Godzilla vs. Kong - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Godzilla vs. Kong



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
Ahhh, the Avengers of the monster movie world. It’s been 3 separate films leading up to this point, but we’re finally here with the face off that has been teased to us ever since King Kong came out a few years back. King Kong vs. the King of the Titans in an epic battle. Well, just with a twist that we all see coming a mile away, and the inclusion of stupid humans which has been the bane of the series up to this point.

Human garbage that bogs down the film:. Kong is under super strict monitoring by Monarch on his little island and kept away from the rest of the Titan battles that have been happening in the previous Godzilla films. He gets visitations from a deaf orphan named Jia (Kaylee Hottle) who teaches him to sign, and Dr. Andrews (Rebecca Hall) has pretty much been keeping everything under control. However, Monarch Scientist and hollow earth theorist Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgard) has been approached by the mustache twirling villain of the movie (of course he’s a villain. He has an accent and he’s a rich business owner. They’re always villains), one Walter Simmons (Demian Bichir) who believes that there is a hollow earth, and that there is something special down there to explore. He convinces Nathan to go with him on a journey to the center of the earth (yes, pun intended) with him, but they both need a Titan to get there. So naturally Nathan approaches Dr. Andrews and convinces her to allow them to use Kong as a sort of guide to get there.

Simultaneously we have a silly story involving Apex conspiracy theory loving employee Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) attempts to pull information about a super secret project going on by Walter Simmons, and with the help of Madison Russell (the same girl from Godzilla: King of the Monsters) and her reluctant friend Josh (Julian Dennison) they find out that Apex is up to something big. REALLLY big.

As much as I’d like to say that’s it, that’s just the beginning of it all. The stupidity goes on for like an hour 25 minutes as humans start going to the center of the Earth to explore, Bernie and Madison start making wise cracks and digging into Apex, and all the while we’re just yelling at the screen “show the monster fighting!”. However, there are some fun battles to watch for that hour and a half both upstairs on in hollow earth, but it’s really the last 30 minutes that we want to see, and that 30 minutes is TOTALLY worth it. Godzilla and Kong destroying an entire city with abandon, and we get to eagerly hold our popcorn bucket and watch it unfold on screen. Plus, we also get to see Kong and Godzilla team up part way through to pull a WWF tag team battle on Mecha Godzilla as well (sorry, not a major spoiler, it’s in the description). It’s booms, it’s smashes, it’s Kong wielding a super powered radiation fueled axe, and it’s FUN.

Like most things, humans really do drag the story down, and the story is just LITTERED with plot holes and contrivances. I was literally howling at the screen when we go to hollow earth and see that Kong has a whole culture down there complete with a throne and a super powered axe made from one of Godzilla’s scales. An axe that can absorb radiation and be super powered up. Then there’s the humans jump starting Kong’s heart with an aerial vehicle. Kong shooting a radiation beam down to the center of the earth and kong just crawling out, and stupid wise cracks that are just PAINFUL to listen too. Still, it’s got more smashing and destroying than we could hope for and that last 30 minutes is nothing but one gigantic version of Pacific Rim just with an ape, a mech, and a lizard.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of creature violence/destruction and brief language




4K Video: Video:

I’m not sure whether it’s because 4K UHD discs are becoming so good at what they do, or whether studios are being lazy with the Blu-ray (as they did with DVD back when Blu-ray became a thing), but the 1080p Blu-ray just can’t even REMOTELY hang with the 4K UHD disc. The colors are shockingly more bold and vibrant, black levels aren’t even in the same ball park, and detail levels just blow past the Blu-ray without even trying. The FX laden blockbuster film is a massive ball of colors, details and just pure CGI eye candy to watch and it doesn’t show any shame at letting it all hang out. The film was sourced from a 4K digital intermediate and the native 4K transfer looks awe inspiring. The dual layer disc runs really high bitrate (sometimes in the low 90s) and image detail is just superb. The underground lair in hollow earth is amazing as you can pick out the individual rock crevaces, and the use of HDR color in the reds, oranges and neon blues are just delicious.

