Godzilla and Kong charging at each other, wrecking aircraft carriers doing so, and Kong landing a punch.
Kong's punch makes Godzilla stumble a bit, but Godzilla returns with what for him is basically a light swipe with his claws across Kong's face...and it knocks the ape on his ass. There is some realism to this, since the skin of apes isn't very resistant against claws from predators, prime example being leopards who regularly hunt and disembowel gorillas.
After Kong throws Godzilla off the carrier, Godzilla swims under and blasts at him with his atomic breath. Kong, moments before the carrier explodes, leaps off ala John McClane in Die Hard (or, more accurately, Die Hard with a Vengeance).
Godzilla lets his atomic breath out... and Kong, not being impressed, uses his axe to absorb the breath and gets closer to Godzilla at the same time, making it seem like the gigantic prehistoric reptile will be Hoist by His Own Petard. The music for the trailer, appropriately, cuts out entirely when he does this.
Looking closely at the axe, it appears that the head is made from one of Godzilla's own dorsal plates!note Kong seems to have figured out a way to negate Godzilla's atomic breath, which most fans usually argued gave Godzilla the edge in any hypothetical Kaiju fights. Godzilla may have the brawn, but Kong's got the brains.
Point for Godzilla. Slowing down and observing the axe-to-beam lock, one can see right as Kong would have made contact, a massive explosion occurs big enough to send Kong flying back. Even with a weapon that can counter his signature move, Godzilla powered through the disadvantage.
Point back to Kong, remember how Kong got that axe by wrenching it from the skull of a downed Gojira? Chances are, if Godzilla had been even a tiny bit slower in overloading the axe, it would've gone right through him and Kong would've won. Kong would've then lost to Mecha-Godzilla, but still.
Even more amazing, Adam Wingard and Greg Keyes have confirmed the axe blade struck Godzilla in the face AND never lost consciousness. He took a blow that killed one of his ancestors and was virtually no worse for the wear from it.
Kong is leaning over the side of the aircraft carrier, screaming into the ocean... and Godzilla rams him from below, head first.
The first trailer very much takes the stance of Kong as the protagonist as it's largely focused on his character with Godzilla as an antagonist on a destructive rampage. This is awesome because not only does this suggest Kong will be given a bit of extra screen time (he's behind by one film) but if you aren't a fan of Godzilla's portrayal as an Anti-Hero, it's so much fun to see him leveling a city again.
Early in the trailer, there's a blink and you'll miss it cameo. Who is it? Godzilla's second Arch-Enemy, and the only member of Toho's Big Five yet to appear in the series charging through Hong Kong, sending rubble flying and people running for their lives. MECHAGODZILLA IS BACK.
Remember in Godzilla (2014) how Godzilla went out of his way to dive beneath an aircraft carrier? Here we see what happens when he doesn't. The phrase "hot knife through butter" doesn't even compare to how easily he slices through a ship.
It's not just any ship, mind you, but the USS Missouri itself! It goes to show how bad things are getting when the USA reactivates one of the most famous battleships of all time!
In any other Godzilla film, whenever a fighter jet comes across Godzilla, he usually blasts them into smithereens with his Atomic Breath. In this movie, however, he takes one of them out not with his Breath Weapon but with a wicked whip with his tail in mid-flight.
Made even more awesome when considering that every other Titan, including Rodan, bowed to Godzilla after Ghidorah was slain. Kong may very well be the only remaining Titan that can match Godzilla's power and even usurp him.
Ultimately, despite that boast, Godzilla ultimately wins both of the actual fights. 60 years later, the King of the Monsters gets his own back and then some. However, the Eighth Wonder of the World still did not bow to Godzilla.
The brief shot of Kong swinging one Warbat into another is plenty cool. But eagle-eyed watchers realized that those were not clouds in the sky, but upside-down mountains hinting that this is a glimpse into the talked about Hollow Earth since Skull Island.
Tremendous praise has been given to the depiction of nighttime Hong Kong in the film, with its colorful lighting and its famous cyberpunk-like architecture making a wonderful backdrop for a Kaiju duel.
