Godzilla vs. Kong 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 3½/5

Plot Synopsis: Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home. Along for the ride is Jia, an orphaned girl who has a unique and powerful bond with the mighty beast. However, they soon find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla as he cuts a swath of destruction across the globe. The initial confrontation between the two titans — instigated by unseen forces — is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the planet.

Quick Hit Review: Godzilla vs. Kong sees the big fight between two titans in this “MonsterVerse” established by Warner Bros. that began in 2014 with Godzilla, followed by Kong: Skull Island in 2017 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019. Personally, the Godzilla movies never did much for me, hindered mostly by the human characters who really didn’t add a whole lot to either the story, such as it is about monsters wreaking destruction, or some sort of an emotional core. Kong: Skull Island on the other hand was rather entertaining, mostly because it’s easier to identify with and have the main character, Kong, show some feeling, even motivation and the human element, albeit mostly there to be killed, had a little uniqueness.

So, now with the fourth installment in the “MonsterVerse”, Godzilla vs. Kong has the usual trappings of CGI characters going monstero-e-apeo and while the visuals are great, it does suffer from not having the weight despite each one being several stories tall. I guess if you’ve always wanted to see any city not named Chicago get obliterated with billions if not trillions in damages (not to mention tens of thousands dead), the final battle just might do it for you. However, in all seriousness, this one had plenty of entertaining and enjoyable moments with the human scenes taken down to a minimum with the focal point on the monsters themselves, and Kong in particular gets a much needed expansion.

There’s not much to the film. The monsters fight. Plenty of collateral damage. Some impressive visual effects. And lots of loud noises. It’s Transformers simplified and something like 20-30 minutes shorter.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3¾/5

This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy.

Audio Commentary — Director Adam Wingard. Kind of a rarity for new films, Wingard talks about the making of the film, providing behind-the-scenes stories, tid-bits and more. Not overly fascinating but still worth a listen.

The God:

• Godzilla Attacks (6:25) — Featurette on Godzilla and his attacks on humanity. There’s also some brief profiles on the human characters.
• The Phenomenon of Gojira, King of the Monsters (9:52) takes a historical and cultural look at Godzilla.

The King:

• Kong Leaves Home (7:56) covers the journey King Kong takes off of “Skull Island” (well, a replicate of it). Also looks at how he has aged over the course of a few decades.
• Kong Discovers Hollow Earth (7:53) is on this previously undiscovered part of the planet and original home of Kong.
• Behold Kong’s Temple (5:52) looks at the Kong’s home world.
• The Evolution of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World (8:25) — As with Godzilla, we get a historical look at King Kong.

The Rise of Mechagodzilla (7:06) is on the mechanical Godzilla and bringing to life for this version.

The Battles:

• Round One: Battle at Sea (5:01)
• Round Two: One Will Fall (5:58)
• Titan Tag Team: The God and the King (7:59)

Each of the above breaks down the big battles of the film with more interviews with the cast and crew, plus behind-the-scenes footage.

4K ULTRA HD VIDEO – 5/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO – 5/5

AUDIO – 5/5

OVERALL – 4/5

Godzilla vs. Kong is a fun-filled entertaining action-monster schlock of a film. The effects work is well done and the story is good enough with the human elements thankfully taking a backseat to the two monsters, however the finale can be overbearing watching CGI characters fighting one another and falling into CGI buildings. That said, still worth checking out.