Franchises: The MonsterVerse. Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

The announcement that followed in the wake of Godzilla 2014's success that got me the most excited, even more so than the idea of getting to see big Hollywood versions of Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, or Toho being inspired to produce their own movies again, was when, in October of 2015, it officially announced that Godzilla and King Kong were going to clash again. I had a sneaking suspicion that Legendary Pictures were planning something when they moved the then recently announced Kong: Skull Island from Universal to Warner Bros., the distributor of the new Godzilla films, but, when it was confirmed, I almost fell out of my chair. I never thought that the two greatest movie monsters of all time would co-star in a movie again but, thanks to Legendary, it was happening, and I couldn't have been happier, especially since I always felt that 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla could've been done so much better. Of course, I would have to wait several years to finally see this match-up, but Skull Island and its awesome post-credits scene got me majorly hyped, and by the time Godzilla: King of the Monsters came around, I was more than ready. But then, 2020, the year that the legends were supposed to collide, instead turned out to be the year that the world shut down and everything you were looking forward to got pushed back to the following year. I was already chomping at the bit when Godzilla vs. Kong got pushed from May to November of that year before the pandemic, and when it was then pushed back again, to spring of 2021, I just about lost my damn mind. With only an early poster and a blurry millisecond of footage from some expo, I had to wait until the very end of 2020 before I got to see some real clips, and even they were just a few tantalizing seconds. But then, in January, the first trailer dropped, and blew everybody away, myself included. Seeing Godzilla crawl up onto an aircraft carrier, only for Kong to absolutely deck him right in the face (I showed my dad the trailer and when he saw that, he yelled, "Ooh!"), and a glimpse of them battling in Hong Kong, was more than enough to get me pumped. The same went for plot speculations, such as why Godzilla seemed to have become a villain, and rumors of another monster that the trailer didn't allude to. All I knew for sure was that it was finally coming and I couldn't wait.

Then, the week of its release comes, and guess what happened? I got sick. I didn't feel well when I got up that Monday and felt bad all day. In fact, as I was finishing up my proof-reading of the review for Kong: Skull Island I did in the lead-up to the movie's release, I got that all too familiar feeling that I was about to barf. I literally finished the review's conclusion and said, "Okay, I'm gonna go throw up now." I got a really nasty stomach virus that had me coming and going at the same time, so it was an absolute disaster every time I went into that bathroom. After cleaning myself up and getting back to my laptop, I had just enough strength to publish that review before my body completely shut down for the night (let it never be said that I'm not dedicated to this). By the next day, I was done puking, but still wasn't feeling good. Come that Friday, I felt a bit better, but still wasn't back to 100%. That didn't stop me from going to see the movie,... the big reveal and ending of which some dickhead spoiled for me on a livestream I took part in the previous week. (Seriously, it amazes me just how much people want to be jerks too each other on the internet.) Regardless, I was still able to go in and enjoy myself... for the most part. I liked Godzilla vs. Kong. I didn't think it was the greatest film in the MonsterVerse, as some were proclaiming (I still think Skull Island is the best), but it definitely delivered on what it promised: awesome fight scenes with Godzilla and Kong, done with the best special effects either of them had ever received. It also had a real sense of fun about it, like it knew what it was and wasn't trying to be anything else, and while I was a bit disappointed that Godzilla himself, again, didn't have that much screentime, Kong was such a fully realized and likable character that it more than made up for it. But, with few exceptions, I didn't really care about the human characters, I felt they maybe overdid it in addressing the complaints about the movies focusing too much on them, and while it was cool to see a Hollywood take on Mechagodzilla, I wished they'd focused just on Godzilla and Kong's battle and saved them teaming up against some other threat for the next movie (at the time, it was unknown if there would be a next movie, but I still wished they'd kept their priorities straight). Still, this is a very entertaining movie overall, and I do like it more than the 1962 film.

On Skull Island, the giant ape Kong is living a contained existence within a Monarch biodome, as the permanent storm that surrounds the island has now engulfed it. His one true friend is a young, deaf Iwi girl named Jia, who's able to communicate with him through sign language. Though he's restless about the containment, Dr. Ilene Andrews, an anthropologist and expert on Kong, is afraid to remove him from his isolation out of fear that Godzilla will hunt him down, as there can't be two alphas among the Titans. Meanwhile, Bernie Hayes, the host of a podcast devoted to Titan conspiracy theories, uses his job at an Apex Cybernetics facility in Pensacola to download evidence that the company is up to something unethical. Among the data are shipping manifests to their facility in Hong Kong and design specs for some kind of machine. Suddenly, Godzilla appears and attacks the facility, and in the midst of the rampage, Bernie finds a massive device with a glowing red center. Afterward, Monarch prepares to contend with Godzilla, while Apex CEO Walter Simmons tells the media that his company has a plan of their own. However, Madison Russell, the daughter of Monarch scientists Mark and Emma Russell, is sure that something provoked Godzilla to attack, given how he previously saved the Earth from King Ghidorah. When Mark refuses to listen to her or let her be involved, she decides to take things into her own hands. At the Denham University of Theoretical Science in Philadelphia, Dr. Nathan Lind, a former Monarch geologist and cartographer, gets a visit from Simmons and his chief technology officer, Ren Serizawa. They show him a magnetic image from a satellite that proves the mythical realm known as Hollow Earth, believed to be the origin of the Titans, does exist, and Simmons theorizes that they can use the massive energy it generates to create a weapon capable of defeating Godzilla. Initially reluctant, as he lost his brother in such an expedition, Lind agrees to it when Simmons assures him that they have technology that will make it possible. He then visits Andrews at Skull Island, believing Kong may be able to lead them to Hollow Earth, and manages to convince her to take this shot. However, as she predicted, Godzilla targets both them and Kong; at the same time, Madison and her friend Josh team up with Bernie to uncover what Apex is hiding, and in Hong Kong, they find the reason for Godzilla's rampage, which could prove to be an even bigger threat in and of itself.

If there was one thing about Godzilla vs. Kong's production that gave me a bit of pause, it was its announced director, Adam Wingard. While the guy definitely has some well-liked films under his belt, like You're Next and The Guest, the only one I'd seen at the time was 2016's Blair Witch. I already felt another follow-up to The Blair Witch Project wasn't needed, especially another in "found footage" over fifteen years later, but when I watched that movie on Hulu in October of 2017, I was not at all impressed, as it seemed to be the work of someone who didn't understand the first film's very effective "less is more" approach. Also, while I still haven't even watched the anime, I know that Wingard's live-action adaptation of Death Note was pretty much disliked by everyone who saw it. But, I was so excited for this movie that I was willing to give the guy a chance, and while I do think he and the writers really dropped the ball on the human characters and put a little too much into a story that should've been fairly simple, he more than excelled in the visuals, the action sequences, and the portrayals of the monsters. If nothing else, he made it one of the most entertaining entries in the MonsterVerse, as well as a real crowd-pleaser that was just what the doctor ordered following such an awful year like 2020. Thus, I'm not surprised that Legendary decided to bring him back for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (which I actually like more than this film, but that's for another day).

As many have said, Godzilla vs. Kong is just about the perfect example of how these types of movies, in- and outside of the MonsterVerse, almost always give us human characters whose only functions are to set the story in motion so we can get to what we really want to see. Movies like Kong: Skull Island and especially Godzilla Minus One prove that it is possible to create human characters we genuinely like and want to see survive, as well as possibly even triumph over the monsters, but, for the most part, 

what we have here is typically the norm. Also, while I am admittedly one of those people who complained about Godzilla 2014 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters focusing too much on the humans, especially the former, I think this movie is something of an over-correction. As much as they may not be what anybody comes to these films for, I don't think human characters should be completely eliminated from them. Granted, I'd still like to see Michael Dougherty's idea for a prehistoric set Godzilla movie

with no humans come to fruition, but I understand that they are necessary. The trick, again, is making them characters we don't mind spending time with or learning about while we wait for the monster action to start up. Save for much of the cast of Skull Island, and individual examples like Joe Brody and Dr. Serizawa, the MonsterVerse has really struggled with that, and this film is where it especially suffers. There are exceptions here (or rather, one exception) but, for the most part, these characters only drive us from Point A

to Point B, and in some cases, their subplots amount to virtually nothing. We also get just a smidge of backstory, like Lind having lost his brother on a previous attempt to find Hollow Earth, or Andrews' connection to Jia and Kong, to make them feel three-dimensional, but it's not close to enough. Worst of all, there are some characters here who had the potential to be fascinating had we known more about them, but it seems like the filmmakers cut back on a lot of it because of complaints from all of us impatient audiences and kaiju fans.

Just like how there were passionate fandoms devoted to each title monster in the lead-up to its release, the film's story involves two groups of characters involved with each of them. On the Kong side of things, there's Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgard), Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), and young Jia (Kaylee Hottle). As they were former colleagues at Monarch, Lind comes to Andrews with his plan of having Kong lead them down to Hollow Earth, counting on the theory of genetic memory.

Though Andrews is reluctant to take Kong off of Skull Island for fear that Godzilla will come to kill him to assume dominance, Lind manages to convince her that Hollow Earth might prove to be a new home for him; however, she makes it clear that she's in charge of Kong and what's done with him. During the first part of their journey to the Hollow Earth entry point in Antarctica, where they're being escorted by the American Navy, she has them avoid Godzilla's territorial waters. However, that doesn't matter, as he finds them and attacks the convoy to get at Kong. During the battle, Lind, who was initially leery of Kong, releases him from his restraints to give him a fighting chance, and after Godzilla very nearly drowns him, Lind comes up with the idea to power down the ship to make Godzilla believe he's victorious. To keep from being attacked again, Lind has them airlift Kong the rest of the way, and when they arrive, he uses Jia's connection and ability to communicate with him to get him to head through the entrance. Though Andrews doesn't like this idea, especially when they have to get Kong to go by telling him there are others like him down in Hollow Earth, something they don't know for sure, she reluctantly agrees to have Jia tell him this. Not only does their plan work but, when they enter and explore Hollow Earth, they find that it is indeed where Kong belongs. Finally, during the climax, Lind is able to resuscitate Kong, who's left close to death following his second fight with Godzilla, enabling him to help defeat the rampaging Mechagodzilla.