As I said, the HDR and Dolby Vision really make this film as the movie is just littered with neon colors everywhere. Godzilla’s neon blue radiation energy just pops off the screen, as is the red lazers of mecha godzilla, and the incredibly orange and blue tinged underground “throne” room for Kong. The blacks REALLY show the added benefit as they are beyond inky and deep. Compare the scene as Kong makes his way into his stone grotto on Blu-ray vs. the 4K. It’s not even comparable. The 4K UHD just renders the blacks so much deeper an inkier, without showing milky tones and giving way more shadow details. Great GREAT looking disc.



Audio:

As with most Warner Atmos tracks, the Blu-ray and the 4K UHD disc (well, except for the 3D disc, which has a 7.1 DTS-HD MA track to save space) both have the same Atmos track, and it is a doozy. As impressive as the video score is for Godzilla vs. Kong, it wouldn’t be a Godzilla movie if the audio track doesn’t just take the cake. This is a sonic attack by every definition of the word, and it doesn’t ever let go throughout. Dialog is always clean and clear, and quiet moments certainly aren’t imbalanced, but boy howdy, when the action kicks off (and there is a LOOOOT of action), this is a sonic boom aimed straight at your listening position. The scene where Godzilla faces off against Kong on the boats is an incredible scene, with heavy artillery fire mixed with an ape roar, and copious smashes as the two titans duke it out. The surrounds get massively used throughout the film, and the overheads use tons of discrete sounds throughout the flick (especially in underground earth, or during the final massive battle between the 3 titans). Bass is devastating as you would have guessed, but luckily it’s not overly bloated and clipping every 2 seconds like the original Godzilla was prone to. Simply put, this is audio nirvana for those of us who like big massive action blockbuster mixes.




Extras:

• Audio Commentary by Director, Adam Wingard
• Kong Discovers Hollow Earth
• Kong Leaves Home
• Behold Kong's Temple
• The Evolution of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World
• Godzilla Attacks
• The Phenomenon of GŌJIRA, King of the Monsters
• Round One: Battle at Sea
• Round Two: One Will Fall
• Titan Tag Team: The God and the King
• The Rise of MechaGodzilla

Final Score: ​

Godzilla vs. Kong is just what you’d expect if you’ve seen the other films. It’s big, got two of the big boys beating each other up, and it’s full of stupid human interactions that drag the film down like the previous films. The best way I can sum up the film for you is that it should be re titled Pacific Rim: Kong vs. Godzilla and just sit back and watch the destruction. It’s hilariously goofier than any of the previous movies, but it’s the biggest, the baddest, and the most satisfying with the ending as well. The 4K UHD is just a massive massive improvement over the Blu-ray visually speaking and worth the upgrade by all definitions, and the movie itself is big dumb fun. So grab away monster lovers.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Lance Reddick, Kyle Chandler, Demian Bichir
Directed by: Adam Wingard
Written by: Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields (story by), Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein (screenplay by)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Italian Dolby Atmos (Italian Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English, French, Spanish DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 113 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 15th, 2021

Recommendation: Great 4K Monster Watch

 

[Asere]

I agree with Pacific Rim:Kong vs Godzilla and the stupid humans interactions. It would me nice to see monster films like these in a prehistoric time with only monster interactions and very little humans if possible. Maybe the Croods vs Kong vs Godzilla.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will check my head at the door and just enjoy the destruction! lol.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I didn't want to see this... until I read your review. Dag-nabbit, Mike!

 

[Epoxy1]

Totally agree Michael...thin on story, strong on action and the A/V quality is off the charts good.

 

[Sonnie]

I watched it early on... very good movie overall. I'll watch it again... my kind of flick for sure.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I’m watching this right now on UHD disc. I watched it earlier this year when it was on HBO Max. Here’s my unscientific observation:

It looks great.

It sounds really great, but I don’t notice it sounding significantly better than the stream, though, even with the lossless audio track. I imagine it is one of two things:

A: it wasn’t mixed as aggressively as other content has been; or
B: the Dolby Digital + base layers that were streaming are highly underestimated.

my money is on B. I’ve always been impressed by what they have been able to pack into a DD+ audio stream.

 

[Michael Scott]

I'm going for a mixture of both. Godzilla versus Kong was a little more restrained than the previous two films, but Dolby digital Plus is heavily underrated if it's done properly