This is it. The culmination of the Monsterverse we have all been waiting for. The rematch 59 years in the making. And holy crap does it not disappoint. This movie outshines all other Monsterverse movies with having the best effects, the most heart, the most intriguing human characters, and of course the best monster action. If you came to watch the film solely for the monster action, you will not leave the theater feeling unsatisfied. Both monsters get their time to shine, with Kong being the primary focus of the monster action. Godzilla, however, is also a looming threat, but like the trailers have been saying, there is something provoking him, unknown and in the shadows. But before we discuss this mystery monster, let's discuss the human cast. Wow. Just, wow. Adam Wingard managed to pull it off with the cast. I genuinely cared for several of the characters, those of which being Bernie, Josh, Madison, and Jia. No doubt is Jia the heart of the film, but to discuss her role, we will have to dive into spoiler territory, which will be the second half of this review. However, for those of you wanting to not be spoiled, I will say this: there is one winner.
Score: 10/10
Okay, now for the spoiler part of this review. If you don't want the movie ruined, stop reading. You have been warned.
To start, Jia, like the trailers said, is the only one who can communicate with Kong, who can also sign with her, though in the film, we only see Kong signing "home." Now, with the Hollow Earth, it was so beautiful, mysterious, and trippy all at the same time. There is a division in the Hollow Earth where gravity can become reversed, like if you jump off of one side, you end up falling on the ceiling... it's complicated. For the mystery monster, well it's no mystery. Mechagodzilla is in the Monsterverse. To be honest, this was my first time legitimately seeing him. I never saw any of the other Mechagodzilla movies (CEB doesn't count, since all that was there was a city and Mechagodzilla's head. I loved how MV MG was kind of a combination of the Showa Mechagodzilla and Kiryu (being evil and going berserk respectively.) However, it wasn't the bones of another Godzilla controlling MG, it was the brain of King Ghidorah. Remember at the end of KOTM, when Alan Jonah bought Ghidorah's severed head? Yeah, this is what he used it for. Also, the axe Kong used wasn't the only axe. There were dozens, all using a dorsal plate of the Godzilla species. Kong just used one of the many axes. As for the monster brutality, let's see here. Kong ripped the head off of one of the Warbats and drank its blood, he chopped the limbs off of Mechagodzilla before ripping his head off, and he also cut into Godzilla's leg with his axe. Godzilla tried to drown Kong and came so close to doing so, he dislocated Kong's arm, scratched up his chest, possibly broke his sternum, bit his toes, burned his back with his Atomic Breath, and after roaring in Kong's face, he left him for dead. And now we have Mechagodzilla. He almost drilled into Kong's face, tossed Godzilla around like a ragdoll, burned his chest with his laser, and almost did the kiss of death to Godzilla. Then Kong and Godzilla teamed up and defeated Mechagodzilla, with Godzilla voluntarily firing his Atomic Breath onto Kong's axe and making it supercharged. Overall, this movie is fantastic, and is the rematch we have all been waiting for.
Score: 10/10
