“UNEASY IS THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE CROWN” – Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2
Who wears the Monsterverse crown? Godzilla or King Kong?
The pent-up desire to see something made for the big screen has driven many to see Godzilla vs Kong this April. In fact over 406 million tickets have been sold worldwide since its opening.
Like many before, the audience arrives with bated breath to see the best in special effects and the good versus evil battle of the Titans. If you suspend disbelief, strip aside cliche and focus on the larger-than-life action sequences, you will come away smiling from this experience.
Directed by Adam Wingard, and shot by DP Ben Seresin ASC, BSC, the film is a technical marvel. The fourth film in Legendary‘s MonsterVerse. It is also the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise.
No doubt there is too much plot, too many style sources such as Star Wars, Marvel Universe, DC and even Transformers to name a few. Between the major effect set pieces, the Biodome version of Skull Island, an Aircraft Carrier on its way to the Antarctic and finally the Hong Kong cityscape, there is a lot of hokum. Unfinished characters played by Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Millie Bobby Brown and Brian Tyree Henry distract from the two stars Godzilla and Kong. Kaylee Hottle plays Jia, the last surviving member of the indigenous people of Skull Island. She is the only one who can communicate with Kong. She is probably the most legitimate human character.
But the unmentioned star, the 800 pound gorilla in the room to use a bad pun, is the effects team. The VFX were made by MPC (VFX Supervisor: Pier Lefebvre), SCANLINE (VFX Supervisor: Bryan Hirota), WETA Digital (VFX Supervisor: Kevin Andrew Smith), Luma Pictures, Legacy Effects (creature design), Amalgamated Dynamics (miniature effects). Industrial Light & Magic (concept design and development), Moving Picture Company (post-visualization). The Production VFX Supervisor is John Des Jardin. Their work was spectacular.
Bryan Hirota in an Interview with Screen Rant said “I don’t know if I can think of specific Easter eggs that haven’t been caught. Knocked out, sleeping Kong on the transport ship is also a nod to King Kong vs. Godzilla, but I think people have spotted them all… nods to 80s action stars, like how Kong jumping off the carrier when Godzilla blows it up is a nod to Bruce Willis in Die Hard, and Kong putting his shoulder back into place is a nod to Martin Riggs’ dislocated shoulder bit from Lethal Weapon. If you’re familiar with 2001, there’s a shot of the sun peeking over the top of the black monolith. And then the moon above it; the underside of the moon illuminating it… we wanted that referenced for that shot over the Apex pyramid.”
Is it a popcorn movie, of course. Is it a 155 million dollar B Movie, by all means. Then why did 86 million viewers see it domestically and almost half a billion internationally? Because it entertains with mega stars who are old friends despite their haymakers and firey breath. They have become our friends, whether we just discovered them or have known them since the double features of the fifties. Lower the lights, pass the popcorn and let’s go. You decide who wears the crown.
By Neil Healy
