Echoing the resilience of its titular ancient beasts, 2021’s Godzilla Vs. Kong managed to adapt, survive and even thrive in the face of adversity. A big hit when it was released simultaneously in cinemas and on streaming platforms, it claimed pandemic box office records in the process – something even Christopher Nolan’s Tenet couldn’t do.
Unsurprisingly, then, the Titans are back. This time they’ve been given even more screen time, new allies and antagonists, and a dramatic expansion of the lore surrounding them. Also returning for the ride is director Adam Wingard, who seems hellbent on making this follow-up as big, bright and absolutely bananas as possible. It's a task he’s more than equal to in a film that’s like a cartoon come to life in all the best ways.
Story-wise, it would be spoilerific to reveal too much, though events centre around a new threat to the Hollow Earth, the subterranean realm Kong has made his home. This results in our heroes teaming up, though Kong is very much the focus this time around, which is no bad thing.
For all Godzilla’s atomic-breathed antics, he’s not exactly emotive. Kong, however, has pathos and an expressive face – he’s a misunderstood loner desperate to find others like him. He soon does, though with the arrival of Skar King – a brutal simian wielding a whip made from a giant spine – he may wish he hadn’t.
Kong’s journey here brings welcome heart, because like other entries in this MonsterVerse franchise, the human side of things is rather short-changed. Who’s really watching this for the people, though – however good the actors playing them are? Admittedly, Dan Stevens is an absolute hoot as Trapper, a cocksure wisecracker straight out of the ’80s action movie playbook, albeit with a hippy soul. But his talented castmates, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry, are largely relegated to being vessels for the increasingly complicated exposition.