In the second teaser, it shows Godzilla effortlessly tail whipping Kong before slamming the ape right at a building.
Several TV spots reveal a moment where the two Titans get inches from each other's faces and roar at one another.
One TV spot showcases Kong leaping onto Godzilla's back and manhandling (or, in this case, kaijuhandling) him whilst smashing him into a building during their fight in the city.
Film
In Hong Kong Godzilla firing his Atomic Breath to the ground, penetrating the Earth to create a large tunnel between the surface and the Hollow Earth. Kong then manages to scale that new tunnel all the way back up and is still in perfect form to begin Round 2 when he arrives!
The Serial Escalation of Godzilla's signature atomic breath since the first Monsterverse film. It's awe-inspiring there, but rarely used and copped a bit of criticism for looking thinner and more gaseous (explained in other media to be due to the MUTO's electromagnetic pulse weakening it). Then KOTM had it look more like the classic version but still kept it relatively limited in how often it was used. Here we finally get to see the King go all out with it, and it's incredible. From blowing an aircraft carrier in half from underwater in a stunning Pillar of Light moment that causes all the human characters to just stand and gawp, to blowing a hole from Hong Kong all the way to the Hollow Earth to the Beam Spam that wrecks the city during the fight with Kong.
Prior to their first fight, Kong displayed a newishit also happened in King Kong (2005) ability - sign language.
Bravo to the Monsterverse. They made sign language awesome.
In the APEX hangar, Ren Serizawa tests Mechagodzilla's power by unleashing a captive kaiju as target practice. Said kaiju is a giant Skullcrawler, even bigger than Ramarak and colored red...and it lasts a mere ten seconds against Mechagodzilla, being roasted alive and torn in half by the mechanical Titan while Ren watches with sadistic glee. And then it's revealed Mechagodzilla is operating at only 40% power!
Godzilla Vs Kong. Round 1: Some of it showed up in the trailer, especially the Signature Scene of Kong punching Godzilla while atop an aircraft carrier. Still, it is full of epic goodness. Kong is left gasping for air on top of the transport tanker after Godzilla nearly drowns him, but the fight ends as the fleet realizes turning off their engines would make Godzilla think everybody was dead/submitting. However, Godzilla and Kong lock eyes on each other with mutual Death Glare expressions: Godzilla may have won today, but they both know this isn't over.
Kong exploring the Hollow Earth. Kong traverses the beautiful, terrifying Hollow Earth as he makes his way, over mountains, across vast deserts and through anti-gravity fields until he finally finds his ancestral home: a gargantuan-even-for-Kong volcanic temple, with a huge throne seated in the middle. Kong wrenches an axe, forged from the dorsal spine of one of Godzilla's species (which, it should be noted, is lodged in the skull of a Gojira even larger than the Big G himself) and takes his seat upon the throne. As he looks upon his castle and thumps his chest, it's clear: Kong is home and he is king.
After Maia and her team pull their guns on Lind, Andrews, and Jia, Kong roars at them. It's easy to imagine that he's saying "GET AWAY FROM THEM!"
Godzilla vs. Kong. Round 3: Despite the advantage of a new weapon, Kong ultimately cannot defeat Godzilla. Despite hitting him with everything, Godzilla just keeps coming. In the end, Godzilla almost kills Kong, a fact that Kong is likely to never forget.
Despite being curbstomped by Godzilla in the end, props must be given for Kong. An ape kaiju that is a few hundreds of years old at best, with less experience fighting kaiju, being stuck in Skull Island, is able to fight toe-to-toe with the eons old King of the Monsters, thoroughly mocked him in Round 2 with his far superior agility, and forced him to get so pissed off that he went full primal just to beat him, something that he didn't do against Ghidorah.
Right after Maia invokes You Have Outlived Your Usefulness on the non-Apex members of the team, she orders her crew to fire on Kong so they can get better access to fly over his shoulder. Just before they can escape, however, their H.E.A.V. stops in its tracks...because a very unhappy Kong's just grabbed it, and with Maia openly panicking, he casually crushes it and tosses the remains away like a candy bar wrapper. Too Dumb to Live, indeed.
