“Godzilla vs. Kong” is a film that knows exactly what it wants to be straight from the start. The film doesn’t waste its time trying to be something that it’s not by pretending to have deep, symbolic themes or in-depth, thought-provoking characters. Instead, it pits two titular titans of film history against each other and embraces its nature as a pure, unadulterated action flick.  

“Godzilla vs. Kong” follows a similar setup and structure to many other monster movies, benefiting from the same pros and suffering the same cons that have become staples of the genre. It doesn’t take long for the film to establish its premise and it gives a good amount of screen time towards both titans before they have their first encounter. As a whole, however, the film dedicates significantly more time to Kong than Godzilla when it comes to its plot and almost develops Kong as his own character at certain points throughout the movie.  

The major fight scenes featuring both monsters are clearly the main attraction of the film, and the action in “Godzilla vs. Kong” certainly delivers. Each fight is incredibly well–animated and sells the scope and weight of two massive beasts duking it out. There’s a nonsensical joy to a lot of the action in the film; the premise is so ridiculous and childishly cool that it’s hard not to enjoy it. Each fight also smartly choreographs itself around the environments that the two titans find themselves in, making the battles even more dynamic and engaging while making use of both titans’ strengths and weaknesses.  

The film pads out the time in between fights by focusing on groups of human characters, and as with many monster movies, they’re easily the worst parts of the film and aren’t the main focus. The human characters have their own small plotlines that they follow throughout the film but they’re all still largely forgettable. The movie clearly doesn’t take its human characters seriously though and is self-aware of the fact that they aren’t the main focus of the film. As a result, the dialogue of the actors is cheesy and ham-fisted enough to be entertaining before most viewers forget about them as the real stars of the show step into the forefront.    

“Godzilla vs. Kong” is far from a cinematic masterpiece but it knows full well that it’s not trying to be that. The film is an entertaining, action romp with memorable action set pieces that will definitely entertain if you’re willing to not take it seriously.