Jia is, without a doubt, my favorite human character in the movie and one of my favorites in the MonsterVerse as a whole, due to her connection with Kong and their genuine affection for each other. You learn that she's the last surviving member of the Iwi tribe who once lived on Skull Island, and that Kong saved her life when the storm that surrounds the island engulfed it. Ever since then, the two of them have had a deep bond, and she not only understands Kong but he trusts her implicitly. As Andrews, who's like Jia's adopted mother, tells Lind, she's the only reason why Kong doesn't tear apart the ship when they're transporting him. Moreover, Jia, who's deaf, is able to communicate with him through sign language, something she initially keeps hidden from Andrews as, according to her, Kong himself didn't want her to know. Jia becomes worried about Kong when he grows restless about being kept contained within the simulated habitat on Skull Island, but also doesn't like the idea of taking him from the only home he's ever known. When they arrive at the Hollow Earth entry point, she tells him that there might be family waiting for him down there, prompting him to go. Despite her deafness, she's able to sense things that the others can't, mostly through vibration. She's able to sense Godzilla's approach when they're out in the ocean, and after the second battle in Hong Kong, she feels how Kong's heartbeat is slowing down due to Godzilla stomping on his chest. Once Kong is resuscitated, Jia tells him that Godzilla isn't his enemy and that he must help him defeat Mechagodzilla. This is possibly the only real reason why he does help, and after the battle is over and Godzilla still acts menacing towards Kong, Jia rushes to the spot, almost as if she's planning on being the mediator for them. Fortunately for her and everyone else, they make peace, and Jia is later shown living in the Monarch outpost established in Hollow Earth.

As for "Team Godzilla," so to speak, it's led by Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), who is firmly on Godzilla's side ever since he saved the world, and her, from King Ghidorah. She believes his attack on the Apex facility in Pensacola wasn't unprovoked, but is unable to convince her father of that. Thus, she decides to take find out herself and, with the help of her friend, Josh (Julian Dennison), hunts down Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), the host of the Titan Truth Podcast, which she often

listens to. As she and Bernie are like minds about Apex itself being the reason for Godzilla's attack, they decide to break into the wrecked facility to see what they can find. While looking around, they make their way down to Sub Level 33 and find a hyperloop transport system taking Skull-Crawler eggs to the Apex facility in Hong Kong. They accidentally end up along for the ride when they're forced to hide from security inside the train car and, upon arriving, they witness a test-run for Mechagodzilla, which easily kills a full grown Skull-Crawler. Madison realizes

that Godzilla sensed the robot's development and attacked a result. While looking around the severed head of Ghidorah turned control board for Mechagodzilla, the group is captured by Apex security and brought before Walter Simmons, who confirms that he intends to use his mechanical monster to dominate the Titans. They happen to be present when Mechagodzilla becomes sentient, begins rampaging in Hong Kong, and brutalizes Godzilla. Seeing this, Josh tries to use his computer skills to hack into Apex's satellite and shut Mechagodzilla down. In the end, he has to use some of the whiskey left in Bernie's flask to short-circuit the robot, giving Godzilla and Kong the edge they need to defeat it.

That last act is really the only thing this group contributes to the plot (and I don't especially like that, either); otherwise, the only purpose for their side of things is so we can discover what Apex is up to and what their role is in provoking Godzilla. As for the characters themselves, while I like that Madison has faith in Godzilla and believes there's a reason behind his sudden attack, they give Millie Bobby Brown virtually nothing to play with here. Her friend, Josh, is mostly just a typical, awkward nerd and source of

comic relief in how he tries to be the realist among the group, attempting to talk her and Bernie out of doing anything rash, and also believes that Bernie is a total wackjob... which he pretty much is. Bernie is a classic conspiracy theorist, believing everything from there being fluoride in tap water to the Illuminati and the lizard people. Of course, his suspicions about Apex prove to be correct, and you learn that the flask of malt whiskey he keeps in a gun holster underneath his coveralls was a gift from his late wife, whose death is likely why he's such an oddball, but,

otherwise, I'm not the biggest fan of him. I find his constant, nonsensical babbling and quirks to be kind of annoying, and I've never really found him funny, save for when Josh pours the last of his drink into the control board and Bernie yells, "That's your solution? I gotta die here with you, and sober?!"

Returning from Godzilla: King of the Monsters as Mark Russell, Kyle Chandler has almost nothing to do here, likely a result of the editing and re-shoots. Now a higher-up at Monarch, he appears at the beginning of the movie and very stupidly refuses to listen to Madison when she tries to tell him that there could be something that provoked Godzilla into attacking. As far as he's concerned, Titans can go bad the same way that people can and doesn't want Madison involved. He later arrives in Hong Kong when Godzilla heads there but does little more than oversee the evacuation. Madison does manage to contact him after Mechagodzilla begins running wild, but they're only reunited once the final battle is over. 

It's very clear when you first see Apex CEO Walter Simmons (Demian Bichir) in this insincere-looking promotional film he has playing on monitors inside the Pensacola facility, and when he's later on the news following Godzilla's attack, talking about how Apex has a plan to deal with him, that this guy has ulterior motives and isn't to be trusted. It's even more obvious when he and Ren Serizawa go to Nathan Lind to convince him to head down to Hollow Earth and harness the energy source that he says will give them a fighting chance against Godzilla. And, surprise, surprise, the next time we see Simmons is at his facility in Hong Kong, where he oversees the test run for Mechagodzilla from a control booth, sipping some liquor like a typical evil businessman. Though the robot only gets up to 40% power before it shuts down, Simmons assures Ren that the power source from Hollow Earth will fix everything, intoning, "And humanity will once again be the apex species." Later, when his daughter manages to send the energy signature to the facility, he's eager to activate Mechagodzilla at full power immediately, despite Ren's warnings that the signature may have adverse effects on the robot. He also knows that he's the reason for Godzilla's rampage and doesn't care at all, saying, "We must embrace it." Shortly afterward, when Madison, Josh, and Bernie are caught by security and brought before him, Simmons is more than willing to take credit for everything that's happened, feeling it's given mankind a chance against the Titans. With Mechagodzilla promptly activated at full power, Simmons declares him to be Godzilla's superior. He then goes on a monologue about a dream he's had since Godzilla first appeared in 2014, but as he's talking, Mechagodzilla becomes sentient and targets him. Simmons only has time to utter a flat, "Oh, shit," before Mechagodzilla swipes his hand through the booth, killing him.

Simmons' daughter, Maia (Eiza Gonzalez), who joins the "Kong Team" on their journey to Hollow Earth, doesn't even try to come off as a likable person. Upon arriving on the freighter carrying Kong, the first thing she says upon seeing him sitting on the deck, chained up, is ask Lind, "Who's the idiot who came up with this idea?". She then tells him, "I'm just here to babysit," and brags about how awesome Apex's special hover vehicles are, saying, "I know you people think you're cutting edge, but these prototypes we're loaning you will make what you've been flying look like used Miatas... The anti-gravity engines alone produce enough charge to light up Vegas for a week. Feel free to be impressed." She also shows no respect for Kong, always referring to him as "the monkey," and when Godzilla attacks them, she suggests they dump Kong overboard, to which Ilene Andrews retorts, "How about we throw you off instead, huh?!" Her attitude doesn't change once they head down to Hollow Earth, with her even asking Lind, "Are you sure the monkey's gonna survive this?" And after they've thoroughly explored Hollow Earth and Kong leads them to the energy source, Maia activates a robot to extract a sample, much to the others' shock and anger. Maia simply says, "My father gets what he wants. That's Apex property now," and has her men hold them at gunpoint when they protest. When things then go sideways, Maia and her men attempt to escape but, fittingly, she dies by Kong's hand... literally. Just as they're about to fly out of Hollow Earth, he grabs their vehicle and crushes it in his hand.

The character I feel could've benefited from a lot more development is Ren Serizawa (Shun Oguri), Apex's chief technology officer. Although he's meant to be the son of Dr. Serizawa from the previous movies, you wouldn't know that if it weren't for his last name, as his father and his relationship with him are never brought up. In fact, Ren's role in the story is a very minor one. Following the scene at the beginning, where he and Walter Simmons visit Nathan Lind and show him the energy signature emanating from Hollow Earth, we don't see him again until we get to Hong Kong, where he acts as Mechagodzilla's pilot. It's only when the energy signature is sent to them and they succeed in replicating it that we get a hint of the kind of person he is. While Simmons is eager to activate Mechagodzilla at full power immediately, Ren tries to warn him that they don't know what effect the energy will have on the robot, and that Godzilla will head straight for them as soon as they power up. That latter part ties back to when we first see him, watching Godzilla attack the Pensacola facility with a guilty expression on his face, knowing it's their fault and showing that he likely has good intentions but is misguided. Simmons, however, just tells him to, "Get in the goddamn chair," and Ren complies. But when Mechagodzilla becomes sentient, he sends a power surge back down to Ren and seemingly kills him through electrocution.

