Legends collide in “Godzilla vs. Kong” as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The epic clash between the two titans–instigated by unseen forces–is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth.
- Rating: PG-13 (Destruction|Brief Language|Intense Creature Violence)
- Genre: sci fi, adventure, action
- Original Language: English
- Director: Adam Wingard
- Producer: Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Jon Jashni, Thomas Tull, Brian Rogers
- Writer: Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein
- Release Date (Theaters): Mar 31, 2021 wide
- Release Date (Streaming): Mar 31, 2021
- Runtime: 1h 53m
- Production Co: Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment
- Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos, DTS
- Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir, Kaylee Hottle, Lance Reddick, Van Marten, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Benjamin Rigby
How and when to watch
If you have HBO Max, just tune in as you normally would to watch. Like Wonder Woman 1984, there’s no extra charge above and beyond your subscription fee. Right now, HBO Max costs $15 a month.
In fact, you might already have access to HBO Max and not even know it. If you currently subscribe to HBO via your cable or satellite provider, you can probably get HBO Max without paying anything extra. We explain it in detail here, but essentially, you’ll need to watch on a smart TV or streaming device — or a Comcast Xfinity box — using the HBO Max app and your home internet connection.
And in December, Roku struck a deal that gives subscribers access to HBO Max. Roku users who already use the HBO app will automatically update to HBO Max. You can find more information here.
But if you want to watch Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max, don’t wait too long. Like Wonder Woman 1984 on the streaming service earlier this year, the blockbuster movie is available for streaming only for a limited time — a month, unless things change.
Godzilla vs. Kong
As you probably know, Godzilla and King Kong both have long movie and pop-culture histories.
King Kong burst on the scene in the 1933 movie King Kong. In that film, the giant gorilla-like creature is found on Skull Island, its home, by an American filmmaker, and dragged back to the US to be exhibited. Kong falls in love with a human woman, Ann, played by Fay Wray, and inevitably breaks loose and grabs her, climbing to the top of the Empire State Building before being shot down by airplanes. But you can’t keep a great ape down — Kong returned in numerous sequels and remakes over the years, first taking on Godzilla in 1962.
Godzilla first appeared in the 1954 Japanese movie Godzilla, as an enormous sea monster powered by radiation — thought of as a metaphor for nuclear weapons after the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The dinosaur-like monster has radiation-given powers, including atomic breath, and retreats back into the ocean after its battles. It often tramples Tokyo and kills people, but it’s been known to fight alongside humanity. Kong aside, its usual opponents are fellow kaiju — a Japanese word for giant monsters — such as Rodan, Mothra and others. Godzilla is such a pop-culture icon that it even starred in a 1978 American cartoon, Godzilla, where it had a comedic sidekick nephew, little Godzooky.
The 2021 film
Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth film in what’s called the “MonsterVerse,” a series of films about the two giant monsters from Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. It all started with 2014’s Godzilla, which was followed by 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, and then 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Godzilla vs. Kong finally brings the two biggies together to fight it out.
“In a time when monsters walk the Earth, humanity’s fight for its future sets Godzilla and Kong on a collision course that will see the two most powerful forces of nature on the planet collide in a spectacular battle for the ages,” an official synopsis says.
The human cast includes Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things fame, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Kyle Chandler and Demián Bichir. Noted horror-film director Adam Wingard is behind the camera.
