‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Will Keep the ‘Anime Sensibility’ of ‘Kong: Skull Island’

One of the fun parts of film criticism is trying to identify which blockbuster movies that open to middling reviews will undergo a critical re-appreciation in the years to come. For example, while audiences were generally disappointed with Ridley Scott’s Prometheus on its release, the movie has slowly gained steam with critics, becoming something of an under-the-wire classic in the last few years. And now, just a few months after the release of Kong: Skull Island, there are already those who have argued that its unique aesthetic makes it one of the most impressive action movies of the year.

If you fall into the latter camp, then I’ve got good news for you: what you liked about Kong: Skull Island is sure to continue in the rest of the franchise. In a recent interview with Collider (via Heroic Hollywood), Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts opened up about his conversations with Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard, noting that the latter definitely shares his vibe when it comes to giant monster movies:

Talking to Adam made me so happy because he, in particular, really understands the kind of anime, manga, mech sensibility that I was trying to bring to Kong. He gets that and that was something that I fought so hard for and was so difficult to sort of realize to life through concept to execution with ILM. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of with him. I think he truly gets that and he truly wants to lean into this version of Kong that kind of was borne from my crazy and stupid video game brain.

I’ll admit to being sufficiently whelmed on the first viewing of the movie  —  not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed, just sorta whelmed  —  but the more people share some of the dynamic images from the movie, the more I wonder if I owe the film a second chance. There was definitely a visual vibe to Kong: Skull Island that seemed pretty unique among American monster movies; I, for one, will be pleased to see Adam Wingard carry that forward in his clash of the titans.