Out of all the MonsterVerse movies so far, Godzilla vs. Kong is definitely the most beautiful-looking, taking the bright colors that Michael Dougherty brought to much of Godzilla: King of the Monsters and cranking it up to the tenth power. The two specific colors I associate with the movie are green and purple. We open in Kong's lush, green habitat in the Skull Island biodome, and lots of other environments, like the deep interiors of the Pensacola Apex facility and those of the barge that transports Kong across the ocean, have a similarly green color

scheme, ranging from overt to more subdued, while the elevator that takes Madison, Josh, and Bernie down to Sub-Level 33 and parts of the Hong Kong facility, such as sections of Walter Simmons' control booth there, are bathed in a vivid purple. My favorite color, blue, is also here in spades, both naturally, like in the scene where Jia goes out to Kong while he's getting rained on, the underwater sequence during his first fight with Godzilla, the Hollow Earth entryway in Antarctica, and during the portal to it, and

artificially, like the interior of the hyperloop transport system to the Hong Kong facility, the chamber there housing the severed head of King Ghidorah, and the control booth built within it. But the most colorful environment by far is the city of Hong Kong itself, with Godzilla and Kong's second battle illuminated by neon lights ranging from blue, purple, and green to red and even yellow. Besides all the color, many scenes take place in beautiful broad daylight, with the sun shining brightly, often creating a lens flare from

the background (though, fortunately, the movie doesn't overdo it on that, as other blockbusters have in the past), and which is a visual aesthetic I find really attractive, especially in the section taking place out on the ocean. But, most importantly of all, Adam Wingard shoots the battle and action scenes really well, staging them brilliantly and coming up with some interesting shots, such as vertical 180s and sudden zooms, and also makes sure that we can see and enjoy every last detail of them, rather than attempting to obscure them in darkness.

The sets and environments are also fantastic, with the first one we see, again, being the Monarch biodome for Kong on Skull Island, and the live action sections of which were shot at spots in both Hawaii and Queensland, Australia. While it initially seems like an ideal, lush jungle paradise fit for any king, it's nothing more than a simulation, one that Kong has nearly overgrown and which he's tired of being confined within. It's then revealed that it's the only way to ensure his survival, not just from Godzilla but also from the island's permanent storm, which has

overtaken it and wiped out the Iwi tribe and the other animal life. The biodome and outpost also serve as both workstations and homes for Ilene Andrews, Jia, and the others helping to monitor Kong. Speaking of which, I also really like the section that takes place out at sea, with Kong being transported on a freighter escorted by the U.S. Navy. I not only really like the visuals of this sequence, with the bright sunlight and just the idea of being in the middle of the ocean, but I think it makes for a great setting for Godzilla and

Kong's first encounter and battle, as Kong is really out of his element. And at the end of their journey, before they head down into Hollow Earth, they arrive at the entry-point in Antarctica, which consists of an enormous installation built around the tunnel that leads to this other world.

The Apex facility in Pensacola is a very impressive-looking facility, though we initially don't get to see too much of it, aside from the locker room where Bernie puts on his coveralls, the level where he hacks into a computer and learns that something is being shipped to the Hong Kong facility, and, during Godzilla's attack, the level he sneaks into where he catches a glimpse of what later turns out to be one of Mechagodzilla's eyes. When he returns to the place with Madison and Josh, they head down to Sub-Level 33, where they find the enormous, elaborate

hyperloop system that takes them to Hong Kong (and likely goes to other Apex facilities across the world). Arriving at the facility there, they wander into a gigantic chamber that turns out to be right above where Mechagodzilla is housed, and after he's raised up, they see a demonstration of his power, as he lasers a Skull-Crawler in half. While searching around the facility, they come upon the blue-lit room housing the King Ghidorah skull that acts as Mechagodzilla's control center, and the pilot seat and control deck

built within it. And after being captured by security, they're taken to Walter Simmons' control booth overlooking Mechagodzilla, which is just as high-tech and colorful as everything else in this place. Finally, we again have to mention the city of Hong Kong itself and how well it's used during the climactic battles (it's also nice to see Godzilla here again for the first time since Godzilla vs. Destoroyah).

Besides the really elaborate sets and bigger-than-life environments, it's also nice to see more down-to-Earth, mundane places, like Madison's home and school, Lind's home and office at the university in Philadelphia, and some spots in Pensacola's Chinatown, like a store that Madison and John visit while trying to find Bernie, and a little diner where three of them go to talk for the first time. While we don't see the inside of it, we get a sense of where Bernie lives, which is in the lower section of a dimly lit apartment building, and which has a metal door with a slat on it.

Hollow Earth is a concept that has been in the MonsterVerse since the very beginning when, in Godzilla 2014, it was suggested that enormous, ancient creatures like Godzilla which fed on radiation eventually went down to the Earth's core to survive. It's been mentioned as having a connection to Skull Island in Kong: Skull Island, and was suggested in Godzilla: King of the Monsters that Godzilla uses tunnels beneath the Earth's surface to travel without being seen; plus, we got to see a bit of it in the form of Godzilla's temple-like lair (which this movie  

contradicts in its depiction of Hollow Earth, but whatever). Here, in Godzilla vs. Kong, we finally get to see it in its entirety, with Kong leading Lind, Andrews, Jia, Maia, and their teams down a tunnel, called the "Vile Vortex," which opens up into a large, reinforced chamber with steal beams that Kong swings across. This area ends at a steep drop-off to a portal of energy that shoots them through what looks like the stargate from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and drops them through a rocky ceiling miles below the Earth's crust and into open air. As they drop to the  

landscape below, they run into the major gravity inversion that killed Lind's brother on his expedition, which is where Apex's Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicles, or HEAVs, come into play, with their anti-gravity engines and propulsion systems (Kong, however, has a rougher landing). Once they're able to finally land safely, they find that the place is an amazing ecosystem, very similar to Skull Island, with lush jungles, mountains, volcanoes, canyons, valleys, and waterfalls. It also has a unique, round shape to it, with

the landscape curving the farther they trave; along it, to the point where mountaintops are jutting down from above and waterfalls are falling upwards in some spots. At one point, Kong climbs to the top of a peak, where rocks are floating in midair right above him, as it's close to where the gravity shifts. He pushes a couple of the rocks and watches them as they float towards the peak hanging above, pulled towards it by the inverted gravity. He then jumps up to the peak himself and the gravity inverts, with him landing next to the peak. All throughout this journey you can see a glowing blue color to the rocks beneath the ground and within those floating in midair, hinting at the power source at the core.

As they head further into the landscape, it becomes much rockier and more arid, leading to a mountain with a huge pair of doors carved into its side. Finding a hand-print akin to his on it, Kong pushes the doors open and walks into what turns to be a gigantic temple, with enormous pillars lined with the glowing blue rocks encircling the center, which has a throne for Kong to sit on like a literal king. There are spots of magma bubbling up through the floor, which is strewn with the bones of his and Godzilla's ancestors, alluding to their ancient rivalry; and embedded in one

such skull is the enormous battleaxe that Kong uses during the third act. Significantly, it's the source of the energy signature that Apex is searching for, which Kong activates by placing the axe in a groove in the ground shaped like it. The blade, which is clearly a Godzilla dorsal spine, draws energy from the planet's core, and lights up a pattern around the throne in the shape of a Godzilla-esque creature. Godzilla himself senses this up on the surface and shoots his atomic blast down through the ground, to the chamber, creating a tunnel for Kong to use to reach the surface for the battle in Hong Kong.

While Kong doesn't find any of his own species down in Hollow Earth (at least, not in this film), there are definitely creatures living down there, and they're just as deadly as those he used to contend with on Skull Island. The first we see are Warbats, flying serpents with enormous, frilled wings around their heads, and one of which attacks Kong by coiling around him and attempting to suffocate him with the wing's membrane. They're also able to easily knock a HEAV out of the air. On the way to the temple, they come across some horseshoe crab-like creatures called

Rock Critters, one of which is attacked and eaten by a large, spiny, quadruped lizard that looks as though it could be of Godzilla's family. The freakiest creatures they encounter are the Hellhawks, these hideous creatures that nest inside the temple and which look like a featherless owl crossed with a bat. While they're too small to pose a threat to Kong, they are big enough to kill humans, and some of the team do fall prey to them.

If it wasn't already clear by King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong firmly proves that the MonsterVerse has left behind the grounded, realistic tone established in Godzilla 2014. We've gone from a gritty, down-to-Earth story about giant monsters suddenly appearing in our world, to a reality where there's an underground hyperloop, transport system connecting the United States to Hong Kong, futuristic hover vehicles with anti-gravity engines, a cybernetics corporation with the ability and know-how to create enormous, powerful robots controlled

telepathically, and an altogether separate world of pristine ecosystems, creatures, gravity inversions, and the remnants of an ancient civilization within the center of the Earth. Also, during their battles, Godzilla and Kong manage to stand atop aircraft carriers and battleships, and Kong jumps, climbs on, and stands atop buildings, without them breaking beneath their extreme weight. And Godzilla is able to blast straight through the Earth's crust, all the way down to Hollow Earth. I know a lot of fans don't like

how drastically the tone changed across just four movies, and within an internal time-span of ten years from Godzilla 2014 to here, but, as much as I like it when kaiju movies get dark and serious (some of the darker Godzilla movies are among my favorites of the whole series, after all), I'm also someone who loves to have fun watching giant monsters and enjoys a lot of the movies from the Showa era, so this change in tone has never bothered me. Plus, I think it's good to mix it up; otherwise, things can get stale very quickly. And,

in a way, each of the MonsterVerse Godzilla movies has reflected a period within the Toho series' long history. Godzilla 2014, though they wanted to invoke the feeling of the 1954 original, comes across like a 90's Heisei film; Godzilla: King of the Monsters is like a mid-60's Showa film; and Godzilla vs. Kong is like the later Showa era, when things really started to get crazy.

