What Critics Are Saying About Godzilla vs. Kong

It's 'stupid' but 'awe-inducing'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 2, 2021 11:40 AM CDT

You'd think you could sum up the plot of Godzilla vs. Kong based on the title itself. But there's a lot more stuffed in to this sequel to 2017's Kong: Skull Island and 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, from secrets held at the center of the planet to a plot by an evil corporation. It's enough for a 78% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Here's what they're saying:

  • It's "serviceable turn-your-brain-off fodder"—"heart-stoppingly stupid but sporadically entertaining," writes Bilge Ebiri at Vulture. He loved "the perfectly rendered computer-generated streams of water dripping off every one of the many millions of computer-generated hairs on Kong’s computer-generated body." But he was lost in the "barely coherent multicharacter story" that "might have been written by a 12-year-old." "The filmmakers seem to think they're delivering characters and human drama," he writes, "when all they're doing is irritating the s—t out of us."
  • The scenes featuring Kong's communications with a deaf girl named Jia "are the movie’s best, at least as far as the ones involving humans go," writes Stephanie Zacharek at Time. "The rest of the Godzilla vs. Kong plot is overly cluttered and instantly forgettable," she adds. "But, come now: You know you're really only here for the monsters." And "director Adam Wingard makes the most of these moments, fleeting as they are."

  • It "lives up to that rock-'em, sock-'em dynamic," but there's "not much brain or heart," even considering Jia and Kong's touching relationship, writes Michael O'Sullivan at the Washington Post. He finds the efforts to make Godzilla relatable are wasted since "hurricanes have more personality." But at least the action "is pretty thrilling, as CGI pugilism goes." He gives the film 2.5 stars out of four.
  • Alissa Wilkinson would up that score. "I loved watching this movie," she writes at Vox. She was actually impressed how much was packed into the film. And if there are plot holes, the film "glosses over these shortcomings with visual excellence." It "absolutely nails" the "awe-inducing" fight scenes, with "visual fun, even imagination," Wilkinson writes. "And that's all too lacking in an industry dominated by movies that sacrifice imagery for story beats."
(More movie review stories.)

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