History Film / GodzillaVsKong

A sequel Named ''Film/GodzillaXKongTheNewEmpire'' is set to shoot in 2022, with Wingard returning to the director's chair with both Creator/DanStevens and Fala Chen cast in a role. [[https://deadline.com/2022/06/dune-part-two-moves-to-pre-thanksgiving-2023-godzilla-kong-event-sequel-dated-1235054755/ The film is currently set for a March 15, 2024 release]].

A sequel Named Godzilla x Kong:The New Empire is set to shoot in 2022, with Wingard returning to the director's chair with both Creator/DanStevens and Fala Chen cast in a role. [[https://deadline.com/2022/06/dune-part-two-moves-to-pre-thanksgiving-2023-godzilla-kong-event-sequel-dated-1235054755/ The film is currently set for a March 15, 2024 release]].

A sequel is set to shoot in 2022, with Wingard returning to the director's chair with both Creator/DanStevens and Fala Chen cast in a role. [[https://deadline.com/2022/06/dune-part-two-moves-to-pre-thanksgiving-2023-godzilla-kong-event-sequel-dated-1235054755/ The film is currently set for a March 15, 2024 release]].

A sequel is set to shoot in 2022, with Wingard returning to the director's chair with both Creator/DanStevens and Fala Chen cast in a role. [[https://deadline.com/2022/06/dune-part-two-moves-to-pre-thanksgiving-2023-godzilla-kong-event-sequel-dated-1235054755/ The film is currently set for a March 15, 2024 release]].

** Dr. Nathan Lind, who is [[DevilInPlainSight Apex Cybernetics]]' UnwittingPawn through whom Apex are able to manipulate Monarch into helping them enter the HollowEarth, shows no signs of even ''suspecting'' that Apex might be untrustworthy and have ulterior motives. Whilst Nathan is anything '''but''' [[HumansAreMorons the only person who falls for Apex's deceit]], the novelization shows that most of Monarch, including those willing to collaborate with Apex, have at least ''some'' suspicions based on the company's shady past [[spoiler:with the [[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Oxygen Destroyer]]'s development]]: Nathan is not one of those people, trusting Walter Simmons almost-unconditionally based on the latter's corporate celebrity status and renown.

** There have been a lot of cases of this on individual and organizational levels in the Franchise/MonsterVerse[='s=] history... but all of the previous films' examples ''pale'' in comparison to this particular count of Apex Cybernetics' sheer stupidity. They [[spoiler:incorporate Ghidorah's telepathic remains as the neural network for a mech which Apex ''specifically'' designed to be unstoppable against any Titan on the planet including an Alpha-level Titan; in blatant disregard for the facts Ghidorah has BizarreAlienBiology that humans haven't made the first step to understanding and which could enable Ghidorah to cheat death for all they know, that Ghidorah's bones retaining their cognitive telepathy opens the door for the possibility that some of Ghidorah's actual ''consciousness'' could still be in there with it (which turns out to be the case), and the fact Ghidorah has established itself as a complete OmnicidalManiac since it was alive. Notably, the skull is shown to produce {{Ghostly Wail}}s even ''before'' it takes over Mechagodzilla's system, which are audible InUniverse to the characters based on how Madison finds the Skull Room, yet Apex don't think this is a red flag. Emma Russell at least could say she didn't know until she released Ghidorah that it was an invasive omnicidal alien -- Apex have no such excuse for their stupidity. And lo and behold, all of this comes back to haunt them when Ghidorah's mind is reawakened after Mechagodzilla is super-charged with hollow earth energy. He subsequently hijacks the machine, killing both Simmons and Ren, and goes on a tear through Hong Kong to murder Godzilla. Special mentions to how it wasn't even the Titans' choice to rampage through a big city; Apex decided to build the extremely dangerous mecha in Hong Kong, right next to one of the densest urban centres on the planet, ensuring massive casualities]].