But then, that begs a question: why am I okay with a movie about Godzilla and King Kong battling with this kind of tone, when one of my criticisms about the original King Kong vs. Godzilla is that I wished it was done more seriously? If you've read my review of that film, you know that I'm not a big fan of it for a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that I wish a movie featuring the two greatest movie monsters of all time hadn't been treated as a comedy, which was the filmmakers' intent in the original Japanese version. I think the difference is, while that movie

was intentionally silly and satirical, and often had both of the monsters coming off as buffoonish, this one plays everything mostly straight, particularly when it comes to Godzilla and Kong's ancient rivalry and mutual disdain for each other, and save for a few individual moments with the monsters, all instances of comic relief come from some of the human characters. Also, while the movie's tone isn't 100% dead serious, I wouldn't call it intentionally silly or campy, either; rather, it's larger than life and meant to just be a fun ride, which is something I can get behind

more than what Toho was going for in 1962. Speaking of which, I really appreciate the little nods to that movie here, like Kong being transported by a freighter and then air-lifted to Antarctica, the latter of which is akin to when they flew him to Mt. Fuji using balloons; him sticking his battleaxe's handle into Godzilla's mouth, like when he shoved the tree into him; and mentions of their species having an ancient rivalry, which we also got in that movie. The way the monsters are utilized in the story is similar as well, as

we follow each of them on their individual journeys, with Godzilla being the antagonist while Kong is more sympathetic and finds himself in a strange place, far from his home. There are also some nice callbacks to the original King Kong, like Denham University, where we meet Nathan Lind, and, at one point during the Hong Kong battle, Kong perched atop a skyscraper, holding on to the top. And there are nods of the hat to Mechagodzilla's Showa era introduction, like how he explodes out of a mountain the same way he emerged from Mt. Fuji, him and Godzilla get into a beam struggle, and he's defeated by getting his head torn off.

After two movies with him in his familiar anti-hero role, it was refreshing to see a MonsterVerse movie where Godzilla is the antagonist, even if he's not doing it purely out of malice. Like before, we see that he's truly a creature driven by instinct and will not be swayed from that drive, despite how destructive and dangerous it may be. He has two specific motives here: to find and destroy Mechagodzilla, whose unnatural creation he's able to sense, and prove himself the true alpha Titan by defeating Kong, and is pulled back and forth between them. After laying waste to Apex's Pensacola facility, he returns to the ocean, no longer sensing what set him off, when he then senses Kong after he's removed from Skull Island. Even though the fleet transporting him is nowhere near his territorial waters, Godzilla makes a bee-line straight for Kong and attempts to kill him any way he can, before he's fooled into thinking he's won. Then, later, when Mechagodzilla is put through his first test run in Hong Kong, Godzilla senses that and heads straight for the city. While searching for him, he feels the power of Kong's battleaxe as it absorbs energy from the planet core down in Hollow Earth, and drills a hole down there using his atomic blast. This leads to the second battle between him and Kong, which he ultimately proves victorious in. But just as he's about to head home, the now sentient Mechagodzilla bursts out of the Apex facility. Having finally found his intended replacement, Godzilla attacks but finds himself horribly outmatched by Mechagodzilla's power, and is almost killed before Kong intervenes and the two of them defeat him together.

Although he was hardly a pushover before, the Legendary Godzilla is depicted as ferocious and relentless in this film. After having been tolerant of human vehicles and aircraft, mostly just ignoring them even when he was attacked, when he first appears here, he's swatting and blasting at fighter jets, and laying waste to everything around him with his atomic blast, which he uses much more frequently here than before. He's especially aggressive and fierce in both of his battles with Kong. During the battle at sea, he plows through the Naval fleet to get to him,

tries to drown him, blows up the ship he's standing on, and circles the spot like an enormous shark, refusing to quit until he knows he's won. And when they fight in Hong Kong, even though Kong proves to be more agile, Godzilla keeps coming at him, biting and clawing him, chasing him through the skyline with his atomic blast, and even appearing to laugh evilly when he manages to tag him on the back and cause him to fall. But as fierce as he is during the first part, after Kong manages to bury him beneath some rubble, Godzilla goes absolutely primal, walking

around on all fours like a crocodile and attacking with his claws and teeth, instead of relying on his atomic blast, as he did for much of the first part of the fight. After knocking Kong back against a building hard enough to dislocate his shoulder, he charges at him, snapping at his feet and brutally tearing into his chest, and pinning him down with his foot right above his heart. Once he's ensured that Kong can't move, he roars right into his face, asserting his dominance. But

when Kong refuses to submit, Godzilla, satisfied that he's won, and seemingly decided that Kong isn't worth finishing off, walks away. And even after Mechagodzilla nearly kills him and Kong helps him defeat the robot, Godzilla again confronts Kong, and only relents once he drops the battleaxe in a submissive gesture.

While Godzilla got a fairly significant design change for King of the Monsters, mainly when it came to his spines, here they pretty much left him as he was, although they appeared to make a little meaner-looking in the face. Also, his eyes seem a bit bigger and more expressive, and you can see the disdain and feeling of superiority he has over Kong in them. Speaking of his eyes, they added a new feature in that they glow blue when he's charging up and firing his atomic blast, making him come off as downright

malevolent in those moments. His vocalizations are the same as before, although he sounds particularly aggressive during his second fight with Kong, with a lot of ferocious snarls and wails, and you can also hear him howl in pain at some points.

The most likable and sympathetic character is definitely Kong, as this poor guy gets put through absolute hell over the course of the movie. He starts out seemingly living an idyllic existence on Skull Island, regularly seeing Jia, but it's revealed to actually be a biodome that he's getting too big for and which he doesn't like being confined within. Next thing he knows, he's sedated and awakens to find himself chained up aboard a freighter, in the middle of the ocean, and though Jia is there to keep him calm, he's hardly happy about his circumstances, especially when he's stuck out in the rain that night. And as we learn from Jia, he's homesick and distrusting of everyone, including Ilene Andrews. Then, he and the fleet are attacked by Godzilla, who twice attempts to drown him, once when he's still chained up and after he gets loose. He may not know who or what Godzilla is, but he immediately senses that he's an enemy, and is on the defensive throughout this first battle, even clearly scared at some points. Though Kong ultimately survives, he and Godzilla exchange looks of hatred before the latter swims away. And as if he hadn't been through enough already, he's sedated again and awakens in the Arctic, at the entry point to Hollow Earth. He immediately looks to Jia, who tells him that his home is through the tunnel, but Kong is reluctant to go, until she tells him that his family might be down there. With that, he takes off, followed by the humans, and finds his way into Hollow Earth. Despite having a rough entry, he begins exploring and manages to assert his dominance over some of the more lethal creatures there, like the Warbats. He finds his way to the large temple, which is filled with signs and clues to his past, and begins to feel a sense of belonging when he gets the battleaxe and sits in the throne. But then, Godzilla blasts his way into Hollow Earth from Hong Kong, and Kong is forced to battle him again.

Like in the best of his past movies, Kong is a fully realized character with a heart and soul. You can see and feel his anger, confusion, frustration, and sadness over what's happening to him here, and you also get a sense of how he views the humans around him. Save for Jia, whom he saved when the storm wiped out her people and who he trusts implicitly, he's leery of everyone else, including Andrews, despite her being Jia's adopted mother. Most significantly, you learn that she and Kong are able to communicate through sign language, and Jia tells Andrews that Kong

doesn't believe they're trying to help him, as well as that he didn't want her to know he was able to sign. Ultimately, Kong decides to just up and reveal it, signing, "Home," to both of them when they're out in the rain (he even makes a low groan that sounds like he's saying the word). When he's first faced with Godzilla, he's on the defensive and even a bit scared, but also doesn't back down from the fight and hits back whenever he gets the chance. Though he does just barely survive and is willing to let Godzilla think he's won, you can tell he isn't about having to take it.

When he next awakens in Antarctica, feels the cold, and picks up the snow around him, he audibly sighs, as if saying, "Lord, what next?" Even though Jia tells him that the Hollow Earth entry point is home, he's reluctant to go in, and only does when she also tells him that he might have family down there. While he explores Hollow Earth, he has a definite feeling of wonder at what he's seeing, and also begins to assert his dominance over it in the same manner he did Skull Island, not only defeating and killing the

Warbats that attack him and the others, but also severing one's head and drinking its green blood and eating its innards! Upon finding the large temple, and seeing a hand-print akin to his on the double-doors, he pushes his way in. Looking at his surroundings, which appears to be familiar to him, he lets out a roar, apparently checking to see if there are others like him there. While he gets no response, he finds his battleaxe, which gives him a real sense of power, and he sits down on the throne, having now officially 

claimed the title of King Kong. He even knows to place the axe in its large indentation in the ground, through which it draws power from the planet's core. He also doesn't take kindly to Maia Simmons and her group threatening Andrews, Lind, and Jia, and when they try to escape, he grabs their HEAV and crushes it in his hand.

While Godzilla's attacking Kong is out of his instinct and need to be the alpha, Kong is just defending himself and fighting back when Godzilla intrudes into his domain by blasting into Hollow Earth. Like in the 1962 film, he's very much the underdog of the battle. He manages to get some good licks in, even winning the initial round of the second fight, and gives Godzilla a run for his money with his agility, but is ultimately overwhelmed and badly injured, with Godzilla dislocating his shoulder and stomping on his heart hard enough to nearly kill him. But even when

Godzilla has him pinned down to the ground and roars in his face, exerting dominance and telling him to stay down, Kong roars back at him in defiance, and tries to get up to continue the fight, but is too injured to do so. Once he's revived, he's, naturally, reluctant to help Godzilla when Jia tells him that he's not his enemy, roaring in a manner that clearly says, "Fuck that asshole! He nearly killed me!" But then, he sees how Mechagodzilla is beating Godzilla senseless, and when Jia tells him that the robot is the enemy, he opts

to help, smashing his shoulder back into place and just barely saves Godzilla from buying the farm. Though it takes their combined strength, and some aid from Madison, Josh, and Bernie, Kong is the one who ultimately destroys Mechagodzilla. And when Godzilla still needs to assume dominance afterward, Kong calls a truce by submissively dropping the axe, which Godzilla accepts. At the end of the movie, while Godzilla is the alpha on the surface, Kong is now the ruler of Hollow Earth, content with his new home.

