As I sat down, flipping through the channels on a lazy Saturday evening, I was suddenly met with an action-packed trailer. Flames spewing, city buildings shaking, and most jarring of all, Godzilla throwing an angry punch at King Kong. Now, I cannot lie, after seeing these flashes of action and the title “Godzilla vs Kong,” my first impression was an uninterested sigh. Action movies tend to lack the emotional and developmental depth that I cherish in movies, so imagine the surprise I felt when I was nearly shedding tears over a giant lizard and ape battle.

“Godzilla vs Kong” not only immerses the viewer in the characters but also builds on the world from past movies, which include these famous monsters. The film focuses on the context behind the creatures and their home, their “hidden world.” With this newfound origin to their backstory, a new level of understanding comes into why the battle ensues.

My biggest takeaway from the film was how little there was of fighting, but how much the fighting meant overall. Godzilla lives as a part of humanity now, differentiating from his first film where he is painted as a villainous beast. Because of this new connection to humankind, it is understandable why Godzilla wants to protect it. This connection is shown by him living closely, but also by a young girl named Madison Russell, played by Millie Bobby Brown. Russell is a character returning from the film previous to this one, 2019’s “Godzilla: King of Monsters.” Her role is of someone that sees Godzilla for himself instead of what is capable of doing. She especially avoids using Godzilla for her own gain, which I find special in their friendship.

Their friendship shines through when the world becomes harsh. Millie Bobby Brown concludes that coming back to this franchise was very rewarding, especially with her character getting more development. Brown states: “This film, specifically, I really wanted to make it authentic and a coming of age story of a young girl trying to find her way through this madness. I loved coming back to this character, especially because she’s so feisty and she’s very much like me.”

Instead of forgetting this movie immediately after watching it, as I did with other action films that had a comparable lack of story, I found the new family trope added something very special to the story’s devices and a fresh take on the cinematic universe’s usage of monsters.