There are a few moments when a film's reception reminds you of its predecessor. Although clapping and celebrating if anything exciting happens might be a uniquely Indian trait, Godzilla Vs. Kong demonstrates once again that the fandom is always united for a great film.
Godzilla Vs. Kong is the fourth installment of Legendary's MonsterVerse, and it pits the fire-breathing Alpha lizard Godzilla against Kong, who we last saw in Kong: Skull Island tearing apart helicopters and destroying Skullcrawlers. Kong, on the other hand, is much, much bigger and tougher this time around, and he's obviously ready and capable of battling the King of the Monsters.
Godzilla and Kong go head-to-head in a Titan-sized MMA battle in the middle of the ocean and in the middle of an unfortunate city (this time it's Hong Kong's turn to be flattened). Godzilla, in contrast to previous films in which he largely avoided human settlements, begins the film by annihilating Pensacola, Florida, while Kong struggles to survive in captivity on a heavily ravaged Skull Island, with all native life eroded by a storm.
Although the monster battles are the main reason for everyone to see the film, there is a believable human storyline to go along with them. In general, there are two teams: Team Godzilla and Team Kong, and although neither wants to see their Titans fight, human interference still causes them to do so. In the grand scheme of things, it's Kong and Team Kong, which consists of Nathan Lind, a disgraced Monarch scientist; Ilene Andrews, a Kong researcher; and Jia, a young Iwi orphan who is hard of hearing but has a near sixth-sense-like capacity to detect Titans.
Their tale revolves around the concept of seeking a home for Kong, who has outgrown Skull Island, and they map a course into the Hollow Earth, hoping to find a home and a source of strength to battle Godzilla.
Meanwhile, Team Godzilla, made up of Madison Russell, Josh Valent, and Bernie Hayes, a crazed conspiracy theorist and former Apex employee tries to figure out what's behind Godzilla's rampage - with catastrophic results for everyone involved. There isn't anything to tell about most of the characters, but Jia and Bernie are the best two in the film. They are almost diametrically opposed in every way, but they also provide a sense of direction to their respective teams.
Godzilla Vs. Kong outperforms all previous MonsterVerse entries in terms of monster wars. The monsters are on-screen and fighting for at least half of the film's 1 hour 54-minute runtime. Godzilla and Kong are tearing, gnawing, and scratching at each other like wild animals here. Near the end of the movie, Godzilla shows a level of anger that hasn't been seen since Godzilla vs Destoroyah, showing that he needs to be feared. Kong, on the other hand, is behaving like an underdog determined to prove his worth.
To sum it up, Godzilla Vs. Kong is the best MonsterVerse entry since 2014's Godzilla reboot. It's fast, straightforward, and delivers on the promise of getting the best on-screen monster fight in recent memory.