While Godzilla's design didn't change much from the previous movie, they acknowledge that many decades have passed since we first saw this version of Kong in the 1970's set Kong: Skull Island. Though he's still very powerful and can definitely go when push comes to shove, he's clearly older as well, looking much more grizzled and grayer, with a noticeable beard around his lower jaw. Also, as big as he was in Skull Island, it's obvious that he's grown even larger since then, which was necessary for him to be evenly matched with Godzilla. Though he still stands

upright, like in the 1976 film, for the most part, there are moments where you do get to see him on all fours, namely when he awakens in Antarctica, walks up to where Jia is, and runs down into and through Hollow Earth. As I've already made clear, you can really tell what he's feeling and thinking through his facial expressions, which is probably the most emotional and empathetic they've ever been. And his roar is a deep, booming bellow, along with many other vocalizations that get across his feelings of pain, anger, and melancholia.

Since Godzilla: King of the Monsters had a post-credits scene where Alan Jonah purchases King Ghidorah's severed head, I figured that we'd likely see the three-headed space dragon again in the MonsterVerse; I never imagined, however, that it would basically be reborn as Mechagodzilla. His presence in this film, unfortunately, was one of the things that was spoiled for me in that livestream I mentioned in the introduction, so I didn't get to experience the surprise of his reveal in that large hangar at the Apex Hong Kong facility, but I was surprised to learn that Ren Serizawa was controlling him telepathically by using Ghidorah's head as a living supercomputer, in the same manner in which the dragon's three heads communicated with each other. When Mechagodzilla is first unveiled, they use him to kill a Skull-Crawler, slicing it clean in half using a powerful laser from his mouth, and this is when he only reaches 40% of his maximum power. But when Maia Simmons and her team sends the energy signature from Hollow Earth, they're able to make him reach his full potential, albeit with an unexpected side-effect: the robot becomes sentient, likely possessed by Ghidorah's consciousness. He kills Walter Simmons, seemingly kills Ren, and breaks out of the facility, destroying everything he sees. When Godzilla engages him in battle, Mechagodzilla proves to be far more than he can handle, absolutely beating him senseless and nearly killing him, until Kong intervenes. Even with two monsters fighting him together, he proves to a formidable foe, and it's only thanks to some intervention on Josh's part that they're able to put him down.

Mechagodzilla is a classic Toho kaiju whom I did hope to see in the MonsterVerse at some point, and I do like the idea that his very creation is what sends Godzilla on his destructive rampage. At the same time, I feel that he suffered the same fate that Venom did in Spider-Man 3, as he's shoved into the back end of a movie that already has more than enough plot as it is. I can't really fault the filmmakers, as they didn't know if they were going to be able to make any more movies, at least with Godzilla and other Toho kaiju, since their initial licensing agreement ended with this

one, but I wish Mechagodzilla could've gotten a movie where he was the antagonist for the duration, especially since this is the first time he's actually been the villain since his debut movies in the Showa era. It would've been nice to have Godzilla sensing his growing presence and his ultimate reveal be the main driving plot, and for the concept of Ghidorah's consciousness acting through him to be more explored, as that makes him something of a combination of the original alien-built Showa version 

and Kiryu from the Millennium series. We can deduce that the reason why he attacks Godzilla so mercilessly is because he remembers how he killed him in his past life, but I wish we could've gone more in depth in that, maybe even have Mechagodzilla disguise himself as the real one in order to demonize him as part of his revenge, as we know Ghidorah would've likely been intelligent enough to do so.

Design-wise, I think Mechagodzilla looks a tad too much like a Transformer from one of the Michael Bay movies, specifically the Dinobots in the fourth one. It's still a cool design for a robot, but I look at him, with the way his spines ratchet up one after the other and his three-clawed hands rotate independently of his arms, and I feel like I've already seen stuff like this, kind of how the MUTOs in Godzilla 2014 made me think of the Cloverfield monster. They did keep the tradition of him being one of Godzilla's toughest opponents, as he overwhelms him during their initial,

one-on-one fight, and proves to be formidable even when fighting both Godzilla and Kong. As per usual, Mechagodzilla has plenty of weapons, like a laser-like heat beam from his mouth, missile launchers in various spots on his body, the ability to fire plasma blasts from his hands, as well as deliver plasma punches and stomps, a tail with a spinning, drill-like tip, and rockets on his back to give him a boost. I also like how they acknowledge that he's been both controlled and acted of his own accord in past

incarnations, with Ren's initial control of him from the Ghidorah head-turned-supercomputer being like the Simeons controlling him from their base in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, as well as a bit of Katsura controlling him in Terror of Mechagodzilla. And like I said, he eventually becomes like Kiryu gone bad. His vocalizations aren't that special, as they just sound like generic electronic screeches, but when he first bursts out of the Apex facility and starts blowing stuff up, it sounds like he laughs evilly.

My point about Mechagodzilla feeling shoved in to the movie's third act is part of what I think is one of its major problems: the story is overstuffed. I think it already had enough material to work with, not only in Godzilla and Kong's conflict but also Kong's journey to find a new home and the reveal of what Hollow Earth is, and it wasn't necessary to bring in another major monster. They should've instead focused on the alpha subplot, with Kong being removed from Skull Island to find a new home for him, only to be attacked by Godzilla, perhaps even have Godzilla show up on

the island itself and attack, forcing them to remove Kong from it. They could've also had Godzilla follow them down to Hollow Earth in his pursuit of Kong, with their final battle taking place amid the remnants of the ancient war between their species. Again, I know the MonsterVerse's future was still uncertain at this point, at least on the Toho side of things, but I think they should've concentrated on what we come to a movie called Godzilla vs. Kong for, and then, if it was successful enough to renew their contract with Toho, they could've done a movie that introduced

Mechagodzilla in a more finessed and less rushed manner, using the plot elements of Godzilla rampaging because he senses his creation and such. But then, there lies another issue: when you have two icons battling like this, you're going to receive ire from one fandom if you give a definitive winner (also, naturally, they wanted to keep both monsters alive for further movies, should they get the opportunity). At the same time, the filmmakers didn't want to go with an ambiguous outcome, like in the

original King Kong vs. Godzilla, or a draw, like in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and Freddy vs. Jason. Adam Wingard himself said he wanted there to be a definitive winner, but also wanted the loser to retain his dignity, and so, they came up with the scenario of Godzilla winning the main event, but Kong being the one to defeat Mechagodzilla. I get where they're coming from, and it is a tricky dilemma, but having them fight, then team up to take down a new threat within the same movie gives me

flashbacks to Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. I do think this movie is more enjoyable and not as convoluted as that one (as at least they didn't have something akin to the "Martha" plot-point or have Mothra suddenly show up to join the battle with Mechagodzilla), but it shows just how hard it is to have your cake and eat it too. I still wish they'd tried to come up with a final scenario that involved just Godzilla and Kong, like maybe have Godzilla win the final battle but have an outcome where he decides to leave Kong in peace, regardless, but as to how that could've been accomplished, I couldn't even begin to suss it out.

I know one thing for sure: a big reason why I like this more than King Kong vs. Godzilla is because here, you have a great-looking Godzilla fighting an equally great-looking Kong, as opposed to a great-looking Godzilla fighting a crappy-looking Kong. Not a fair comparison, I know, but that does make a big difference with me. In any case, while the visual effects are, as expected, completely CGI, they look pretty damn good, especially Godzilla and Kong themselves, both in their designs and overall movements, as well as their facial expressions. The

effects were divided up between three companies, and they divvied the work up depending on where the major sequences were set: MPC, or Moving Picture Company, did some parts of the Hong Kong section, Scanline VFX did the majority of it, as well as all the parts that take place in the water, particularly the battle at sea, and Weta Digital handled everything having to do with Hollow Earth. Personally, for my money, the digital environments, particularly Hollow

Earth, all look great, and the same goes for how they're combined with the live-action elements. Granted, there are moments where the CGI does look fake, like with Mechagodzilla and some of the creatures down in Hollow Earth, but on the whole, it's great stuff.

Kong is the first thing we see when the movie begins, as he awakens after a flock of birds fly over him. He yawns, shakes his head, walks through a shallow stretch of water while stretching his arms, and scratching his butt, and has himself a shower beneath a waterfall. At the same time, we're introduced to Jia, as she puts the finishing touches on a little Kong doll she's been making. Kong himself tears a tree out of the ground, rips off the roots at its base, and clears away its branches, as Jia runs through the jungle

towards him. There's a shot of a camera on one of the trees she passes, the first hint that this scene isn't as idyllic as it may seem. She stops in a small clearing and watches as he walks towards her. She holds up her little doll, and he bends down to look at it, but then stands back up, lets out a growl, and throws his makeshift spear through the air. It stabs into the "sky," revealing it to be the ceiling of an enormous biodome, and he lets out an angry bellow. The film cuts to the dome's exterior, which shows how the permanent

storm has taken over Skull Island. On the edge of the dome's interior, Ilene Andrews, having witnessed this, ponders what to do, while Jia runs to her and tells her that Kong is angry. This leads into the opening credits sequence which, like the previous MonsterVerse movies, is made up of a montage of old archival footage and redacted notes that form the credits themselves, as well as ancient notes and images depicting the ancient rivalry between Godzilla and Kong's species. It also hints at the disappearance of Nathan Lind's brother during the search for Hollow

Earth, the discovery of Kong and Godzilla respectively, how Skull Island was overtaken by the storm surrounding it, and gets into a virtual scorecard for both monsters, showing Godzilla defeating the female MUTO and King Ghidorah, and Kong besting the giant Skull-Crawler. It also shows that Godzilla has defeated a number of other Titans between films, likely part of his keeping the others in check, as noted in an article during King of the Monsters' ending credits sequence, before getting to the title itself in big, magnificent, glowing letters.

