---
title: "Godzilla vs. Kong"
year: 2021
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/godzilla-vs-kong"
fi1m_id: "godzilla-vs-kong"
imdb_id: "tt5034838"
tmdb_id: 399566
wikidata_id: "Q56307503"
fi1m_score: 62
critics_score: 58
critics_reviews: 29
published: "2026-09-28T21:24:06.570415+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-28T21:24:06.745041+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Directed by Adam Wingard · 1h 54m · MPA PG-13 · Action, Science Fiction, Adventure

## Identity

Godzilla vs. Kong

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/godzilla-vs-kong
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** godzilla-vs-kong
- **IMDb ID:** tt5034838
- **TMDB ID:** 399566
- **Wikidata ID:** Q56307503
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5034838/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/399566, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56307503

**Fi1m score: 62** · Critics 58 from 29 reviews

*In a sentence:* Kong sighs, Godzilla glows, and everyone in a lab coat explains the hollow planet one more time

> Adam Wingard gives this series the fights it kept promising: in daylight, in one piece, with a sense of who is winning. The human scenes between rounds are as lazy as anything in a film this size. Kong carries it.

## Synopsis

Kong lives under a vast dome on Skull Island, a monitored reserve, watched over by Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and understood only by Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a deaf orphan who talks to him in sign. When Godzilla comes ashore at Pensacola, Florida, and tears through a plant belonging to Apex Cybernetics, its chief executive Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) recruits Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), a discredited scientist who believes in a world beneath the Earth’s crust, to lead an expedition there with Kong as guide. The ape is loaded onto a naval convoy bound for Antarctica. Meanwhile Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), convinced Godzilla had a reason to attack, tracks down the conspiracy podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) with her friend Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison) to find out what Apex is hiding.

## Review

Four films in, the shared series that began with *Godzilla* (2014) has arrived at the only thing anyone wanted from it. The tagline says “One will fall”, the title says who, and Adam Wingard’s job is to get the two of them into the same shot and let us watch. He does, three times, and the fights are the best this series has staged: lit, legible and long enough to have a shape. Between them sit the human scenes, and those are among the laziest we have sat through in a film of this size.

The setup is brisk. Kong lives under a dome on Skull Island, watched by Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and understood only by Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a deaf orphan who signs to him. Godzilla comes ashore in Pensacola and wrecks a plant owned by Apex Cybernetics. Its chief, Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir), hires Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), a discredited scientist whose book about a world inside the Earth nobody bought, to lead an expedition there with Kong as the guide. Meanwhile Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) decides a conspiracy podcaster called Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) is on to something and goes looking for him with her friend Josh (Julian Dennison).

What Wingard understands, and the previous two films did not, is that a punch needs a camera that stays still. Ben Seresin shoots the first bout in flat sea daylight, off the decks of a naval convoy, so that we can see the fur, the scales and the exact moment Kong’s foot slips. Josh Schaeffer holds the shots. When Kong lands one on Godzilla’s jaw and the lizard goes into the water, we grinned like children and were not remotely ashamed of it; that is the reaction this series has been chasing for seven years and it took until now to get there. Hong Kong, later, is lit like a nightclub in pink and blue, and Tom Hammock and Owen Paterson’s world beneath the crust has its gravity the wrong way up and a ruin with an axe in it, which is exactly as much backstory as a giant ape requires.

Kong is the performance of the film. The animators give him a heavy sigh on an Antarctic ice shelf, a rub of a sore shoulder, a way of looking at Jia as if she were the only sensible person present, and she is. Hottle, acting opposite an animal that is not there, is the one human we believed. Godzilla, by contrast, is a weather event. The film knows this and gives him the entrances and Kong the close-ups, and that is the right call.

Then the people talk. Max Borenstein and Eric Pearson’s script gives them two jobs, to explain the hollow planet and to explain the evil company, and they perform both by telling each other things they already know. Skarsgård plays his scientist as a man mildly surprised to have been asked. Hall has one expression, worried, and is asked for nothing else. Henry works hard for laughs and gets some; Brown and Dennison stand behind him and react. Bichir does the smirking billionaire, Eiza Gonzalez as his daughter is there to look impatient in a cockpit, and Kyle Chandler, Lance Reddick and Hakeem Kae-Kazim are present in the sense that their names appear on the credits. Somewhere around the second boardroom scene we were bored, and then irritated, because a film that can build that ocean fight plainly knows what it is doing and had chosen not to do it here.

Junkie XL’s score is synthesiser pulse and brass, loud, and in the neon stretches it suits the pictures; elsewhere it is simply on. Ann Foley’s costumes tell us who is corporate and who is field by the colour of their jackets, which is more than the dialogue manages.

