Monster Mash

The Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. "MonsterVerse" has reached its apex, as the two titular cinematic titans go head-to-head in the spectacularly destructive "Godzilla vs. Kong"

While the state of DC's Cinematic Universe has been a hot button issue over the past two weeks with the release of "Zack Snyder's Justice League", Warner's other titanic crossover franchise was the one with the murkier future. Starting with 2014's "Godzilla", the aptly titled "MonsterVerse" has delivered big-budget reboots featuring some of the most popular kaiju ever committed to celluloid. As America's second studio attempt to bring the king of prehistoric lizards to the big screen, the 2014 film's approach was rather cerebral. It was followed by the pulpier "Kong: Skull Island" and then the disastrous (critically and commercially) "Godzilla: King of the Monsters". While the previous two were mostly well-reviewed and box office hits, "King of the Monsters" proved to be a setback that may have warranted pulling the plug if "Godzilla vs. Kong" hadn't already been filmed. Thank goodness it was, as it shows this series at the peak of its powers and restores some goodwill.

The film opens with Kong, who is outgrowing his current habitat and an effort to find him a new home soon becomes a dual purpose mission. As Godzilla starts wrecking havoc against the very same humans he mostly protected in his last two installments, research reveals there's an energy source possibly powerful enough to stop him within the center of the Earth. Believed to be the birth place of all titans, it's hoped Kong's connection to the Hollow Earth will help lead a small team straight to the energy source once he's transported back, but there are quite a few bumps along the way. The film stars Demián Bichir, Julian Dennison, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, newcomer Kaylee Hottle and Alexander Skarsgard with Millie Bobbie Brown and Kyle Chandler reprising their roles from "King of the Monsters".

The movie delivers on its marquee matchup, as the gargantuan icons lock horns more than once. The film seems to have found the right ratio of giant monster battles to human drama, something other films in the franchise have struggled with. The action is well-filmed and articulated, with each monster having distinct movements and expressions. It's mostly well-acted, too, even though there isn't much for the non-monster cast to do except forward the plot. There are some nice bits of humor, mostly provided by Brian Tyree Henry's conspiracy theorist character, but the heart of the story mostly rests in the hands of Kong and his relationship with Jia (Kaylee Hottle). Jia is the last of the Skull Island natives and her bond with Kong provides a simple yet effective emotional connection for viewers to latch onto. While there are predictable beats and the story only operates as a means to have giant creatures pummel each other, the film's action sequences are certainly worth the wait. Directed by Adam Wingard and written by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein with a score by Junkie XL (eerily similar to his work on Batman v Superman), the movie is exactly the kind of popcorn blockbuster entertainment one would have imagined when it was announced the two heavyweights would be slugging it out again nearly 60 years after their first bout. B