Anton van Beek and Steve Kirkham take a critical look at some of the the latest sci-fi, cult TV and fantasy video releases…

GODZILLA VS KONG (2021)
Blu-ray, Out now, Warner Bros., Cert: 12

★★★★

Personally speaking, this fourth instalment in Legendary Pictures’ cinematic “MonsterVerse” will always hold a special place in my heart as the first film that I saw on the big screen after UK cinemas reopened in May this year. As such, it’s entirely possible that my opinion on Godzilla vs Kong was coloured by my joy at being back inside a cinema after more than a year. But, I’ve seen it a couple of times on disc since then – and still enjoyed it as much as I did first time around.

Set five years after the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) it seems that the giant reptile is up to his old tricks again, attacking an Apex Cybernetics

research facility for seemingly no reason. However, having witnessed the events of five years ago firsthand, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) remains convinced that some external factor is causing Godzilla to act this way, enlisting her friend Josh (Julian Dennison) and conspiracy theorist Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) in a mission to investigate what Apex is up to.

Meanwhile, having spent years observing the new fully-grown Kong in Monarch’s Skull Island base, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) agrees to let Monarch use the massive ape to help guide a team of Apex Cybernetics scientists into the Hollow Earth, ancient homeworld of the Titans. But getting Kong there will be a challenge in itself when Godzilla senses the presence of the hairy challenger to his title of King of the Monsters and goes on the warpath again.

Light years away from the serious approach of Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla reboot that kick-started this Hollywood series, with its neon-soaked fight scenes and locations that look like prog-rock album covers come to life, Godzilla vs Kong is the closest Legendary Pictures has come to capturing the crazy magic of the Japanese films of the 1960s and ’70s. As such, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the human side of things is pretty bloody silly. But any sillier than the plot about using the massive monkey to boost TV rating from the original Kong vs Godzilla (1962)? I think not.

Anyway, when it comes to a film like Godzilla vs Kong, what really matters are those scenes where the massive monsters come to blows. And here it really delivers.

From their first meeting at sea to their subsequent showdown in Hong Kong, director Adam Wingard (here graduating to blockbuster cinema from low budget thrill-rides like You’re Next and The Guest) conjures up some of the most spectacular scenes of monster mayhem ever committed to the silver screen. And anyone who complained about the lack of monster screen time and how dark the previous MonsterVerse films were should be delighted to find the monsters (well, Kong anyway) front and centre in the story and even battling in broad daylight on a couple of occasions!

Where the “MonsterVerse” goes from here is anyone’s guess. But if it remains this much fun, I can’t wait to go along for the ride.

Extras: An enjoyable and informative collection of extras kicks off with a chatty commentary from director Adam Wingard. Backing this up is a collection of seven unexpectedly in-depth featurettes exploring the film’s approach to Godzilla and Kong, their respective legacies, production design, and modernising a classic Godzilla enemy.

Rounding things out are three featurettes exploring the creation of the film’s three key monster brawls.

AvB

FUTURE MAN: THE COMPLETE SERIES (2017-2020)
DVD, Out now, Fabulous Films, Cert: 15

★★★

Remember The Last Starfighter, the 1984 sci-fi adventure about a teenager recruited by aliens to fight in an intergalactic war based on his skills playing a video game? Well, so do the creators of this enjoyably silly comedy-sci-fi series made for the Hulu streaming platform in the US and now available on DVD here in the UK.