Every once in a while it’s nice to have a movie that you can just turn off your brain while watching. That might sound like an insult, but it’s what makes this movie so fun. Kong vs. Godzilla is the latest entry into the monsterverse, and pits two titans against each other in a battle that delivers on the name of the movie. 

The action is absolutely the selling point of this movie, and for good reason. It is absolutely incredible to watch these giants battle it out with absolute animalistic ferocity. The effects are nearly flawless in all aspects, and the way Kong and Godzilla move is believable with weight and power behind each punch and movement. The environments look amazing as well. The way the buildings crumble and break under the weight of the monsters is just so much fun to watch. That’s what this movie is, just something fun to watch and enjoy. No need to think about any hidden symbolism or meaning behind what the monsters represent, just a big dumb fun monster movie that has increadible computer generated images. 

With all that being said, there are some things about this movie that do not work in my opinion. Those things mostly consist of the human cast of characters and the dialogue. I understand that the movie can’t just be an hour and a half of two characters who don’t talk, hitting each other in different locations. There needs to be some sort of plot and story linking everything together. That being said, the human characters are not interesting in the slightest. That’s no fault of the actors who, I’m sure did the best they could with what they were given, but the focus of the writing staff clearly wasn’t on them. It’s not like it’s impossible to make interesting human characters in these movies either, because in Kong: Skull Island, the humans make up a majority of the runtime and they are much more interesting than what we get in Kong vs Godzilla. Any time the humans are on screen I found myself bored and just waiting for the monsters to come back and do something interesting. 

None of those complaints stopped me from really enjoying this movie. It’s shot very well and the final battle between Godzilla and Kong is absolutely the highlight of the movie. The way it’s lit with neon and rain makes the two monsters stand out in the night, and the explosions and damage they cause are absolutely beautiful. Another one of my favorite parts of this movie is that, without spoiling it, there is a definitive winner of this battle. I was very worried that the movie would end with a tie, but I was happily surprised to see someone win. Not only that, there is a surprise villain in the form of a classic and fan favorite Godzilla character, who was just a joy to watch like most of the other things in this movie. 

I would absolutely recommend watching this movie to anyone who just wants to chill out and see some really cool visual effects, and giant monsters. Kong vs. Godzilla is available in theaters and, if you’d rather watch this titanic slug fest from the comfort of your own home, streaming on HBO Max until April 30.