Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) (USA/Australia/Canada/India)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Monster throw down delivers what it promises and then some... and that’s all ya really need. Since we last saw him, Kong is a little older, a little wiser and just as lonely. He’s being protected from the radar of Godzilla by a benevolent government agency but he knows he’s being leashed... at least he’s got a friend in a cute-as-a-button little girl whose family perished and is now a ward of the agency. Shit goes crazy when the obviously-up-to-no-good Apex Cybernetics has their Florida base attacked by Godzilla. Monarch scrambles trying to figure out why the Earth-protecting Titan has just attacked unprovoked and the slimy CEO of Apex (Demián Bichir) puts his plan in motion. There’s an untapped power source in the middle of the earth which he plans on utilizing to bring humanity back to its apex status. He brings in a hollow earth theory specialist and sends him to the center of the earth (a mission which previously claimed the life of the specialist’s brother) to tap that power. Of course, they’ll need a guide and that brings Kong back into things. Using Kong’s tiny friend as a means of convincing, the team manages to get Kong to play along. Of course, Apex has some shady ulterior motives and they use that hollow earth energy to power their ultimate weapon... fucking Mechagodzilla. Kong and Godzilla beat the hell out of one another along the way (there’s a breathtaking rumble on the open seas and a gorgeous scuffle in Tokyo) but eventually realize teamwork will make the dream work when the Apex Cybernetics scheme goes very wrong. The human cast is mostly underutilized (the case with most of these movies) but it doesn’t really matter. We see some familiar faces, get some new likable heroes and villains and they even spice things up with a couple new monsters. It’s a blast.