The film was released on March 31, 2021 both in reopened theaters and on Creator/HBOMax (the latter happened due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, and for a one month duration) in the USA, and in reopened theaters internationally. A sequel is set to shoot in 2022, with Wingard returning to the director's chair and Creator/DanStevens cast in a role. [[https://deadline.com/2022/06/dune-part-two-moves-to-pre-thanksgiving-2023-godzilla-kong-event-sequel-dated-1235054755/ The film is currently set for a March 15, 2024 release]].

** Apex Cybernetics, with their hubris and conceit in their beliefs that their technology can do anything, never should have messed with the organic component of their SecretWeapon[='s=] piloting system in the way that they did. [[spoiler:Although Ghidorah's remaining decapitated head has decomposed to just a motionless skull, it still retains some of Ghidorah's cognitive functions. Apex, having obtained the skull from [[MisanthropeSupreme Alan Jonah]] (the novelization reveals Jonah voluntarily sold it to them), harness the skull's lingering {{telepathy}} to form a BrainComputerInterface for controlling Mechagodzilla; but once the GreenRocks are infused into Mechagodzilla, Ghidorah's lingering consciousness in the skull overtakes the system and merges with the Mecha's A.I. to turn it into an autonomous RoboticPsychopath. Furthermore, it's [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguous]] how aware the consciousness in the skull is of what's happening around it before it possesses Mechagodzilla, but both versions of the story drop some hints that it might have been cognizant the entire time, and the novelization hints that it might have been [[SanitySlippage messing with Ren's brain when he connected with it]] in such a way that spurred Ren on to empower Mechagodzilla and unwittingly give Ghidorah a new {{rencarnation}}]].

* AdaptationalExplanation: The novelization, again, clears up a few questions, mysteries and plotholes present in the film:

** One plot-point this film and ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' have never addressed is how passages to the Hollow Earth can remain solid and fixed with the plastic-like molten state of the Earth's mantle. A reporter asks Nathan about this in the novel before David Lind's fateful mission, and Nathan replies that it has to do with the aforementioned membrane.

** {{Subverted}} by [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk Maia Simmons]] – she starts out as a stuck-up, obnoxious RichBitch, but she seems to mellow a little after Godzilla's attack on the naval fleet makes her realize just how out of her depth she is. [[spoiler:Yet this doesn't dissuade her from aiding her father's monstrous plan, nor from betraying the rest of Team Kong and leaving them to die, or from having a continuously dim opinion of Kong ([[KarmicDeath who ultimately kills her]])]].

* HumansAreMorons: Besides Apex Cybernetics' obscenely TooDumbToLive [[spoiler:use of Ghidorah's head]]; none of the human cast except for the three-man Team Godzilla bother to ask ''why'' Godzilla is acting hostile now or why he only attacked the Apex facility, even though asking those questions would only amount to basic common sense and is ''absolutely critical'' to working out why the crisis is occurring so it can be properly resolved. Worse, [[DevilInPlainSight absolutely no-one except for Team Godzilla casts any suspicion on Apex until it's too late, even though it was their facility that Godzilla focused his destruction on while largely sparing the surroundings]]. Instead, Team Kong jump straight into the "shoot first and ask questions later" mindset in regards to neutralizing Godzilla, and they take it the extra mile by working with ''Apex'' on that objective and suspecting almost nothing of their corporate benefactor until it's too late.

* InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist: '''On the heroes' side:''' Nathan Lind of Team Godzilla is initially plagued by guilt, and he's wracked with doubt about the mission to access the HollowEarth, because of his spectacular failure the previous time he attempted it which led to his brother's death; and he's [[UnwittingPawn easily manipulated]] to boot. Whilst [[JustAKid Madison Russell]] of Team Godzilla has issues with a father who has no faith in her and refuses to listen to her (even more so in the novelization than in the movie), and she's determined to prove him and everyone else wrong about Godzilla's alleged FaceHeelTurn, as she's one of the ''only'' people convinced that Godzilla is acting out for a good reason. '''On the villains' side:''' [[EvilInc Apex Cybernetics]] are among the most ''supremely'' [[{{Pride}} arrogant, hubristic]] and [[TooDumbToLive self-destructive]] antagonists that the Franchise/MonsterVerse has seen yet (''especially'' their [[EvilIsHammy hammy]] leader, [[SmugSnake Walter Simmons]], who is practically a pure personification of modernist hubris); but beyond being technologically-skilled, Apex are repeatedly put in a good position to achieve their goals, thanks to their reliance on subterfuge coupled with this movie's application of the HumansAreMorons trope to humanity all round. Ultimately, it's [[SelfDisposingVillain solely Apex's own actions that cause their downfall]].