The face-off between Godzilla and Kong before the fight will cause shivers to run down your spine. The two biggest, baddest cinematic monsters facing off against each other for the first time in decades, exchanging death glares and primal roars, right before they go at it — could you ask for anything more?
In a neat little Mythology Gag, Godzilla threatens to blast Kong with his atomic breath— only for Kong to forcefully jam his axe hilt straight into Godzilla's wide-open mouth. All together now: "EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!"
During the fight, Kong manages to actually bury the head of the axe in Godzilla's upper thigh. Godzilla barely flinches before swiftly throwing Kong into the river, ripping the axe out with his teeth and embedding it in a skyscraper.
When Team Kong arrives at the battle, the HEAV narrowly misses Kong's face and then flies alongside Godzilla's streaming atomic breath in a shot that beautifully demonstrates the entire spectacle from a human's perspective. Nowhere else is it more clear that two gods are fighting.
It's important to note that Kong was initially winning the fight, delivering some heavy blows against the King of the Monsters and even knocking him down with a dropkick! While Godzilla manages to get a few hits in, Kong mostly manages to keep his wits about him and either dodge or block all of the Big G's attacks! Most notably: when Godzilla tries to blast Kong point blank with his atomic breath, Kong instead shoves the handle of the axe into the Big G's mouth. It's only once Godzilla manages to seperate Kong from his axe and make some distance between them that the fight turns in Godzilla's favour.
What does Kong do after Godzilla finally unleashes his atomic breath attacks? He climbs up and jumps around buildings to evade the deadly attack, showing awesome agility comparable to the Kong from the 2005 movie while being much, much larger, proving that size doesn't slow him down one bit. He manages to dodge around Godzilla's attacks long enough to recover his axe and, as shown epically in the trailers, uses the damn thing to No-Sell Godzilla's atomic breath and land a direct blow on his head, briefly knocking Godzilla down for the first time. Not bad for a challenger.
Dr. Nathan Lind: Looks like round two goes to Kong.
Again it can't be overstated how impressive this is for Kong. Not only did he go up against a vastly more experienced and older titan who is also The Alpha and who managed to nearly kill him last time they fought but he manages to actually get the best of Godzilla and while it was briefly, knock him unconscious using a combination of his axe, his wits, and his skills.
Even before that, Kong quickly learns to neutralize Godzilla's Atomic Breath, controlling his head to keep him from aiming and doing all he can to keep the battle close-quarters and deprive Godzilla of his biggest advantage. It's only when Big G gets Kong at a fair distance that his Beam Spam puts Kong completely on the defensive.
After being thrown from Godzilla and put in the range of his atomic breath, Kong manages to close the distance between himself and Godzilla by climbing, leaping, and ducking over and under buildings, showing his agility compared to Godzilla's raw strength. Then, just to show off, Kong manages to bypass Godzilla's atomic breath by ripping off the top of a building and using as a shield ala Captain America!
Godzilla gets back up after being put down by Kong, and Kong is waiting high atop a skyscraper with a construction crane in one hand. Kong throws it at another building, getting Godzilla to turn, and launching a sneak attack on the reptilian Titan's back. Kong is cunning and capable of planning, putting him one up on Godzilla.
The final round is an impressive bout between the two beasts as they effectively work without the clear advantage that benefited them in their previous bouts. In round 1, Godzilla had the home field advantage of battling on water. In round 2, Kong had the advantage with the skyscrapers, plenty of architecture to use as tools, and his newfound axe. In round 3, both combatants are on an even keel- nothing in the environment is going to work in either of their favor. The two beasts are going to settle this bout, and they're going to do it square...
Godzilla gets his second wind after Kong lands a major blow and decides that he's had enough being Mr. (relative) Nice Monster. He goes absolutely feral on Kong, body-slamming him repeatedly before using his jaws to flip Kong so hard that Kong has a dislocated shoulder from having his entire body weight flung by one arm. Then as Kong is trying to gain some distance Godzilla comes at him on all fours before leaping and tearing at his chest. It culminates in Godzilla pinning Kong and roaring in his face with the clear message "SUBMIT". But props to Kong for the roar, a simple reply of "Never."