The first major sequence comes when, as Bernie is downloading data to a jump-dive in the Apex facility in Pensacola, and sees a shipping manifest to Hong Kong, an alarm goes off, accompanied by a warning about a Titan alert. In the ocean nearby, Godzilla's spines break the surface as he swims straight towards the facility, both them and his eyes glowing blue with energy, as he lets out a roar. Inside, Bernie uses the evacuation as an opportunity to sneak into a laboratory, while on the rooftop helipad, Walter

Simmons prepares to escape. He has to yell at Ren Serizawa, who's watching Godzilla come ashore, to join him. Fighter jets zoom in and fire upon Godzilla, who swats one of them out of the sky. A nearby hotel is evacuated, as Godzilla fires back at the fighter jets, sending one's burning wreckage crashing in front of the fleeing crowd. Down below, Bernie is stopped by a pair of security guards when, during their argument, Godzilla's atomic blast blows through the ceiling and wall, incinerating the guards and knocking Bernie to the floor. As the sparks and smoke clear, he looks

through the blown open wall into the next room and sees what looks like an enormous, electronic eye, pulsing with energy. In the background, Godzilla continues his rampage, blasting away at the facility and sending people flying backwards. After making a pass, he roars up into the sky, as the fire spreads all around him. The next day, news about the attack hits the airwaves through CNN, which is where Madison Russell hears about it and decides to get involved.

Following his visit from Simmons and Serizawa, Dr. Nathan Lind arrives to see Andrews at the Kong Containment Outpost; inside the biodome, it's revealed that Kong has smashed more holes in its ceiling. After Lind manages to convince Andrews of his plan, we next see Kong being transported across the ocean by a Navy fleet. Maia Simmons arrives via helicopter just as Kong awakens from the tranquilizers given to him. Much to Lind's chagrin, he has go down to the forward deck to meet with Maia,

as Kong sits up and inspects his chains and cuffs, which he's clearly not happy about. He growls and roars, intimidating Lind to the point where he's almost afraid to go forward and meet Maia formally. That night, as it's pouring rain, Jia awakens in her cabin when she's able to sense that Kong is in distress. She walks out to the forward deck, where he's growling angrily and pulling at his chains. Approaching him, she reaches her hand up and he calms down when he sees her. He sticks his enormous finger down towards her, and she puts her hand right under his nail.

Andrews, having seen that Jia is outside, runs out onto the deck once Kong becomes placid and tries to make her come back in. As the two of them sign to each other, with Andrews saying they're trying to help Kong and Jia saying he doesn't believe that, Kong watches them closely, then signs, "Home," twice to Andrews. Not only does this astonish her, it also doesn't go unnoticed by those on the bridge, including Lind and Maia.

Following the scene where Madison and Josh hook up with Bernie, we get our first battle scene. At this point, the fleet has reached the Tasman Sea, and Kong is eating a bunch of fish they've caught (and likes it, too). Down in her cabin, Jia plays with her little doll, when she senses something. She puts her hand on the wall and feels a vibration that sends her running out of her room. Shortly afterward, an alarm sounds throughout the ship, and she finds Andrews and Lind, telling them that Godzilla has found them. On deck,

Kong tries to break himself free from his shackles, knowing that something is up, while on the bridge, Lind and Andrews argue about whether or not they should free him so he can defend himself. The Navy battleships fire on Godzilla, who approaches from the horizon. He dives down beneath the surface to avoid the missiles, which explode right above him, then swims back up and goes right through one of the ships, slicing it in half. Kong continues struggling against his restraints, as fighter jets are scrambled. 

They fly out to Godzilla and fire upon him, to which he responds by smashing one of them in midair with his tail. It then comes down on two of the ships, smashing them apart, and also getting snagged by one's anchor, causing him to drag its severed bow below the surface. He heads straight for Kong's freighter, as he roars a challenge at him, while on the bridge, Andrews and Jia take cover. Kong watches Godzilla submerge completely, and roars at the water, pounding his fists on the deck. Godzilla then explodes out of the water below him, flipping the entire craft

upside down. Kong struggles to get free, and everyone on the bridge panics as it starts to fill up with water, while on the surface, Godzilla dives back down after the other ships fire upon him. On the bridge, Lind, realizing that Kong is going to drown if they don't do something, dives below the water in the flooded bridge to hit the controls to his shackles. Godzilla closes in on Kong, and Lind grabs the lever and pulls it just in the nick of time. But no sooner is Kong freed than Godzilla swims in and reaches him. Kong manages to grab onto and hold him back, as

Godzilla claws and chomps at him. Kong headbutts and kicks him away, then swims back up to the surface and grabs onto the freighter. He manages to pull it back to its right position and climbs onto the deck, as everyone inside the bridge tries to get their bearings. He rips off the collar around his neck and pounds his chest and roars a challenge at Godzilla.

Seeing him circling back around, Kong looks and, seeing that two of the battleships are perfectly lined up with his, runs across the deck, jumps to one, and then jumps to the other, which is an aircraft carrier. His weight causes the ship to raise up on one end and the jets roll across the deck, with one of them taking off. As the ship settles back down into the water, Godzilla heads for it. Both monsters snarl at each other, and Kong grabs a fighter jet that still has a pilot in it and flings it at Godzilla! The pilot manages to 

eject and watches from above as the jet explodes against Godzilla's back. He dives down beneath the water and comes up to the side of the ship, exploding onto and crawling across the deck, smashing some fighter jets and facing Kong. Just as he gets to his feet, Kong decks him right in the face, but Godzilla counters with a swipe to the side of the face, sending him falling back. Godzilla charges up his atomic blast, but is interrupted when he gets shot by some fighter jets from behind. Like before, he smashes one 

of them with his tail when they fly overhead, and this gives Kong the chance he needs to quickly punch him in the face, then send him falling back into the water with an elbow jab to the chest. Sinking back down, Godzilla charges up his atomic blast, and Kong, seeing the ominous blue glow below the surface, jumps off the ship just before Godzilla fires straight up through the deck and into the sky (that shot of Kong jumping into the water with the explosion behind him is said to have been inspired by the helipad blowing up behind John McClane in Die

Hard). Splashing down into the water, Kong tries to swim back up, but Godzilla comes in and grabs him. The two of them struggle with each other, as the two halves of the ship sink down on either side of them, when Godzilla slams the back of Kong's head against a big chunk of it. Kong, again, kicks Godzilla away, but when he tries to swim back to the surface, Godzilla comes up from below, grabs him again, and, securing him with his tail, drags him down to the ocean floor. On the freighter's bridge, Andrews comes up with the idea of using depth charges to help Kong

escape, and numerous shells are fired up and sink down below. Godzilla swims down to a trench in the ocean floor, intending on drowning his adversary, as Kong gasps for air. The charges then hit and cause a massive explosion that, on the surface, sends a huge geyser of water up into the air.

There's a brief pause, then Kong emerges from the water and pulls himself up onto the trawler. Vomiting up water (after the week I had when I first saw this, I felt his pain), he turns over onto his back, completely exhausted. However, Godzilla's spines emerge from the water again and he begins heading back towards the fleet. On the bridge, Andrews says that this fight will continue until one of them submits, and Lind, in turn, comes up with the idea for them to play dead by shutting everything down. Reluctantly, the Admiral 

in charges does as he says and orders all of the ships to cut the power to anything that makes a noise. They then wait with bated breath to see how Godzilla reacts, as he emerges amid all of the burning, floating wreckage nearby. Watching the fleet and seeing that they're not moving, and with him and Kong glaring at each other, he's satisfied enough to turn and swim away. Kong and everyone else breathe a sigh of relief, and from the bridge, Jia signs to him, thanking him for protecting them.

After Madison, Josh, and Bernie find themselves on the way to Hong Kong via Apex's underground hyperloop system, Kong is carried the rest of the way to the Hollow Earth entry point in Antarctica via helicopter. He's lowered down into the center of the facility built around the entrance and promptly awakens. Sitting up, and not happy about finding himself in a cold, snowy environment, he looks to Jia, whom he finds waiting for him on a nearby balcony. She points to the Hollow Earth entry point and signs,

"Home," but Kong is skeptical at first. Then, Andrews pushes for Jia to tell him that his family is down there, and that sends him running through the opening. Once he does, everyone commandeers the three HEAVs in a nearby hangar, and follow Kong down the tunnel and through the enormous chamber beyond. He then suddenly comes to the steep drop off and falls down to the portal, followed by the HEAVs. They all pass through it, with everyone onboard the vehicles bracing themselves against the sheer force of

it, and come out through the roof of Hollow Earth and into a very deep free-fall. Kong passes by one of the vehicles, then gravity inverts and they all fall towards the ground, with Kong slamming against the side of a hill and sliding down, tearing up a lot of foliage along the way. He manages to grab onto a ledge and stop himself, while all three HEAVs drop past him, and come close to crashing, before they kick in their propulsion systems and manage to right themselves. After they've all managed to land safely, both the humans and Kong begin exploring this domain, which proves to be exotically beautiful. 

But they also learn how deadly it is when, as they're heading through a valley, a Warbat comes in and easily destroys one of the HEAVs. It comes back around to attack the other two, but Kong quickly grabs its tail, slams it onto the ground, then swings it around and clobbers another one that comes flying in. He beats his chest and roars, when one of the Warbats roars threateningly and lunges at him. It bites onto his hand, then manages to ensnare him in its tail and attempts to smother him with its wing. Onboard his

HEAV, Lind orders the operators to fire upon the monster with their missiles. This brief attack causes it to loosen its grip on Kong long enough for him to grab it by the neck, lift it up above his head, slam it down, then slam it back and forth, pound both his fists on it, and finish it off with a powerful slam with his left fist. He proceeds to rip its head off, then actually digs into the base of it and pours its slimy guts down his throat, much to the others' disgust. Tossing the head aside, Kong continues on, running

through an arid, rocky stretch and sending some Rock Critters running, with one being preyed upon by a scaly quadrupedal creature. The HEAVs follow him, one of the pilots noting how he seems to know where he's going, as he runs up a mountainside and, when he reaches the top, notices numerous rocks floating right above, caught in the gravity inversion. Curiously, he pokes one rock, sending it floating up, knocking into another, and heading up towards a peak above. Getting an idea, he jumps, floats effortlessly up through the rocks, and heads towards the peak, which has a stone structure shaped like a pointing hand, and slides his own hand across it, as he comes down to rest.