** Mark Russell may have gotten over his hatred of Godzilla after the previous film, but he's still an egocentric prick; which shows in how he jumps to a conclusion about Godzilla's first attack based solely on what he went through with Emma's betrayal without any objective real evidence that the same thing is currently happening with Godzilla, and moreso in the novelization with how his parenting style since gaining custody of Madison amounts to "if it's what I want, then it must be what you want too, and I don't care how much you say it's not what you want and it's making you miserable, I want you to keep trying".

** Godzilla nearly kills Kong, and kills humans who stand between him and Kong. [[spoiler:But after Kong saves him from Mechagodzilla, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold the old Titan buries the hatchet, nevermind the fact that the revelation of WHY Godzilla was attacking makes the extremes he went to highly justifiable]].]]
** Despite getting over his initial anger and grief in ''Godzilla: King of the Monsters'', Mark Russell is still just as HotBlooded, [[HolierThanThou self-righteous]], and [[ItsAllAboutMe prone to feeling sorry for himself foremost]] as he's ever been, on top of being ''at least'' as bull-headed as he's ever been. [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Although Mark still loves Madison]]; during one of their only two direct interactions in the film (and yet another time in the movie's B-roll footage), Mark acts like he knows better than her whilst refusing to give her a ''single ounce'' of the respect that she's earned [[UnderestimatingBadassery after her heroism in the previous movie]], and he also quickly uses pity for himself to guilt-trip Madison into shutting up when she persist in calling him out and trying to talk sense into him.
*** It's worse in the novelization's expansion – here, Mark has not only ''refused'' to acknowledge his daughter as anything more than the naïve, normal kid that he [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent wishes she was]] -- despite his reaction to her running off establishing that he ''does'' know better deep down but he [[SelectiveObliviousness just chooses to ignore it]], meaning not even HorribleJudgeOfCharacter can excuse his behavior towards her -- but he's actually stupid enough to resort to bossing Madison around or outright helicoptering her without making any effort to treat her like an equal when he can't get his own way with her, as if this will accomplish anything except pushing her to do exactly what he's trying to avert. Madison observes in the novel that Mark is really being SecretlySelfish, because he [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent just wants a daughter he can better control and coddle instead of what his daughter actually]] ''[[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent is]]'', showing how Mark [[ItsAllAboutMe only thinks about his loved ones' feelings insofar that they affect his own]] and he doesn't think about how ''his'' unhealthy choices and actions are hurting '''them'''.

** This version [[spoiler:of Mechagodzilla]] is hit with a dose of reality, in that the HumongousMecha[='s=] systems and weapons use ''so much'' power that there literally isn't any power source in mankind's possession that can give the Mecha more than a couple minutes of power before being sucked dry (and even then, the Mecha's Proton Scream only works at 40% power during this time). Apex successfully get around this by infusing it with a synthesized copy of the HollowEarth[='s=] energy source, [[spoiler:which enables Mechagodzilla to operate at full power seemingly indefinitely, [[EvilIsNotAToy albeit with some unexpected side effects]]]].

* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Godzilla is the Roguish Male this time, with Kong as the Noble Male. Kong is more benign to those whom he comes into contact with unless they've demonstrated that their intentions are ''clearly'' hostile, he explicitly looks out for humans whom he considers his allies (such as when he promptly comes to Nathan, Lind and Jia's defence [[spoiler:in response to Maia and her goons pointing guns at them]]), he has a very explicit and profound {{protectorate}} bond with Jia, and he has an intelligent brain as a primate Titan; but Kong is also more inexperienced than Godzilla and is oblivious to the bigger picture. Godzilla meanwhile is much older and more learned, but he acts outright ruthless and callous with the sheer death and destruction he inflicts on thousands of people several times across the movie (and not all of it is accidental this time, [[spoiler:even if his end-goals are justified]]), and he shows no signs of caring about any individual humans in this movie, instead only caring about the world at large.

* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: [[EvilInc Apex Cybernetics]] claim to be enacting their CorporateConspiracy to kill and usurp Godzilla, and then enslave or kill the other Titans, with a humanistic end-goal of protecting humanity against future Titan attacks and giving mankind control of its own destiny. But their excuses ring completely hollow when looking at: (1) their callous willingness to put millions of people in mortal danger [[spoiler:just for the sake of garnering good publicity for themselves]], (2) the fact they're targeting '''[[BigGood Godzilla]]''' first and foremost [[IgnoredEpiphany after everything that happened in]] ''[[IgnoredEpiphany Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]''; on top of (3) the fact that the movie heavily implies (and the art book outright confirms) that Apex would have actually [[TakeOverTheWorld brought about an era of dystopic corporate world domination]] if they won instead of making the world a better place for anyone. Apex's mastermind [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Walter Simmons]] is particularly shown to be a [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed]], [[LackOfEmpathy empathy-devoid]], delusional KnightTemplar whose core motivation for orchestrating Apex's plan is to feed his own obscenely-oversized ego by making sure he's the person who surpasses the Alpha Titans in power.

** The novelization has a recurring theme of tested and troubled relationships between parents and children: here, Madison's issues with Mark, who refuses to listen to her and is in denial that she earned any merits during the previous movie, are paralleled by Jia's issues with [[ParentalSubstitute Dr. Andrews]], who doesn't quite listen to nor understand the girl and underestimates Jia's keener awareness concerning Kong. Both girls also have a negative counterpart on Apex who is present in either of their plotlines: for Jia, it's Walter Simmons' WellDoneDaughterGirl Maia, for Madison it's Ishirō Serizawa's [[BlackSheep vindictive and wayward son]] Ren.

** Despite the remarkable amount of independence, good thinking, competence and WiseBeyondTheirYears strength of character that Madison displayed in the previous film which was ultimately critical to securing King Ghidorah's downfall and minimizing civilian casualties, Mark is extremely patronizing towards her in this film, treating her like she's JustAKid who doesn't have a clue what she's talking about regarding the Titans, even though she's the ''only'' person besides Bernie who has the common sense to realize that Apex are a DevilInPlainSight and that people should be asking ''why'' Godzilla is rampaging first. In the novelization; pretty much everyone else in Monarch who Madison contacts about Godzilla's rampage regards her similarly, although they're a bit more polite than Mark about is, and Mark has been in outright denial since the previous film that Madison is anything other than a normal, naive kid who doesn't know anything about what she wants.

* {{Unobtainium}}: Apex believe based on satellite scanning that the GreenRocks in the Hollow Earth which are apparently the original source of Godzilla's bio-atomic powers can be harnessed as a completely-unparalleled energy source; which is something Apex need to get their SecretWeapon working, because there's literally no manmade power source available on Earth which can fully charge it up. To this end, Apex develop the Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicles with the aim of achieving human entry to and exit from the Hollow Earth without being crushed by the gravity inversion. [[spoiler:The synthetic version of the energy source which Apex duplicate does just what they wanted it to, [[GoneHorriblyRight but it also does more]], thanks in no small part to a [[UnfinishedUntestedUsedAnyway lack of basic testing]] and Apex being stupid enough to connect a psychopathic DraconicAbomination[='s=] [[UndeadAbomination undead, haunted skull]] up to their weapon]].