Like in the original King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla and Kong are given a lot of personalities, and they shine in the culmination of their fight. Godzilla roars mercilessly in Kong's face, the message being clear: "I am the alpha, you will submit to me, Don't Make Me Destroy You." Kong roars back, telling Godzilla in no uncertain terms that Kong bows to no one, being Defiant to the End. Whether impressed by Kong's bravery in the face of death or simply not wanting to kill when he doesn't have to, Godzilla leaves the beaten but unbowed Kong alone.
The fight as a whole is surprisingly even, giving both Kong and Godzilla awesome moments, nerfing neither of them to pull an unexpected victory. Favor shifts back and forth constantly, and it's really believable that the end could have gone the opposite way, with Kong standing triumphant over Godzilla.
Upon glitching out from an overload of Hollow Earth energy that kills Ren Serizawa in the process, Mechagodzilla suddenly comes to life and attacks autonomously. Turns out, its control mechanism was none other than Ghidorah's brain: and now the False King of the Monsters is back, in a fresh new metal body and ready for revenge.
For extra awesome points: the brain in question is that of the left head, which in the previous film was dopey, stupid, and constantly bickered with the dominant middle head. Now, finally, in a body of his own, good ol' Kevin has Took a Level in Badass and utterly decimates both Godzilla and Kong with a level of ferocity and malice that would make Ichi and Ni proud.
Additionally, take note that both times Godzilla is drawn to Mechagodzilla, it's when Mechagodzilla's eye is glowing and emitting the same sound, and Apex isn't actually using it (the first time Ren is leaving in a helicopter before Godzilla even makes landfall and the second time Mechagodzilla is supposed to be powered down and Ren is talking to Walter), and the second time actually happens after Mechagodzilla has killed the Skullcrawler. It's entirely possible that Ghidorah was already awake and manipulating things the entire time. This would mean the entire movie is essentially Ghidorah playing everyone like fiddles to both resurrect himself and lure Godzilla into position so he could kill him once Mechagodzilla was complete.
Not to mention the fact that, after so many movies where he ends up being Demoted to Dragon, it's pretty satisfying to see a version of Ghidorah proving that he is NO ONE'S puppet!
The final battle between Godzilla, Kong, and Mechagodzilla is made of this.
After the initial Hong Kong battle, Godzilla is the clear victor, with Kong unconscious and severely wounded. But Godzilla's victory is short-lived, as who else should come bursting from the nearby mountain but Mechagodzilla himself, eyes glowing red like a Terminator and leveling the city as he goes, obliterating the fleeing humans...He roars a loud, mechanical, downright-unsettling metallic screech— and Godzilla takes up on his challenge.
At one point, Mecha G flashes his eyes at Godzilla and lets off a small three-ping tone, similar to the call King Ghidorah made to awaken all the Titans across the world. Kevin's back, and his first instinct when seeing the Titan that killed him is to taunt him!
Mechagodzilla absolutely dominates the battle against Godzilla. If you've been waiting for a chance to see Godzilla brought down a few pegs after wiping the floor with Kong, it's here. Armed with arm cannons, a rotating drill tail, and a powerful red laser beam officially named the Proton Scream, Mecha G has counters for everything Godzilla can throw at him: culminating in a Beam-O-War where Godzilla's breath is easily overpowered. And Mecha G's breath beam inflicts a nasty burn on Godzilla's chest: remember how even point-blank nukes couldn't hurt him and it just points to his robotic rival's sheer power.
With Godzilla knocked down, we get to see a Reflective Eyes closeup of Godzilla's face as Mechagodzilla looms into view... and the former is well and truly terrified. If Kong is the first monster in the MonsterVerse to make Godzilla genuinely angry, then Mechagodzilla (and by extension King Ghidorah) is the first to make him fear for his life.
This Mechagodzilla is more equipped to handle close-quarters combat than any other incarnation of the character, and boy does he make full use of it, grabbing Godzilla by the head and slamming him into buildings over and over again, and even spinning his hands before delivering uppercuts to make his punches sting even more!
