recreationally writing music for Godzilla years prior due to being a fan. Holkenborg subsequentky began communicating with the director, tweaked the material, and played it for the director, stating that Wingard was "totally in love." Holkenborg requested a bass drum roughly ten feet in diameter, but the builder was only able to scale it down to eight feet. As with Legendary's previous Godzilla trailers, György Ligeti's "Requiem" was used, followed by "Here We Go" by Chris Classic. The soundtrack was released by WaterTower Music on March 26, 2021.

All music is composed by Tom Holkenborg

Godzilla vs. Kong: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pensacola, Florida (Godzilla Theme)"	2:18
2.	"Skull Island (Kong Theme)"	7:24
3.	"Apex Cybernetics"	2:02
4.	"A New Language"	2:29
5.	"Just Now"	1:50
6.	"Tasman Sea"	9:30
7.	"Through There"	1:25
8.	"Antarctica"	2:36
9.	"Hollow Earth"	3:48
10.	"The Throne"	2:11
11.	"Lunch"	1:59
12.	"Nuclear Blast"	3:59
13.	"The Royal Axe"	4:48
14.	"Mega"	7:39
15.	"Hong Kong"	13:14

Release

Marketing

In May 2019, the first promotional one-sheet poster was revealed at the Licensing Expo. In June 2019, Warner Bros screened an early look to European exhibitors at CineEurope. In August 2019, it was announced that Disruptor Beam will develop a mobile game to tie-in for the film's release. In December 2019, a brief clip was revealed during a Warner Bros. reel at Comic Con Experience, and later leaked online. In January 2020, images from the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair displaying figures related to the film were leaked online. In February 2020, Toho and Legendary announced the Godzilla vs. Kong Publishing Program and licensees. Through the publishing program, Legendary plans to release two graphic novels, one following Godzilla and the other following Kong, an art book, novelizations, and a children's book. Amongst the licensees named were Playmates Toys, Bioworld, Rubies, Funko, 60Out, and the Virtual Reality Company.

In April 2020, images of toy figures were leaked online, revealing different forms for Godzilla and Kong, Mechagodzilla, and a new monster named Nozuki. In July 2020, images of Playmate figures and packaging with concept art were released online. In December 2020, brief clips from the film were shown during Comic Con Experience. In January 2021, more brief footage was included in a preview for HBO Max. That same month, the first teaser poster was released online, along with confirmation of the trailer's release date. The first full trailer was released on January 24, 2021. It became Warner Bros' biggest trailer debut, earning 25.6 million views in 24 hours on YouTube; 15.8 million from Warner's channel and an additional 9.8 million views from the studio's secondary channels.

Theatrical and streaming

Godzilla vs. Kong was theatrically released internationally, beginning on March 24, 2021, and was then released in the United States on March 31, where it was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. It was theatrically distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, except in Japan, where it will be distributed by Toho on May 14, 2021. WarnerMedia will stream the film for a month on HBO Max in the United States. Regal Cinemas will exhibit the film with a limited release upon its reopening on April 2, 2021. The film was delayed several times, and was previously scheduled to be released in 2020 on March 13, May 22, May 29, November 20, and later pushed to May 21, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, Warner Bros. hosted an unannounced test screening which received a "mostly positive" response.

In November 2020, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the film was being considered for a streaming release. Netflix had offered $200–250 million but WarnerMedia blocked the deal in favor of their own offer to release the film on HBO Max. However, Warner Bros. iterated that their theatrical release plans will proceed as scheduled. WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar and Warner Bros. chairman Ann Sarnoff considered options that included a simultaneous theatrical and streaming release, a strategy that Warner Bros. had done for Wonder Woman 1984. In December 2020, Warner Bros. announced that the film, along with their other tentpoles scheduled for 2021, will be given same-day simultaneous releases in theaters and HBO Max, with a one month access for its streaming release.

