While Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire did on occasion test my patience, the overall ride does remain a fun one, and because of that, I’m still willing to remain seated on the Monsterverse’s bandwagon — for now.

Godzilla vs. Kong is a sensory feast.

Their face-off is a violently over-the-top slug-fest that lands the majority of its punches, and the ultimate victors are audiences who purchased a ring-side ticket to see these two warriors slug it out in the pursuit of apex predator supremacy.

Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla hasn’t looked this incredible since it played in theaters.

I thoroughly enjoyed director Michael Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It made me smile.

Edwards has done the unthinkable, crafting a modern Godzilla that not only pays deft homage to the creature’s glorious past but also makes many of its closest impersonators feel hollow and misguided when stood up next to it.