** {{Subverted}} by Mechagodzilla. It appears to be specifically focused on killing Godzilla above all, and when Kong gets involved in their fight [[spoiler:in Godzilla's defence]], Mechagodzilla's initial strategy is to just repeatedly throw Kong off without making sure to finish him off before it turns its focus back to pummeling Godzilla ASAP, which in turn enables Kong to get back up and blindside the Mecha repeatedly before the Mecha can finish Godzilla off. However, after Kong [[spoiler:brings the (un-charged and ineffectual) ''Titanus Gojira''-fin axe into the fight and he]] successfully throws Mechagodzilla on its back, the Mecha decides there and there to give Kong its full attention [[spoiler:and immediately tries to kill him]].

* HumansAreMorons: Besides Apex Cybernetics' obscenely TooDumbToLive [[spoiler:use of Ghidorah's head]]; none of the human cast except for the three-man Team Godzilla bother to ask ''why'' Godzilla is acting hostile now or why he only attacked the Apex facility, even though asking those questions would only amount to basic common sense and is ''absolutely critical'' to working out why the crisis is occurring so it can be properly resolved. Worse, [[DevilInPlainSight absolutely no-one except for Team Godzilla casts any suspicion on Apex until it's too late, even though it was their facility that Godzilla focused his destruction on while largely sparing the surroundings]]. Instead, Team Kong jump straight into the "shoot first and ask questions later" mindset in regards to neutralizing Godzilla, and they take it the extra mile by working with ''Apex'' on that objective and suspecting nothing of their corporate benefactor until it's too late.

* SeriesContinuityError: {{Downplayed|Trope}}, as the characters in question could simply be referring to the city in its former glory, but the use of the phrase "could light up UsefulNotes/LasVegas for a week" comes off as this when ''King of the Monsters'' showed Vegas is irradiated, abandoned and overgrown with vegetation following the MUTO's attack in ''Godzilla''.

* ThroatLight: Godzilla's throat glows blue to match his [[GlowingEyesOfDoom eyes]] and dorsal plates. [[spoiler:Mechagodzilla likewise produces an artificial red Throat Light when firing up his Proton Scream.]]

** There have been a lot of cases of this on individual and organizational levels in the Franchise/MonsterVerse[='s=] history... but all of the previous films' examples ''pale'' in comparison to this particular count of Apex Cybernetics' sheer stupidity. They [[spoiler:incorporate Ghidorah's remains as the neural network for a mech which Apex ''specifically'' designed to be unstoppable against any Titan on the planet including an Alpha-level Titan; in blatant disregard for the facts Ghidorah has BizarreAlienBiology that humans haven't made the first step to understanding, which could enable Ghidorah to cheat death for all they know, and the fact Ghidorah has established itself as a complete OmnicidalManiac since it was alive. Emma Russell at least could say she didn't know until she released Ghidorah that it was an invasive omnicidal alien -- Apex have no such excuse for their stupidity. And lo and behold, all of this comes back to haunt them when Ghidorah's mind is reawakened after Mechagodzilla is super-charged with hollow earth energy. He subsequently hijacks the machine, killing both Simmons and Ren, and goes on a tear through Hong Kong to murder Godzilla. Special mentions to how it wasn't even the Titans' choice to rampage through a big city; Apex decided to build the extremely dangerous mecha in Hong Kong, right next to one of the densest urban centres on the planet, ensuring massive casualities]].

* TragicKeepsake: Bernie's flask of alcohol which he keeps as a memento of his wife. [[spoiler: It later proves instrumental in Mechagodzilla's defeat.]]

** Despite the remarkable amount of independence, good thinking and WiseBeyondTheirYears strength of character that Madison displayed in the previous film which was ultimately critical to securing King Ghidorah's downfall and minimizing civilian casualties, Mark is extremely patronizing towards her in this film, treating her like she's JustAKid who doesn't have a clue what she's talking about regarding the Titans. In the novelization, pretty much everyone else in Monarch who Madison contacts about Godzilla's rampage regards her similarly although they're a bit more polite about it.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Godzilla is this as his entire crusade is to destroy the remaining Ghidorah pieces before his archenemy somehow resurrects himself and resumes his destruction, too bad his aggressivity leaves him with no allies in the final battle that can assist him against Mechagodzilla as MONARCH spends their time trying to figure out why he's rampaging and all his Titan subordinates are slumbering on his orders.]] Walter Simmons, the head of Apex Cybernetics' shady secret project, meanwhile is a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist, who paints his plan as giving humanity a fighting chance against the Titans but is clearly just an utter egotist who is way, way TooDumbToLive.

