King Kong vs. Godzilla

When a TV Station is in dire need of ratings, two men are sent to the mysterious island where they discover a guardian King known as Kong.  Meanwhile, Godzilla escapes from his icy prison to begin his reign of terror once again.  Two Kings of Kaiju meet for the first time with the entirety of Japan caught in the middle of their showdown.  But only one of these Monsters can truly be crowned “King.” 

When King Kong vs. Godzilla arrived in 1962, it had been 29 years since Kong’s first appearance and 8 since Godzilla’s.  The arrival of these two on the big screen revolutionized and changed the way films were made forever when it came to visual effects work.  Bringing them together for one titanic showdown is a bit of a no brainer and one of the first instances of two franchises crossing over for such an event.  And while the titular brawl does deliver, this is still an early Showa Era Godzilla film, chalk full of all the qualities that make that era tough to sit through but sometimes fun to laugh at.
 
The main story centers around a TV Executives demand for higher ratings which leads to him sending two of his men to Faro Island (this films stand in for the more traditional Skull Island) where Kong is discovered.  Meanwhile Godzilla emerges from the iceberg he was trapped in at the conclusion of Godzilla Raids Again, keeping quite the surprising continuity between films.  The fact that this story gets started because a high strung Exec needs a major win in the ratings to appease his bosses is one of the more out there and bonkers explanations for getting two giants to go at it.  In this regard though, said Exec, Mr. Tako, is one of the more entertaining human characters.  He basically becomes King Kong’s biggest fan and will risk his own life to see his ratings juggernaut in action.  His hijinks certainly help him stand out from his bland and barely memorable co-stars (though it is nice to see Godzilla veteran Akihiro Hirata return, this time as Dr. Shigezawa, so Serazawa without the eyepatch).
 
I also have to admit that I was surprised to see KvG provide nods to the theatrical history of both monsters til this point in their careers.  Granted that list is much shorter with Godzilla but seeing him do his mass destruction thing while also being confronted by massive electrical fields is always welcome.  Kong’s homages are more present though from finding him on an island to fighting a creature on said island to even capturing a cute girl and climbing a tall building (even if the Diet Building isnt anything close to the Empire State Building).  It is a bit cringy to see Japanese Black Face on display during the Faro Island sequences and not one of the films qualities that stands the test of time.  Still if this movie acts as your first intro to King Kong, don’t worry about not having seen the legendary 1933 original cause his story basically plays out the same here.
 
So how about the main event?  Well like most Godzilla Showa Era movies, we get to it…eventually.  Before we do though, we spend most of this almost 100min runtime with Mr. Tako and a bunch of characters who blend together and have subplots that go nowhere.  It’s a slough to listen to their endless babbling and I was screaming for the movie to get to the fight already.  There is some action sprinkled in before hand like Godzilla terrorizing a military base after awakening and King Kong fighting a giant Squid, which is a mix of puppet work and, believe it or not, a real life Squid, I kid you not. But yes, the title match, it’s great.  The actual Kong vs Godzilla fight is pretty good with both playing to their strengths and even getting a little too overconfident at times.  There’s also a mix of suit and model work with a little bit of unexpected stop motion thrown in.  Granted it may not look as high def or grandiose as 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong.  But even that didn’t have an iconic scene of Godzilla and King Kong tearing down Atami Castle.
 
If you can stand to bear with a ton of Human storylines that make you wonder if you’ll ever see these two Kings square off, then King Kong vs. Godzilla is a solid Showa Era flick.  The action is great, the set pieces still play to the still fresh strengths of the era and both Kong and Godzilla bring their seprerate but impressive talents to play in the same sandbox.  The human stories drag like crazy and some aspects of the film haven’t aged well at all.  But still as one of Godzilla’s first Kaiju showdowns, it sets a pretty high bar for other Showa films to follow, fitting since this is a movie catering to two of cinema’s greatest Kings.
 
7/10
 
The question now is, will Godzilla and Kongs long awaited US reunion reach the same amazing heights as their last encounter in 2021?  Find out tomorrow with a special Anime Corner Review of Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.