Against the series’ own standards this is the best of the American entries for action and the worst for everything around it. *Kong: Skull Island* (2017) had people you could stand; [*Godzilla: King of the Monsters*](https://film.one/film/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters) (2019) had a plot; this has neither and does not mind. The 1962 Japanese original, *King Kong vs. Godzilla*, at least had the sense to be funny about it.

See it on the largest screen in the house with the sound up, and keep a hand near the remote for the middle stretches. It runs 114 minutes and carries a 12, and at least forty of those minutes are as good as this kind of thing gets.

*Fi1m score 62, published 28 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics come down in favour, though few with much warmth. The praise clusters on the monster fights: they are staged clearly, lit so you can see what is happening, and choreographed so every blow registers. The neon-lit Hong Kong brawl and the shipboard battle are named again and again. Kong himself gets credit too, for expressive animation and a bond with Jia that several reviews find touching.

The reservations are as consistent. Nearly everyone finds the human story thin, the dialogue tired and the mythology muddled, and the disagreement is over how much that matters. The spread is wide. Some take it as pure escapism and forgive everything; others find it wearying. The New Yorker calls it emotionally hollow and says it shrinks its own monsters, Slant finds the central fights dull and arbitrary, and Eye for Film goes further than most in faulting the effects themselves, the water in particular.

## Straight answers

**Is Godzilla vs. Kong worth watching?**

*Godzilla vs. Kong* is worth watching for anyone who wants to see the two monsters fight properly, and we scored it 62. Adam Wingard stages three bouts in daylight, in steady shots, and they are the best this series has managed; the human scenes between them are lazy enough that you will want the remote to hand. Kong carries it.

**How long is Godzilla vs. Kong, and what is it rated?**

*Godzilla vs. Kong* runs 1h 54m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is an action and science fiction film.

**Where can I watch Godzilla vs. Kong in the US?**

*Godzilla vs. Kong* is available to rent from Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video from $5.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Godzilla vs. Kong, and is it suitable for children?**

*Godzilla vs. Kong* carries a UK 12 certificate, and its violence is monster against monster on a huge scale rather than anything bloody or cruel. Ships are wrecked, a neon-lit Hong Kong takes a battering and the ape is knocked about, but there is nothing here to trouble most children over ten. The noise and sheer size of it may be more than smaller ones want.

**How does Godzilla vs. Kong compare to Godzilla: King of the Monsters?**

*Godzilla vs. Kong* has far better fights than [*Godzilla: King of the Monsters*](https://film.one/film/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters), and a far thinner story. Wingard shoots the bouts in daylight and holds the camera still so you can see who is winning, where Michael Dougherty's film gave its monsters grand entrances and then kept everyone in bunkers reading the plot aloud. For the punches, this one; for anything resembling a story, the earlier film, narrowly.

**Do you need to have seen the other Godzilla films before Godzilla vs. Kong?**

*Godzilla vs. Kong* is the fourth film in the shared American series and can be watched without the others. The setup is brisk, the script explains its hollow planet and its evil company more often than anyone needs, and the fights, which are the point, require no homework. It is a perfectly good place to start, and arguably the only one where the monsters deliver.

**What should I watch after Godzilla vs. Kong?**

After *Godzilla vs. Kong*, try [*Shin Godzilla*](https://film.one/film/shin-godzilla) (2016, Fi1m 74): The monster as a bureaucratic crisis; committees argue while Tokyo burns. Then [*Pacific Rim*](https://film.one/film/pacific-rim) (2013, Fi1m 70): Del Toro’s robots hit his monsters in the rain and everyone knows the rules; and [*Godzilla Minus One*](https://film.one/film/godzilla-minus-one) (2023, Fi1m 81): Postwar Japan, a survivor’s guilt, and the lizard as something to be atoned for.