* ArtifactOfDoom: ZigZagged with the Hollow Earth's GreenRocks. On one hand, the mineral acts as the Hollow Earth's sun, nourishing the proliferation of life there, and it's apparently also the source of [[HeroWithBadPublicity Godzilla]]'s atomic powers. On the other hand, when [[EvilInc Apex]] mine and synthesize the mineral so they can use it as an energy source for their tech, Dr. Andrews protests that they can't just strip it like that (the novelization notes this is because she fears they underestimated what they were planning to tamper with), and she's proven right, as the consequences of Apex's actions are ''horrifying''. [[spoiler:Apex using the synthesized mineral as a power source [[UnfinishedUntestedUsedAnyway without first conducting any testing]] in order to power [[HumongousMecha Mechagodzilla]], which is connected to [[OmnicidalManiac Ghidorah]]'s [[UndeadAbomination telepathic skull]], leads to Ghidorah's subconsciousness jumping into the fully-charged machine and merging with its A.I.; resulting in an autonomous and completely-malevolent Godzilla-level RoboticPsychopath]].

* GreenRocks: The [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Tesseract]]-colored, crystalline {{Unobtainium}} in the HollowEarth acts as the underworld's equivalent to a sun, enabling ultraterrestrial life to evolve and thrive there, and it's indicated that the unobtainium is the source of Godzilla's bio-atomic powers and possibly even what enabled ''all'' the Earth-native Titans to evolve. [[EvilInc Apex]] believe that this substance can fully charge their SecretWeapon [[spoiler:Mechagodzilla]] (a feat which literally no manmade power source can do because the weapon just guzzles too much energy), fueling Team Kong's half of the plot which centers around them entering the Hollow Earth with Kong's aid. The element certainly does what Apex expect it to, but it also comes with unexpected side-effects: [[spoiler:as [[UndeadAbomination Ghidorah's haunted skull]] is being used as Mechagodzilla's remote controller, Ghidorah's remaining consciousness takes over the system and takes control of Mechagodzilla for itself once the unobtainium is infused into Mechagodzilla, leading to [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains Mechagodzilla supplanting Apex]] and setting up the film's FinalBattle]].

* AdaptationalDumbass: Mark Russell and Director Guillerman have a moment of this in the film's novelization, where they both wonder aloud whether they should be rooting for Godzilla or Mechagodzilla just ''after'' the Mecha's emergence has confirmed to them that [[spoiler:Apex are indeed responsible for provoking Godzilla's rampage entirely]] and just '''after''' they've watched the Mecha [[spoiler:raze a good chunk of Hong Kong to nothing ForTheEvulz]].
* AdaptationalExpansion: Similar to prior entries in the Monsterverse, there is a novelization which has more content than the film, although less than before. Most notably, there are several prologue scenes that set up the main story which are completely absent in the movie, and there are more internal monologues and longer dialogue scenes between the human characters.

* AdaptationalVillainy: PlayedWith in regards to [[spoiler:Mechagodzilla. The original version was built by aliens bent on world domination, the Heisei and Millennium incarnations were built by humanity for the purpose of fighting and potentially killing Godzilla for protection, and the anime incarnation was initially built for defense but turned out to be part of an insidious alien AssimilationPlot. This version is based on the Heisei/Millennium interpretation but was built by a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist for the sole purpose of killing off the Titans to assert dominance. Add to that, once Ghidorah's consciousness awakens, Mechagodzilla kills its makers and goes off causing destruction of its own volition.]]

* EvilerThanThou: [[spoiler:Just like with the previous film, Ghidorah proves to be this to Walter and Ren. Not only does he hijack Mechagodzilla the moment it comes fully online, resulting in both of their deaths, there's implications from how Mechagodzilla seems to be sending out a signal to call Godzilla without Apex's intent (and the novelization explicitly says its an artificial recreation of Ghidorah's Alpha Call), even while supposedly inactive, that Ghidorah may have been active and been playing them from the start.]]