Meanwhile, Madison, Josh, and Bernie arrive at the Apex facility in Hong Kong. Once the hyperloop comes to a stop, they step out and head through the first door they see, wandering into an enormous, dark chamber. Finding a severed appendage on the ramp leading down from the door, they then hear an announcement about an imminent "demonstration," which also advises all personnel to clear the area. The chamber lights up, and from his control booth, Walter Simmons watches as the floor opens up and a huge

mechanical figure is lifted up into the chamber. Elsewhere, Ren Serizawa is shown in a bright, colorful control center, and is linked with the machine, which raises itself up and lets out a mechanized roar, revealing itself to be Mechagodzilla (and in case we don't know what it is, Bernie and Josh have this exchange: "That's robot Godzilla." "Oh, no. That's... That's Mechagodzilla,"). Once he's fully up and running, Simmons orders, "Release No. 10," which turns out to be a Skull-Crawler. This sends

Madison, Josh, and Bernie running for cover, but the Skull-Crawler spots them and heads right for them. It almost kills Madison, when Mechagodzilla grabs it, lifts it up into the air, and powers up and fires his laser-like heat beam. It goes through the Skull-Crawler's mouth and out the back of its head, and Ren has Mechagodzilla slice straight down its body, while Madison takes cover with Josh and Bernie in a chamber below an opening in the floor. But no sooner has Mechagodzilla finished the demonstration than he

powers down. However, the surge of energy he just expelled doesn't go unnoticed by Godzilla himself, who makes a sharp U-turn and very quickly heads straight for Hong Kong; at Monarch headquarters, Mark Russell is notified of this.

Back down in Hollow Earth, Kong and the humans continue exploring, when they come upon the large temple carved into the mountainside, which Lind is sure is the source of the energy signature they're searching for. Looking up at it, Kong walks to the giant double-doors and pushes them open, revealing the temple's interior. Walking inside, studying all that he sees, he heads into the center when his echoing cries get no response. He comes upon the enormous battleaxe jammed into a skeleton, removes it, and after looking at it, beats his chest while pumping it

into the air and roaring mightily. As the HEAVs land on the ground and everyone disembarks, Kong walks over to the giant throne and sits down on it. Andrews and Jia look up at him, happy that he's found his home, while Lind notices the Hellhawks roosting up in the ceiling. Up on the surface, Madison, Josh, and Bernie find Mechagodzilla's control center, while Godzilla arrives in Hong Kong. He rises up in the harbor, smashing a bridge in half and sending cars tumbling down to the water, before heading towards the city itself. Mark arrives at a nearby command

center and is told that the city's evacuation is underway, with hundreds of people being led down into underground shelters. Meanwhile, Kong notices that his axe's blade is beginning to glow slightly. Seeing a groove in the ground shaped like it, he places it there, causing a pattern circling around his throne to light up as the axe draws energy from the Earth's core. In Hong Kong, Godzilla feels the energy and revs up his atomic blast for a powerful discharge, before blasting down through the ground at his feet. 

Knowing they've found what they came for, Maia has her men use a large, crab-like drone to drill into the ground for a sample of the energy. As they send the signature to the Apex Hong Kong facility, Andrews argues with Maia about the ethics of this, prompting her to order her men to pull their guns on everyone. Naturally, Kong doesn't take kindly to this, but before he can make a move, the place begins to shake violently. This stirs up the Hellhawks, who fly down from the ceiling, while Maia and her team attempt to escape.

While Simmons orders Ren to reactivate Mechagodzilla as soon as they receive the entire energy signature, the Hellhawks start attacking everything they see, including Kong and the humans. They fly off with both members of Maia's security team, and she quickly runs to her HEAV and lifts off from the ground in it. Lind, Andrews, and Jia run to the other HEAV, when a Hellhawk swoops down and kills the man leading them. As they watch, another comes in and tries to steal the first's prey, but is unsuccessful. Squawking angrily as his would-be

meal is taken, he then looks straight at the others. Lind, in a really stupid move, grabs a bone and throws it at the Hellhawk. This only enrages him, and he swoops at Lind. The only thing that keeps him from becoming prey is when Godzilla's atomic blast reaches the room, blasting up through the throne and blowing everybody back, including Kong. Once he's done, Godzilla roars down through the enormous tunnel he's just carved, a roar that Kong answers. Maia attempts to use the tunnel to escape, and is so

desperate to do so that she has her pilot fire on Kong to make him move out of the way. He does move, but he also grabs their HEAV before they can make it. Looking in at them through the cockpit, he nonchalantly crushes the vehicle in his hand and dumps what remains on the floor. The others board the remaining HEAV, while the temple shakes again, with a large Kong statue falling over and Kong himself having to tuck and roll to avoid a falling pillar. Enraged, he takes his axe and jumps down the hole, while Lind takes control of the HEAV and follows after him.

After Madison, Josh, and Bernie are captured by Apex security, Kong emerges from the enormous hole in the middle of Hong Kong and roars a challenge at Godzilla. Hearing it, Godzilla turns around, sees Kong, and the two of them face off, Godzilla slamming his tail behind him and Kong pounding his fists on the ground. They roar at each other and Kong charges, jumping and coming down with his axe. But Godzilla ducks and the blade sticks into the side of a building. Kong tries to wrench it loose, but Godzilla lunges at him and forces Kong across the ground,

biting at his neck repeatedly. Godzilla charges up for a blast but Kong brings his elbow down on the back of his neck, causing him to misfire. Kong then tries to break his jaws, only to get his fingers burned, and then puts him in a headlock, but gets thrown off. Undeterred, Kong runs, bounces off the side of a building, and delivers a punch to Godzilla's head. He, again, goes for a jaw rip, but gets his fingers burned a second time, with the atomic blast misfiring and hitting another building nearby. He brings both of his fists down on Godzilla, then grabs the sides of two

buildings and jumps forward, hitting him with both feet and knocking him to the ground. Beating his chest, Kong pulls the axe out of the building it's still stuck in, as Godzilla comes at him, grabs him, and tries to blast him. Kong shoves the axe's handle into Godzilla's mouth, and he pulls back, breaking it loose. He shoves Kong back and finally manages to fire his atomic blast at him, only for Kong to use the axe's blade to absorb it. The force of it pushes him back towards the harbor, and once it stops, Godzilla rushes 

him and knocks him back to the edge. Kong swings around and jams the axe into the side of Godzilla's thigh, causing him to roar in pain. He shoves Kong back across the bay, pulls the axe out with his mouth, and throws it aside, sticking it into the top of another building. Standing up in the water, Kong has to quickly run to dodge Godzilla's atomic blast. He jumps and climbs along the skyline to keep ahead of it, with Godzilla continuing to target him mercilessly. Eventually, Kong does get tagged in the back and

tumbles and rolls hard along the ground, the sight of which makes Godzilla smile and even make a sound that comes off as evil laughter. Getting back up and putting out the bit of fire on him, Kong then has to outrun another beam. This time, he manages to avoid getting burned, jumping and grabbing onto the upper half of a large building with yellow neon lighting. The beam cuts through the building's lower half, causing it to fall with him.

At this point, the others reach the surface, only to get caught up in the battle. They go straight up the side of a building that Kong jumps to and grabs, flying right past his roaring mouth. They head away from him, only to go right through a building when Godzilla blasts a hole straight through its center, and fly right past his own head. Kong rips off the circular roof of his building, jumps down to the ground, and ducks when the beam flies over him. He runs and jumps, using the roof as a shield, only for it to get blasted away. He then bounds back and forth between

buildings to avoid the beam, yanks his axe out of the building it got stuck in, and jumps up in front of Godzilla. He uses the blade to absorb the beam and brings it right down on Godzilla's head, causing an explosion of energy that sends Kong flying backwards down the street behind him, while Godzilla slams against the face of a building behind him and gets buried beneath the rubble. Kong gets up and shakes off his injuries, as Lind notes up in the HEAV that he won this round; elsewhere, the discarded axe's energy signature dies out. After a brief

pause in the action, where Madison, Josh, and Bernie are brought to Simmons, Godzilla emerges from the rubble. He gets down on all fours, hunting Kong like a predator searching for its prey, while Kong watches from atop a building. He flings the axe, sticking it into a building next to Godzilla, which distracts him long enough for Kong to jump down and tackle him, slamming him into the building. He punches Godzilla in the face when he tries to swing around, then puts him in a headlock, as the two of them struggle with

every bit of strength they have. Though Kong gets in some more punches, Godzilla turns the tables by biting into Kong's wrist and flipping him over his shoulder. He tries to stomp Kong's head into the ground, but misses when he rolls away. He lunges and bites at his neck, and when Kong punches him, he grabs his hand with his mouth and flings him across the way, slamming him hard enough into a building to dislocate his shoulder. Kong yells in pain and grabs 

at his shoulder, when Godzilla attacks again. He charges at him, and though Kong gets out of the way and Godzilla slams his head into the building, he smashes out of it and smacks Kong down with his tail. Getting down on all fours again, he relentlessly comes at Kong as he crawls backwards along the ground, biting at his feet, and when Kong kicks him away, he jumps into the air and ferociously swipes him across the face. He then slashes into his chest and, when Kong has nowhere left to go, puts his foot on his chest and pins him. 