**What order should I watch the Godzilla films in?**

Release order is the safe choice for Godzilla, and it is the order [our collection page](https://film.one/collections/godzilla) lists them in. *Godzilla vs. Kong* is number 3 of the 4 Godzilla titles on Fi1m; before it comes [*Godzilla: King of the Monsters*](https://film.one/film/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters) and after it [*Godzilla Minus Zero*](https://film.one/film/godzilla-minus-zero). [The full order.](https://film.one/collections/godzilla.md)

### Reviews we read (29)

- **Little White Lies**, Charles Bramesco (3/4/3): Bramesco finds the crossover underwhelming, despite its monster fights. He praises the clearly choreographed clashes but criticizes the humans’ drawn-out, unnecessary subplots. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/godzilla-vs-king-kong)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Jessica Kiang (78/100, inferred): Kiang finds the film a welcome, giddily escapist blockbuster despite its rudimentary plotting. She especially praises the spectacular kaiju battles and the fun of its oversized, neon-lit destruction. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-03-29/godzilla-vs-kong-review-hbo-max)
- **The Guardian**, Simran Hans (75/100, inferred): Hans finds the film vastly superior to its predecessor, with spectacle more involving than its plot. She praises the dazzling image of Kong floating skyward among glowing purple rocks. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/03/godzilla-vs-kong-review)
- **IndieWire**, Kate Erbland (B-): Erbland finds the film an entertaining, satisfying MonsterVerse entry whose battles deliver the franchise’s best action yet. She especially praises the clear, coherent staging of the Titan fights, including the ocean-set showdown. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/godzilla-vs-kong-review-monsterverse-1234625232/)
- **Sight and Sound** (70/100, inferred): The review finds the film an entertaining spectacle, despite its hurried human storylines. It praises the monsters as appealing protagonists and their energetic, pro-wrestling-style battles. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/godzilla-vs-kong-2021-giant-alpha-male-playground-destruction-adam-wingard-alexander-skarsgard-rebecca-hall)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (70/100, inferred): Rooney finds the monster showdown an enjoyable, worthy franchise match despite muddled mythology and thin human characters. He especially praises Kong’s expressive animation and its poignant connection with Jia. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/godzilla-vs-kong-film-review-4157401/)
- **The i Paper**, Francesca Steele (70/100, inferred): Steele finds the film overstuffed and narratively incoherent, but ultimately enjoys its audacious spectacle. She particularly praises the clear, elegant, and brutal monster-fight set pieces. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/godzilla-vs-king-kong-review-film-release-date-streaming-937003)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (70/100, inferred): Debruge finds the film a dumb-fun spectacle whose monster battles deliver impressive mayhem, though its human story and dialogue are weak. He especially praises the dynamic, visually striking fights between Godzilla and Kong. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/godzilla-vs-kong-review-1234939364/)
- **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no information about what the critic praised or criticized. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/godzilla-vs-kong-movie-review-2021)
- **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (64/100, inferred): The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. Its standfirst mentions the film going straight to streaming, but gives no specific praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/godzilla-vs-kong-review/5158450.article)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page content is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint is available from the supplied text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/movies/godzilla-vs-kong-review.html)
- **Time Out**, Stephen A Russell (3/5): Russell presents the film as mindless kaiju mayhem worth surrendering to. The review singles out the clash of the titans as its appeal. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/godzilla-vs-kong)
- **Total Film**, Jamie Graham (3/5): The review finds the film a fun, forceful blockbuster despite weak human characters and predictable plotting. It praises the expertly choreographed monster battles for delivering real impact. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/godzilla-vs-kong-review/)
- **Radio Times**, Patrick Cremona (40/100, inferred): Cremona finds the film flawed and says it does not work well on a small screen. The headline allows that it has moments, while the description stresses the big-screen experience. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/godzilla-vs-kong-review/)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (40/100, inferred): Ebiri finds the film silly and intermittently entertaining, with its human story dragging down the spectacle. He praises the suspenseful, inventive shipboard monster battle as the standout sequence. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-godzilla-vs-kong-in-theaters-and-on-hbo-max.html)
- **Empire**, John Nugent (35/100, inferred): The review finds the film’s monster fights enjoyable but says the setup and human characters make much of it a slog. It praises the coherent, well-choreographed titan battles while criticizing the cliché-ridden science-fiction story and dialogue. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/godzilla-vs-kong/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Keith Uhlich (1/4): Uhlich finds the film a wearying, perfunctory spectacle rather than an awe-inspiring monster movie. He praises the glowstick-lit Hong Kong skyline as an eye-catching visual, but finds the central fights dull and arbitrary. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/godzilla-vs-kong-review/)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (15/100, inferred): Brody finds the film an overloaded, emotionally hollow jumble that diminishes its monsters and their stakes. He singles out Kong’s punch at Godzilla aboard an aircraft carrier as the film’s best moment. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/godzilla-vs-kong-reviewed-a-monster-mush-of-two-venerable-franchises)
- **Polygon**, Joshua Rivera (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a thrilling, exuberant spectacle that works best as a straightforward monster brawl. They single out the kinetic, carefully choreographed fights and vivid Hong Kong backdrop for praise. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22356658/godzilla-vs-kong-review/)
- **Consequence**, Kyle Cubr (85/100, inferred): The critic calls the film pure escapism and tremendously fun, though its human subplot and setup can frustrate. The varied, unobscured monster battles and Kong’s humanity stand out for praise. [Read](https://consequence.net/2021/03/film-review-godzilla-vs-kong/)
- **Paste**, Jim Vorel (7.0): Vorel finds the film successful as a monster brawl but weighed down by thin human characters. He praises the satisfyingly bombastic, clear action between Godzilla and Kong. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/godzilla/godzilla-vs-kong-review-problems-adam-wingard)
- **NME** (75/100, inferred): The critic calls it imperfect but hugely entertaining, with plot and character taking a back seat to spectacle. They praise the clearly staged, beautifully choreographed monster fights, especially the Hong Kong set-piece. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/godzilla-vs-kong-review-2912678)
- **HeyUGuys**, Stefan Pape (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an entertaining, unapologetically simple monster spectacle, though its human characters lack depth. The review praises Brian Tyree Henry’s performance and the epic, compelling fights, while singling out Kong’s expressive characterization as a strength. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/godzilla-vs-kong-review/)
- **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (6.5/10): The critic finds the film silly but entertaining, arguing that its embrace of monster mayhem makes it work. He praises the clear, spectacular creature battles and Kong’s sympathetic characterization. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/580192/godzilla-vs-kong-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (3/5): Crow finds the film’s story muddled and its human characters unengaging, but considers the monster battles dazzling and cheerfully excessive. He particularly praises the clear, well-lit action and the spectacle of Kong and Godzilla tearing through neon-lit Hong Kong. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/godzilla-vs-kong-review/)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (D-): Goldberg finds the film an empty, disposable spectacle that gives viewers little reason to care. He singles out the underdeveloped human characters and plotting as especially weak, while noting the monster fights deliver what some viewers want. [Read](https://collider.com/godzilla-vs-kong-review/)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (30/100, inferred): Nayman finds the film incoherent, lazy, and ultimately unrewarding despite a few entertaining moments. He praises its emphasis on Kong’s relatable underdog status and singles out Kong’s sigh in the Antarctic as the film’s best character beat. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2021/03/30/movies/godzilla-vs-kong-movie-review)
- **The Wrap** (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film disappointing, with a thin story and only passable monster battles. The expressive visual effects stand out as a strength, while the human characters and action lack depth and dynamism. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/godzilla-vs-kong-film-review-2021-monsterverse/)
- **Eye for Film**, Andrew Robertson (20/100, inferred): The review finds the film a messy, overlong disappointment with little point to its spectacle. It particularly criticizes the muddled pacing and the visual effects, especially the water and neon-lit battle sequences. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/godzilla-vs-kong-2021-film-review-by-andrew-robertson)