A week after the announcement, Variety and Deadline Hollywood reported that Legendary Entertainment, financiers, and talent with backend deals were not pleased with WarnerMedia's multi-release plans and non-transparent intentions. Legendary was not given advanced notice of the multi-release decision nor given a say in how Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong would be distributed. The studio planned to have discussions with Warner Bros. regarding a more "generous deal" however legal action was considered. A few weeks later, Deadline reported that the film could keep its HBO Max release but only if Warner Bros. matches Netflix's $250 million bid. In January 2021, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that a legal battle was averted due to Legendary and WarnerMedia nearing an agreement to keep the film's simultaneous release.

Reception

Box office

As of April 1, 2021, Godzilla vs. Kong has grossed $16.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $129.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $145.5 million.

A week prior to its United States release, the film was released in 38 overseas countries and was projected to gross around $70 million over its first five days. In China, where it was projected to debut to around $50 million, the film made $21.5 million (RMB 140 million) on its first day. The film exceeded predictions and debuted to $123.1 million worldwide, the biggest worldwide opening of the pandemic. Its largest markets were China ($69.2 million; RMB 450.5 million), Mexico ($6.5 million), Australia ($6.3 million), Russia ($5.9 million), Taiwan ($5.3 million), India ($4.9 million), Thailand ($3.3 million), South Korea ($2.8 million), Vietnam ($2.5 million), Malaysia ($2.1 million), and Spain ($1.7 million). In Indonesia, the film earned $850,000 (Rp. 12.3 billion).

In the United States and Canada, Godzilla vs. Kong was initially projected to gross around $23 million over its five-day opening weekend, compared to debuting to around $68 million in a pre-COVID marketplace. It made $9.6 million from 2,409 theaters in its first day, the best opening day figure of the pandemic. After grossing $6.7 million on its second day, five-day projections were increased to $30–40 million. Collider attributed the film's box office results to "positive word-of-mouth."

Critical response

Screen Rant said critics were "largely praising" the film, while Republic TV stated the film received a "positive response from both audience and critics alike" and Digital Spy stated it earned "positive reviews."

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 76% of 275 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Delivering squarely on its title, Godzilla vs. Kong swats away character development and human drama to deliver all the spectacle you'd expect from giant monsters slugging it out." Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 based on 53 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale (the highest of the MonsterVerse), while PostTrak reported 86% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 74% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing: "Godzilla vs. Kong is the kind of movie you can pretty much forget about almost instantly after you've seen it — but it's also the kind of movie that makes you forget about everything else in your life while you're watching it." Jamie Graham of Total Film gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing: "Watching these famous monsters share the screen for the first time since 1963's King Kong vs. Godzilla, in a series of expertly choreographed battles, packs real wallop, even if you can't help wishing that screen was 30ft high at your local cinema."

Alonso Duralde of the TheWrap said that the franchise had "given up on everything but the monster fights" and wrote: "Yes, obviously, no one goes to these movies for the deep human characters or for plot machinations or even for the metaphors about the environment and industrialization. Here's the thing, though — they come in handy to fill in the gaps between the monster battles, and you miss them when they're not there. And since even those battles are somewhat perfunctory, what are we even doing here?" John Nugent of Empire gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing: "Godzilla vs. Kong mostly delivers on its promise of a big monster fighting another big monster. It just depends whether you're willing to sit through the toe-curlingly bad set-up that surrounds it." Reviewing for The Age, Jake Wilson gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying: "Overseeing the mayhem is director Adam Wingard, who started out making wittily brutal low-budget horror films before becoming a studio gun for hire. Absolutely no sign of his old personality is evident here."

Future

Though Legendary Pictures hoped to continue making MonsterVerse films after Godzilla vs. Kong, their contract with Toho was originally planned to expire in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic began and no additional films were immediately lined up. In February 2021, Wingard commented on the future of the MonsterVerse, "I know where we could go potentially with future films". However, he noted that the MonsterVerse was created "to a certain degree" to lead towards Godzilla vs. Kong. He added that the MonsterVerse is at a "crossroads", stating, "It’s really at the point where audiences have to kind of step forward and vote for more of these things. If this movie is a success obviously they will continue forward."

References

Bibliography

• Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series - Second Edition. McFarland. ISBN 9780786447497.

External links

• Official website
• Godzilla vs. Kong at IMDb