The earth shook in a way that people expected, hopefully, as two of the greatest titans ever created by the imagination of humanity came crashing together, and it’s hard to admit, but Kong did get thrashed pretty hard throughout each battle. Let’s be fair though and say that when out of his element he was at a serious disadvantage for the first fight, which took place on the open ocean, with Godzilla blitzing him in a way that didn’t allow Kong to maintain his footing for the entire fight. Give credit where it’s due though, once Godzilla decided to breach and take Kong on hand to hand, the king ape made it clear that he wasn’t going to be bullied and gave Godzilla that right that’s been rolling across our screens for months, right before he shoulder-blocked Godzilla back into the water, where the big lizard then called upon one of his greatest weapons, his atomic breath. Thankfully Kong isn’t just a dumb animal and managed to jump out of the way, but it wasn’t long before Godzilla figured that wrapping Kong up and taking him to the depths was the best option, which required the humans up above to help Kong out with a few well-placed depth charges to stun the massive lizard. Even as Kong reached the ship once again though, it was clear that Godzilla had taken that round, but instead of finishing the other titan off, he swam away as the engines cooled and the movement of what was left of the escorts halted.
It’s easy to think that Godzilla was good and riled up, and the Apex corporation was behind it as they were developing something that wasn’t fully revealed at the beginning of the movie, but was still drawing him out as he started doing what he does, laying waste to everything for reasons that people couldn’t fathom. This makes it obvious that while Godzilla can sense certain energy signatures, he’s not always certain of where they are, meaning he can’t pinpoint them that easily. As for Kong, keeping him sequestered in a specialized habitat located on Skull Island, which had apparently been scrubbed clean of most life thanks to a massive shift in the climate. The opening credits make it clear that he and Godzilla are the last active titans still left on the face of the earth, as the rest have been destroyed or ‘defeated’ as the displays show. It’s also made apparent that Godzilla has been responsible for most of these defeats, as Kong has been content to stay on his island. But the audience is also made to understand that if Kong makes his way into the open that the giant lizard will target him since as an alpha his behavior has been seen to force him into the open to challenge all other potential opponents. Seriously, the big ape would be minding his own business and Godzilla would come and mess with him it sounds like, igniting a war between their species that, as we learn, took place long, long ago. Tacked onto that, the ‘hollow earth’ theory that comes into play makes it feel as though Kong might have a chance against his reptilian opponent, and the ax he finds upon making his way into the hollow earth does just that.
Overall, this movie kept a pace that forced people to really pay attention so they didn’t miss anything, and it also left a lot of questions that need to be answered and hopefully will be given that it does feel as though there are enough openings to make it possible. But when one gets past the fact that Apex sent the expedition to hollow earth to obtain the core energy that was needed to fuel their own project, which wasn’t surprising, the fight scenes tend to take a lot of attention since they’re done in a way that’s hard to be disappointed with since Kong’s toughness is easy to marvel at given how he takes one bite after another and, despite needing help now and again, still manages to come out on top, right up until he and Godzilla tussle in Hong Kong, where the big lizard does make good use of his atomic breath, but in a way that feels pushed since the laser-like way he utilizes the breath does differ from what he’s done in the recent past. Still, Kong didn’t make it easy as he used his mobility and his strength to wear Godzilla down and even knock him to the ground with the ax, which, being made from the back spike of one of Godzilla’s kind, can absorb radiation and become even deadlier.
But the fight between Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, and Kong was insane. The giant robot had Godzilla on the ropes and would have surely ended him if Kong hadn’t been revived and rejoined the fight, even setting a dislocated shoulder before leaping back into the fray. With an assist from the big lizard as he charged the ax again with his breath, Kong decimated Mechagodzilla, slicing off limbs and finally ripping the metal monstrosity’s head off before collapsing from fatigue. In the end, Godzilla and Kong both faced off again, but the fact that Godzilla turned away to head back into the sea was a sign that they might not be friends, but they weren’t enemies, at least at that moment. All I can say after the movie is that hopefully this won’t be the last we see of them, since overall that was just pure awesome.
