We are in the era in which everything simply must be turned into some type of metaverse franchise that allows for film production companies to throw out as many entries as possible year over year in efforts to profit from existing brands; nothing is really sacred at this point, and Hollywood is out to take your money as each of these franchises are bundled together. Who is this for, you have not asked? Well, these films are for everyone; a wide net cast into a sea in hopes of catching as many fish as possible. Interestingly, the franchise elements of the 'Godzilla vs. Kong' entries have been somewhat quiet, slow to arrive, and were not exactly massive disappointments in terms of financial gain, but certainly not massive hits either. This definitely reflects, in my opinion, how the average audience member that did watch this film ended up feeling about it. Neither hated it, nor did they really love it.
The truth is, I watched this film months ago. I can't even remember when I watched it, but I have completely forgotten about the fact that I had the intentions of writing about it here on Hive. As usually is the case: I watch something, and a review or some thoughts are thrown up here shortly after. Rarely taking more than a few days to a week to write about. I have often remembered the film's existence, and told myself I will finally get around to writing about it, and never really did, until now. Looking back, I think I just forgot about it. I think my experience watching the film was so mediocre that after the credits hit, I simply went on with my life and continued with whatever I was doing beforehand. Don't get me wrong, this is no way me saying that the film is a terrible one, or that I did not enjoy it. But a statement on how average it was.
Though I can't act like this is much of a surprise given the prior established context of massive franchise blockbuster films now: they are catered to everyone in such a way that they make massive headlines upon release, but a mere few weeks later we forget they ever existed, leaving little to no impact on us whatsoever as we simply just hop on to the next franchise blockbuster entry, either from a different studio or the very same one. This is intentional, as well. As studios know what they are doing, and that each entry is merely there to allow for another a year later. One could make the comparison to dining out: you get your starter, and it's great at the time. But when is the next course coming? I want the next course. Okay the second course has arrived. But where's the dessert? Then, we just return home and the next day we barely remember the day before.
Godzilla vs. Kong
One of the largest problems, and general public criticisms of the franchise world of Godzilla and Kong is that they are typically void of any of the good stuff: action, monsters, and typically are far too dark as a method of hiding all the cheaper special effects due to their massive bugdets. Another is that these films contain way too much talking -- though the history of Godzilla allows for this, since the original film is more on the Japanese people's suffering and dealing with the outcome of nuclear bombs being dropped on them. Ultimately giving the destruction of Godzilla the symbolism of nuclear war, though it is quite on-the-nose given his attraction to things with nuclear power. The west's version of Godzilla follows with the idea of giving characters the main part of the film's screen time, but it can't really continue on with that anti-nuclear narrative, since they were the cause and it has already been done before.
The result is that these films try to switch between casts with each iteration, not really giving the characters a whole lot of depth or much reason for the audience to really care for them in the first place. This tends to be why these films tend to be so forgettable, in which the main reason people watch these films is hardly present, and what is present is simply not interesting. Sadly, this is definitely the case in Godzilla vs. Kong, where our cast are just lacking entirely in depth and the result is that there are never really any risks at hand. We know they are pretty much invincible. We know they don't have much weight regarding events within the story, since they are also not the main focus within the film's narrative: the monsters are.
Realising its prior mistakes, Godzilla vs. Kong tries to address them by ensuring that most scenes are reliatvely well-lit. There's still plenty of dark moments, but the film tries to take advantage of a more futuristic period in which humanity has managed to evolve and grow though obtained technology. Everything is touch screens and neon lights; flying ships that fill the world with a light blue glow. This is where our film tries to also remain interesting through colour and flashy images, knowing that much of the film would be dull otherwise. Our attention as an audience, as mentioned above, is not on the story and its charcters. Instead, it is merely a dopamine rush via colour plastered around the screen. As is the case with many futuristic approaches to films these days: it's more style over substance. Though even in true style it is lacking.
Our happiest moments watching the film will of course be the brief moments of conflict, where monsters and threats appear and action ensues. Quick, concise, sometimes teasing a build-up to a later conflict that repeats the same structure. Though we do still have these moments of action that are quite satisfying to watch, but I certainly would not say that they make up for the film's otherwise uneventful runtime that exists merely to stretch out the fight scenes and avoid a large special effects budget. This even applies to the cinematography; though I can admit that in parts it does get a bit creative with certain perspectives and movements. Though they're relatively sparse and we fall back into our regular blockbuster style of directing. Quick scenes with multiple camera angle changes, fast-paced action that doesn't quite show much due to how often perspectives shift to give the illusion of movement and tension.
As per usual, our human characters find themselves very much caught in the middle of conflicts between much larger, more mythical beings. Their drama results in the cost of human life and creation as the two consider each other to be rivals for some reason. We don't really need to know or care about why they're fighting. One's a big lizard and another is just a big hairy monkey. Let's not lie to ourselves.
It isn't that bad
I do want to state that Godzilla vs. Kong is not necessarily a bad film. There is certainly plenty wrong with it, but its execution and style is very much intentional. The filmmakers knew precisely what they were to do and why. Its problem is that it suffers the same fate as many other blockbuster franchise entries. They are very much forgettable, mediocre entries that you consume once and then most likely will never see again, because there is no reason to do so. There is nothing worth seeing twice. Of course we still have the franchise fans which will give high praise to such films, but even they grow out of it and come to the realisation that ultimately there is not much to really discuss here. Chances are, you already forgot the film exists.