In an ironic twist, Mechagodzilla has Godzilla in his grasp, ready to finish him off with the same Kiss of Death Godzilla used against the female Muto... and then suddenly, a revived Kong, resuscitated by the humans detonating an Apex vehicle on his chest, tackles Mechagodzilla and yanks his head back, diverting his red mouth beam and saving Godzilla just in the nick of time. Not only that but what did Kong do beforehand? Shoulder check his dislocated shoulder back into its socket.
Kong even agreeing to help Godzilla in the first place is a moment. From Kong's point of view, this smug lizard just keeps showing up out of nowhere and attacking him. He finds out later that their two species were involved in some kind of massive war in the past, and given that there was a dead Gojira in what amounts to his species' throne room, it's likely his race is all but wiped out because of them. Whether he knows it or not, Godzilla's age implies he might have taken part in that war. And suddenly, this asshole needs help? You can see the moment in the film where Kong realizes he has to be the bigger king here, for the sake of the world.
How does Kong fix his shoulder? By bashing it into the side of a building to pop it back into place. That's how.
Godzilla and Kong tag-teaming Mechagodzilla side by side like Bash Brothers. And even then, Mechagodzilla still holds the upper hand against the combined might of Godzilla and Kong, easily overpowering the two of them.
At one point Kong does a cross armbreaker transitioned into a kick to Mechagodzilla's face. The big ape knows MMA!
After Mechagodzilla knocks him off his arm, Kong retrieves his axe. While it may not be enough to slice Mechagodzilla's armor on its own, the sheer power Kong puts into the swing is enough to make it a fantastic weapon, even knocking Mechagodzilla off his feet.
What saves the day? Alcohol being spilled on Mechagodzilla's control computer, causing him to briefly short-circuit.
Godzilla, realizing that Kong is trying to help him, lends him his power by supercharging Kong's axe with his atomic breath, effectively turning Kong's axe into a straight-up lightsaber of sorts, allowing Kong to easily tear Mechagodzilla limb from limb. As a robot, it does little to faze Mecha G, still fighting after losing both arms and his tail, so what does Kong do? He tackles Mecha G to the ground by slicing off his leg, uses his axe to deal a blow to the neck execution-style, causing the Proton Scream that Mecha G was powering up to explode inside him, grabs him by the neck, and literally twists the mechanical monster's head clean off, brandishing it Mortal Kombat/Predator-style with a mighty skyward roar!KONG WINS.FATALITY.
Major props goes out to Mechagodzilla for being an effective Conflict Killer wildcard between Godzilla and Kong. In this incarnation not only is he a match for Godzilla, but he counters everything Godzilla has and beats the ever loving tar out of the Big G. Even when Kong and Godzilla combine forces against him, Mecha G is still able to handle the two mightiest monsters in the world at the same time. Mechagodzilla establishes himself as an elite killing machine to be feared.
Best of all, while Godzilla won the first two fights between them, Kong is the final victor in the battle with the true enemy, and the first giant movie monster with a name emerges as the hero by beating a superior opponent.
The ending aftermath, which shows Godzilla and Kong gaining mutual respect for one another: locking gazes as Worthy Opponents before going their separate ways: Godzilla back into the ocean, and Kong into the Hollow Earth.
The scene itself is awe-inspiring. Godzilla recovers and advances on Kong, who stands up and roars, ready to continue their fight. Godzilla, however, just calmly stares him down, and Kong, understanding, tosses aside his axe, as the two rivals make peace with each other, ending the eons-long conflict between their races.
Other
Greg Keyes really does deserve special props for his handling of the novelization. Considering the film went through different cuts, even changing things such as Nathan losing his brother rather than fiancée in the theater cut, Keyes does a very good job of working with what he has. Even better is he goes out of his way to reference the tie-in works such as Camazotz being the culprit behind Skull Island's storm choking it, and references to Godzilla Dominion and Aftershock. Iwi culture is given some much-needed development even though they are practically gone with only Jia remaining. Characters are fleshed out such as Ren Serizawa and Madison goes through something of disillusionment as she works with Bernie, realizing that while he is right about Apex he is rather out there.
, it shows Godzilla effortlessly tail whipping Kong before slamming the ape right at a building.