Kong responds by punching the spot where he stabbed him with the axe, and while that does cause Godzilla to roar in pain, he only presses his foot down further, finally pinning Kong to where he can't get up. With no energy left, he futilely tries to remove his foot but quickly stops struggling. Godzilla leans down at him and roars in his face, claiming dominance, only for Kong to roar defiantly back. Godzilla stands back up, finally takes his foot off Kong's chest, and walks away, satisfied that he's won and seemingly snorting in disgust at Kong's refusal to submit. Kong tries to get back up and chase after him, but is too weak and injured, and collapses back onto the ground, much to the horror of everyone up in the HEAV.

Ren prepares to integrate with Mechagodzilla again, as the energy signature from Hollow Earth is sent into the robot. But then, something unexpected happens, and Ren is disengaged just as soon as he's connected. Up in his booth, Simmons starts to lecture Madison, Josh, and Bernie about his ultimate dream, when the three of them notice Mechagodzilla turn his head towards them and menacingly approach the booth. In the middle of Simmons' monologue, he notices them backing away, and turns around to see Mechagodzilla growling and preparing to strike. He has just enough

time to say, "Oh, shit," before Mechagodzilla smashes through the window, killing him. This action sends a power surge back down to Ren, who's badly electrocuted and collapses. As everyone else in the booth tries to compose themselves, Mechagodzilla's laser bursts out of the mountainside overlooking Hong Kong. Walking away from his battle with Kong, Godzilla sees this, and after an enormous explosion sends chunks of rock flying into the buildings below, Mechagodzilla emerges with a roar. Stomping down at the base of the mountain, he fires

his laser beam and cuts a swath of destruction across the skyline below him. Mark and the others at the Monarch base-camp see this, while Madison and the others watch through the enormous hole that Mechagodzilla blew out of the side of the base. Spotting each other, both monsters charge, Mechagodzilla firing missiles at Godzilla as he does, while civilians take cover below. Shrugging off the missile blasts, Godzilla reaches Mechagodzilla and slams into him, only for Mechagodzilla to engage his

back thrusters and lunge at him with a plasma punch to the face that sends him reeling backwards. While, back at Apex, Josh tries to figure out the password to Mechagodzilla's link with Apex's satellite in order to shut him down, those in the HEAV land near the collapsed Kong and disembark. They see Godzilla and Mechagodzilla battling in the distance, as Mechagodzilla grabs Godzilla by the throat, hits him with a plasma punch to the face, then smashes him face-first into one building after the other. Jia approaches Kong and, after feeling the ground, tells Andrews and Lind that his heart is slowing down. Though Andrews feels there's nothing they can do to help, Lind decides to use the HEAV's anti-gravity engine to create the charge necessary to restart his heart.

Godzilla and Mechagodzilla charge at each other, but Mechagodzilla uses his thrusters to dodge Godzilla's lunge, then grabs him from behind, slams him to the ground, and slings him around. While Josh and Bernie continue trying to figure out the password, Madison calls her dad with her cellphone, but the signal is so bad that she just manages to tell him that she's in Hong Kong herself. Meanwhile, Lind sets the HEAV's engine to explode, and tells Andrews and Jia to get to a safe distance. He then lifts off and flies to Kong, while Godzilla and Mechagodzilla engage in a

beam battle, one that Mechagodzilla wins with a burst of power that sends Godzilla flying back and badly burns his chest. Lind sets the HEAV down on Kong's chest, sets it to detonate, and quickly runs for it, jumping out of the vehicle and sprinting as fast as he can to avoid the blast. Kong's eyes immediately snap open when it does explode, while Lind stumbles and falls to the ground. Kong sits up, while on the battlefield, Mechagodzilla sends Godzilla stumbling into a building. Jia runs up to Kong's side, gets his

attention, and tells him that Godzilla is not his enemy. Naturally, Kong lets out an angry roar at this, but then sees how Mechagodzilla is brutalizing him. Jia tells him that Mechagodzilla is the enemy, which he accepts. After she tells him to be careful, Kong gets back up for another battle, slamming his dislocated shoulder into the corner of a building to pop it back into place. At Apex, Josh and Bernie find themselves locked out of the program by the computer's security, while on the battlefield, Mechagodzilla drags

Godzilla across the ground, destroying a bunch of small buildings, before slamming him down. He prepares to deliver the killing blow, as he grabs Godzilla's head, wrenches his jaws open, and powers up his beam. But right before he fires, Kong jumps him from behind and pulls him back, causing him to shoot his beam up into the sky. Godzilla sees that he has an unexpected ally, as Mechagodzilla knocks Kong to the ground with his tail. He prepares to hit him with a plasma punch, but Godzilla grabs his arm

and pulls him away. Kong takes the opportunity to grab his other arm and the two of them ram him straight into a building and drag him along the ground. He stands up, manages to wrench free of Kong's grasp, but while Godzilla continues holding him, Kong grabs him again, climbs up, and kicks him in the face. But then, Mechagodzilla fires some missiles at Godzilla, making him lose his grip, then slams Kong down, and swings around and blasts Godzilla in the face with his plasma cannon. Kong sees Mechagodzilla delivering plasma blows to Godzilla, when he spots his axe nearby.

Mechagodzilla uppercuts Godzilla, then grabs him by the neck, slams him into the side of a building, and fires up his drill-like tail-tip, only for Kong to come in, grab it, and hit him with the axe. He delivers a series of axe blows, even managing to knock Mechagodzilla's legs out from under him. He tries to come down with a final blow, but Mechagodzilla catches him with his tail, knocks him off-balance, and kicks him to the ground. He comes at Kong with his tail-tip, which Kong grabs the base off and has to use all of his strength to keep from skewering him. It's

clearly not enough, as it inches closer to his head, but at the last minute, Josh grabs Bernie's flask of alcohol and pours it into the control board, shorting out the security lock and causing Mechagodzilla to temporarily malfunction. Kong uses the chance to chop into the robot's side, then Godzilla gives him the advantage by firing his atomic blast and powering the axe up. He uses it to slice off Mechagodzilla's tail-tip, then goes to town on him, chopping off his right arm, spewing fuel everywhere, and follows that up with the

left arm. He whacks him across the chest, and then chops one of his legs out from under him, sending him to the ground. Mechagodzilla turns his head and tries to fire his beam, but Kong brings down his axe into his back, all but totally disabling him. For the coup de grace, he jumps onto his back, grabs his head, and tears it off, holding it up into the air and roaring triumphantly. Then, thoroughly exhausted, he tosses the head aside and collapses down beside a building. 

Andrews and Jia come to Lind's aid, and Madison meets up with her father, but just as everything seems to be winding down, they hear Godzilla roar. Everyone watches as he approaches Kong, who gets to his feet, wielding his axe, and growls a warning. The two of them stare each other down, until Kong glances down at the axe and drops it in an act of submission. Godzilla roars, accepting this, and turns around and heads back to the ocean, as Kong and the humans watch. The movie ends down in Hollow Earth, at a newly established Monarch Kong

Monitoring Station, with Lind giving everyone a heads up as Kong comes around for his "morning walk." After he and Jia exchange smiles, and he signs that this is home, he swings along a mountainside and lands on a ledge overlooking his new kingdom. He roars dominantly and beats his chest.

Because of how awesome the music score for Godzilla: King of the Monsters turned out, I was really hoping that Bear McCreary would return for Godzilla vs. Kong but, instead, Adam Wingard went with Dutch composer Tom Holkenborg. While not as great as what McCreary came up with, he did create some memorable music all his own, most notably his own leitmotif for Godzilla, which is big and brassy, and very similar to the classic Akira Ifukube theme, but with a slightly different rhythm. Though I don't agree with Wingard's opinion that the Legendary Godzilla should have his own theme, as Ifukube's music worked just fine in King of the Monsters, I'm fine with what Holkenborg came up with, as it fits Godzilla really well, coming off as very menacing and powerful, especially during the opening credits sequence and would be reused in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Fittingly, a more mechanized and horrific version is used for Mechagodzilla's theme. Holkenborg also creates some thrilling music for the battle sequences, an 80's style synthesizer track for when Madison and Josh are driving to find Bernie, a memorable digitized piece for the journey into Hollow Earth, a wondrous one for Hollow Earth itself, and an epic sound for the ending, when Kong and Godzilla call a truce. The only thing is, I don't remember him giving Kong his own distinctive leitmotif; if he did, then it definitely didn't resonate.

I'm not so big on some of the soundtrack choices, though. At the beginning of the movie, when Kong awakens and goes to see Jia, you hear Bobby Vinton singing Over the Mountain, Across the Sea, which I'm fine with, even though it is a tad cheesy. Then, when we first see Kong being transported across the ocean, we hear Elvis Presley singing Loving Arms... nuh-uh. Way too cringe. And at the end of the movie, when we see Kong settled into his new life in Hollow Earth, we hear The Hollies singing The Air That I Breathe, which I'm also fine with, though I hardly love it. Also, Breaking the Law by Judas Priest is playing on the radio when Josh is introduced by pulling up at Madison's home. And I've read that in the Japanese release, the song Into the Deep by Man with a Mission played at one point, apparently during one of the fight scenes.

I really wish I could say that Godzilla vs. Kong is one of the best Godzilla and King Kong movies ever but, while it's certainly entertaining and worth a watch by any fan, it's hardly a masterpiece. It suffers from the typical kaiju movie problem of a human cast that exists only to move the plot along, and some of whom don't even do that or, worse, could've been interesting had they been developed; a plot that's overstuffed when it really shouldn't have been, particularly with the late introduction of Mechagodzilla; and some eyebrow-raising song choices on the soundtrack. But, all that said, the movie does go at a good pace and doesn't overstay its welcome; there are plenty of fun action sequences to grab your attention; the visual effects are awesome, especially when it comes to the title monsters and the digital environments; the music score is pretty good, and comes up with a powerful leitmotif for Godzilla himself; and, despite how much the movie tries to do at once, in the end, it does give you what you came for and does it pretty damn well, from where I'm sitting. In conclusion, it could've been better, but for what it is, it's a fun time.