Godzilla vs. Kong is, ostensibly, the sequel to three films and the final capper on a franchise Warner Bros. started back in 2014. So if you've managed to miss the MonsterVerse but are still, understandably, intrigued by the thought of a gigantic ape backhanding a radioactive dinosaur in the mouth, you might be asking: Do you need to watch Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters to understand this film? The answer is mostly no, but a little yes? Very slight spoilers to follow, but nothing movie-ruining, promise.

Godzilla vs. Kong features only two characters from previous films, Kyle Chandler as scientist Mark Russell and Millie Bobby Brown as his daughter, Madison Russell. Their presence definitely serves as a connecting tissue between King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong, and Vera Farmiga's Monarch scientist turned eco-terrorist Emma Russell, who sacrificed herself in King of the Monsters, is mentioned throughout. But what actually happened to them in that movie doesn't really have any bearing on the plot of Godzilla vs. Kong. You just really need to know that Madison is aggressively Team Zilla and everything else is covered in helpful news-coverage-as-exposition. If you're a completist who wants to know what the full deal is with the Russell family, give King of the Monsters a whirl, but otherwise, they basically act as new characters.

RELATED: Here's How to Watch the MonsterVerse Movies in Order (Chronologically and by Release Date)

The only other name you'd "need" to know going in is "Skullcrawlers"—the term for the vicious lizard-like beasties who battled Kong in Skull Island—because they do briefly pop up without explanation. But, also, Skullcrawlers are just big nasty monsters, so it's not like you're gonna' be confused about their motivation. Kong: Skull Island does also drop a line about how Kong is still growing, which explains why he's so big in Godzilla vs. Kong, if that bothers you at all.

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Image via Warner Bros.

But really, as our own Matt Goldberg mentioned in his review, Godzilla vs Kong is almost singularly focused on getting the two title monsters into a confrontation as often and epically as possible. If you came to this film looking for Big Boy Fights, Godzilla vs. Kong delivers on that promise and then some. What's more, it doesn't waste any of its runtime setting them up in any grand, convoluted way; Godzilla is the Alpha Titan, Kong could possibly also be the Alpha Titan, and that makes Godzilla very, very mad.

That's also the reason I initially said "a little yes" up top. The plot and characterization of Godzilla vs. Kong is paper-thin by design, so going in with a little history gives it some added heft. Not just the Warner Bros. MonsterVerse history, either, but the nearly ninety decades of King Kong and Godzilla as monster movie icons. Seeing two massive CGI creatures beat the crap out of each other is cool, it's one heck of a spectacle, and you'll have a great time. But understanding why Godzilla is GODZILLA and Kong is KONG adds some much-needed weight to the whole thing.

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