* HumansAreMorons: Besides Apex Cybernetics' obscenely TooDumbToLive [[spoiler:use of Ghidorah's head]]; none of the human cast except for the three-man Team Godzilla bother to ask ''why'' Godzilla is acting hostile now or why he only attacked the Apex facility even though asking those questions would only amount to basic common sense; instead, Team Kong jump straight to the matter of how to neutralize him.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:Godzilla nearly kills Kong, and kills humans who stand between him and Kong. But after Kong saves him from Mechagodzilla, the old Titan buries the hatchet.]]

* LackOfEmpathy: Walter Simmons, for all his posturing about how he's putting humanity back on the top of the food chain over all the Titans, displays ''zero'' emotional regard for the thousands to millions of people his actions have directly put in harm's way [[spoiler:with him provoking and exploiting Godzilla's rampage to create EngineeredHeroics with his Mechagodzilla project]]. {{Downplayed}} with a Monarch operative named Ben, who doesn't understand Kong's frustrations at being forced to live inside a bio-dome's cramped environment.

** [[spoiler:It just wouldn't be Mechagodzilla without mounting more missiles than a regiment of [[TabletopGame/BattleTech BattleMechs]]. Mecha G opens with a salvo that even Godzilla can't just shrug off.]]

* OrangeBlueContrast: A lot of the marketing material uses this. Usually the blue indicates Godzilla related imagery while orange is used for Kong.

* PerpetualStorm: Skull Island has become covered in one which has [[BusCrash wiped out the Iwi]] and forced Monarch to build a [[DomedHometown containment dome]] around Kong to save his life, and the implication is that the island will soon be uninhabitable due to the new conditions.

* PreciousPhoto: In the film, Nathan keeps a photo of himself and [[DeathByOriginStory his late brother David]] on his person. In the novelization only, Bernie has a photo of his late wife Sara.

* AnAxeToGrind: After journeying through the Hollow Earth to the home of his ancestors, Kong obtains a battle axe capable of absorbing Godzilla's atomic breath -- a relic from a war between their species.

* BadassNormal: The trailers bill Kong as an equal to [[NuclearMutant Godzilla]], the King of the Monsters, despite his lack of ElementalPowers; showing Kong fighting Godzilla using just his fists, his intellect and his skill at making improvised weapons. %%Citation - remember the final scene in King of the monsters? Remember how the first trailer states 'Kong bows to no one' meaning he is an Alpha Titan too?

* BadassNormal: The trailers bill Kong as an equal to [[NuclearNasty Godzilla]], the King of the Monsters, despite his lack of ElementalPowers; showing Kong fighting Godzilla using just his fists, his intellect and his skill at making improvised weapons. %%Citation - remember the final scene in King of the monsters? Remember how the first trailer states 'Kong bows to no one' meaning he is an Alpha Titan too?