## Details

- **Director:** Adam Wingard
- **Director:** Adam Wingard
- **Screenplay:** Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein
- **Story:** Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields
- **Cinematography:** Ben Seresin
- **Editor:** Josh Schaeffer
- **Music:** Junkie XL
- **Production design:** Owen Paterson, Tom Hammock
- **Costume design:** Ann Foley
- **Producer:** Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers
- **Cast:** Alexander Skarsgård as Nathan Lind; Rebecca Hall as Ilene Andrews; Kaylee Hottle as Jia; Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie Hayes; Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell; Julian Dennison as Josh Valentine; Demián Bichir as Walter Simmons; Eiza Gonzalez as Maia Simmons
- **Runtime:** 1h 54m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 31 March 2021
- **Genres:** Action, Science Fiction, Adventure
- **Part of:** [Godzilla](https://film.one/collections/godzilla.md) · 3 of 4
- **Budget:** $200 million
- **Box office:** $470 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odM92ap8_c0

## Where to watch in the US

- Apple TV: rent $5.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $5.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-28.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *King Kong vs. Godzilla* (1962): The first time they met, in rubber suits, with a straight face and a wink.
- *Shin Godzilla* (2016), Fi1m 74: The monster as a bureaucratic crisis; committees argue while Tokyo burns. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/shin-godzilla.md)
- *Pacific Rim* (2013), Fi1m 70: Del Toro’s robots hit his monsters in the rain and everyone knows the rules. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/pacific-rim.md)
- *The Host* (2006): Bong Joon-ho’s river creature, one family, and a government that lies to them.
- *Godzilla Minus One* (2023), Fi1m 81: Postwar Japan, a survivor’s guilt, and the lizard as something to be atoned for. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/godzilla-minus-one.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/godzilla-vs-kong