‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: a movie for our time

It always seems that times of crises lead to a specific kind of monster movie.

For example, in 1933 – four years after the infamous stock market crash and well into the Great Depression – the original “King Kong” opened to popular acclaim. And why wouldn’t people love a film about a giant gorilla attacking New York City?

As described by Wikipedia, “Crowds lined up around the block on opening day, tickets were priced at $.35 to $.75, and, in its first four days, every one of its ten-shows-a-day was sold out – setting an all-time attendance record for an indoor event.”

Then in 1954, during the first decade of the Cold War and just nine years after Japan had been hit twice by atom bombs, the Japanese film “Godzilla” (“Gojira”) hit theaters. Clearly the United States didn’t own a monopoly on using film to work out social neuroses.

And now, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we have “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which is available both in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. Seems natural.

 Here are some initial reviews:

Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail: “We want colourful carnage. We want mindless destruction. We want one giant thing hitting another giant thing, and maybe one of those things could also be holding a giant glowing radioactive axe, maybe? Sure! Give the people Godzilla vs. Kong.”

Shirley Li, The Atlantic: “I myself had wished for more Godzilla after the 2014 film; the wish has been granted, using a Kong-size monkey's paw. Still, it's kind of admirable how aggressively Godzilla vs. Kong eschews any grander meaning.”

Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post: “One half of ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ wants to tell a human story. Believe it or not, it partly succeeds. The other half just wants to break stuff. I'd call it a draw.”

Sounds perfect for 2021.