* AwesomeButImpractical: [[spoiler:Apex has made Mechagodzilla, a mechanical Titan stronger than Godzilla...[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome and there doesn't exist a conventional power source that can run it]]. At best, Mechagodzilla can only be active for around a minute before shutting down, and that's when operating at only 40%. Thus Apex's entire reason for getting Kong off Skull Island is to find something that can actually ''power'' it. And all this is before it turns out the kaiju they chose to act as the operating system is still in there and the moment they ''do'' have the necessary power source, King Ghidorah takes over.]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Godzilla may have saved the world twice over, but at the end of the day he's still an unstoppable atomic monster unable to clearly communicate with humanity. Once he starts attacking cities seemingly unprovoked public opinion quickly turns against him and there is little interest in getting to know the reason, as most organizations prioritize people over an animal's motivations.
** Most of the Iwi were killed when the storm surrounding Skull Island made landfall. Kong can protect the Iwi from the Skullcrawlers but even he can't save them from nature's most basic and primordial forces.
** [[spoiler:Josh being a high school student is unable to hack or guess the password of Apex’s computers. After too many failed attempts, he's locked out, which happens when you enter too many failed passwords trying to login into any kind of important system.]]
** [[spoiler:Apex has successfully made a robot stronger than Godzilla...and it can only be active for a few minutes max using conventional power sources due to the sheer power draw required for it to function. The entire reason the Hollow Earth energy is necessary was because its the only thing with enough power to keep the thing running.]]
** [[spoiler:Godzilla grabs Kong by the arm and hurls him across the city with by it alone. Unlike the other times Godzilla and Kong throw each other around, this dislocates Kong's shoulder, essentially [[GameBreakingInjury ending the fight then and there]].]]
** [[spoiler:Kong's intelligence and HomefieldAdvantage may give him an edge in their final battle, but Godzilla's superior strength, endurance, and literal eons of experience fighting other Titans allow him to thrash Kong [[LetsGetSerious once he gets serious.]]]]
** [[spoiler:Similarly, Kong left his mark on Godzilla by leaving some nasty injuries and making him use up his atomic breath over and over burning his own stamina, as such when Mechagodzilla emerges, Godzilla gets beaten down to a pulp without being able to put up much of a fight and needs Kong (who winds up overwhelmed alone too) to save him at the last minute. Even then, both are still outmatched by their opponent, as they still are gravely injured from their fight and would likely have been killed if Team Godzilla hadn't tampered with Mechagodzilla.]]
** Godzilla has an extremely old blood feud with Kong's species (while the Iwi legend in the novelization presents him as the aggressor, Godzilla's POV presents it as the other way around, and even their legend presents someone as having broken a taboo on their side), and is old enough to remember it first hand (''Godzilla: Dominion'' implies a Kong even drove him from one of his lairs)...but Kong, unlike the rest of the Titans, was born in the modern age and the feud doesn't appear to be InTheBlood from his species' end. As a result, Godzilla threats him as a threat on principle, but Kong has no clue what's going on.

* ComicBookTime: While five years have passed in-universe between the events of ''Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' and ''Godzilla vs. Kong'', Madison Russell doesn't appear to be any older at 17 than she did as a 12-year-old due to only one year passing between the filming of both movies.

* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The story is split into two main halves involving the human characters; Monarch attempting to reach the Hollow Earth with Kong's help, and Bernie, Madison, and Josh working to uncover the APEX conspiracy involving Godzilla. They don't end up meeting up until the very end (the stories, that is. The respective casts of each plot never share a single scene, not even Simmons and his daughter).

* EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture: Ren's pocket-sized handheld holographic projector which gives a bright-blue 3D map of the Hollow Earth qualifies.

** Godzilla ends the first against with Kong by simply grabbing him with his tail and dragging him under the sea, almost drowning him.

** Averted in at least one instance. According to [[https://youtu.be/k_LjfwrMr9I Admiral Jamie Foggo III (retired)]], an American aircraft carrier displacing around 90,000 tons is perfectly capable of supporting the weight of Kong, who weights around 50,000 tons.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: The opening credits give us numbers for Godzilla: he's 393 feet tall and weighs 164,000 tons. A Nimitz-class carrier weighs at most 117,000 tons. Godzilla alone outweighs the carrier. The carrier should have immediately capsized the moment Godzilla tried to climb on to fight Kong.
** In general the effect of the monsters on terrain or buildings is what the choreography demands.

** We see a ship that looks like a Ticonderoga-class cruiser. It's got the hull number 85, which doesn't exist, but that's more acceptable than later when we see the surface combat ships engage Godzilla. The cruiser looks like it has three-gun turrets styled after World War 2 Iowa-class battleships, particularly when Godzilla bulldozes it in half with the overhead shot showing two superfiring turrets. In reality, Ticonderoga's have single-gun turrets, one forward and one aft. The opening credits in a FreezeFrameBonus moment have a line saying the military increased its spending to deal with Titans, although that's still highly questionable. It also shows RAM launchers firing rapidly, much more than they're capable of.