What The Critics Are Saying About Godzilla Vs. Kong
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Godzilla vs. Kong is nearly here, and a whole lot of man-made property is just waiting to be smashed, toppled, exploded, set on fire, or all of the above at once. The world is waiting with bated breath to see which giant creature, Godzilla or King Kong, emerges on top once the dust clears — or whether they end up hugging it out and joining forces. The monster movie to end all monster movies drops in theaters and on HBO Max on March 31, and if you have a place in your heart for king-size action, you probably have the date circled in red ink on your calendar. But will it be worth the wait?
The plot of Godzilla vs. Kong isn't a complete mystery. For one, we already know why Kong's become massive since his appearance in Kong: Skull Island. What's more, reports from a Godzilla vs. Kong set visit and the movie's internet-breaking trailer have indicated that the face-off between the two titans might very well feature another threat that's more mechanical in nature: MechaGodzilla, the legendary robotic kaiju that's yet to make its MonsterVerse debut. However, whether the movie's actually any good has remained a mystery ... up until now. Though you still have to wait a while until the official reviews drop, the veil of secrecy has lifted enough that the lucky few who have been able to see the movie in advance are now allowed to tweet their first impressions.
Let's find out what the critics are saying about Godzilla vs. Kong.
Critics are praising Godzilla vs. Kong
It looks like fans of King Kong and Godzilla can sleep easy, because the critics' early impressions indicate that Godzilla vs. Kong is everything you could ever have wanted — and then some.
Sean O'Connell, the managing director of CinemaBlend, tweeted some extremely positive things about the movie, while also revealing that some of the action takes place in a Hollow Earth setting. "I had a total blast with this movie," he wrote. "It gets wonky and weird in all of the places a monster movie like this should. Some of the human characters actually work. But it's the fights, and Hollow Earth, that demand a massive screen. Team Kong!"
Sheraz Farooqi of Comic Book Debate confirmed that the movie very much delivers on its premise, and teased that audiences are in for some seriously amazing action between the two monsters. "#GodzillaVsKong is fun, vibrant, action-packed, and energizing," he tweeted. "GvK lives up to the heavyweight match it advertised with amazing visual effects and action sequences. This movie is selling a spectacle, and that's exactly what audiences will get."
Fandango's managing editor Erik David agreed with that sentiment, and also pointed out that while big monster action is obviously the draw here, the human cast is also great and the story aspects hold water. "I've seen #GodzillaVsKong and it is grade-A awesome!" Davis tweeted. "The monster brawls are badass & beautiful — huge fights, all well designed & super gnarly. Solid story, strong cast, really good score. A true Midnight Monster Movie & my favorite of the four modern Godzilla/Kong movies."
Some critics think the plot and human characters in Godzilla vs. Kong are lacking
Of course, Godzilla vs. Kong is no Citizen Kane, and some critics have pointed out that when you take out the awesome monster action scenes, the rest of the movie can feel somewhat lacking.
"Godzilla vs. Kong has excellent action and effects. The story is crazy ambitious and at times achieves some unique sci-fi-coolness. I'd watch it again for that stuff but most of the human angles are so overstuffed, illogical and pointless, it constantly took me out of it," Germain Lussier of Gizmodo and io9 tweeted.
Collider's Vinnie Mancuso enjoyed the movie to the point that he stated, "I am going to watch this movie every day it is available on HBO Max, turning the volume on my television up a little bit every time." However, he noted that things aren't exactly stellar when the story focuses on humans: "The human parts are still bafflingly bad, but the parts where one giant monster wallops the other giant monster in the face are incredibly good."
The same outlet's Perri Nemiroff also pointed out the human plot line problem, though she felt that the talented cast helps with the issue. "Still don't think they've nailed how to incorporate human characters, but the top-notch ensemble helps," she tweeted.
While some critics seem to find the human-focused bits of the movie underwhelming, it certainly seems that Godzilla vs. Kong is happy to be what it is: a big, fun, lovingly crafted movie about the two most famous giant monsters out there duking it out. You'll get the chance to see how well the movie succeeds in its mission when Godzilla vs. Kong is released in theaters and on HBO Max on March 31.