A scene in Godzilla vs. Kong where Godzilla appears to laugh at Kong has received mixed reactions from fans. Some enjoyed the shot for what it was, whiles others felt that it shouldn’t have been included at all in the MonsterVerse movie.
The moment in question occurred during their second battle, which took place in Hong Kong. After unleashing his atomic breath at Kong, the ape was forced to flee, as he seemed to understand how devastating Godzilla’s most powerful weapon was. After going through a lot of effort to evade the attack, Kong took a hit in the back, causing him to tumble all the way to the ground. Having seen the blow badly singe Kong’s fur, Godzilla leaned forward and opened his mouth in an expression that has been interpreted by audiences as a laugh or a grin.
A number of fans have expressed disappointment with this scene because it seems to be so out of character for a larger-than-life force of nature like Godzilla to express such a human-like emotion. However, it is at least worth noting that this isn’t the first time this has happened. Godzilla has laughed in some of Toho’s Showa series films, such as Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. Of course, Godzilla laughing in a kid-friendly Toho film from the 1960s doesn’t exactly justify him doing it in the MonsterVerse, which has a much more serious tone.
That being said, a defense for it has been offered. Based on comments from Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard, Toho shares the opinion of those who feel that Godzilla should never “emote” like a human. It’s acceptable to fans for Kong to have some sense of humanity because of his personal connection to the human characters and relatability, but Godzilla is a completely different story and shouldn't have human emotions. Wingard actually claimed he wasn’t allowed to have Godzilla have “emotive” moments in the movie, but he alluded to the laughing scene when he talked about being “clever” in “getting around it”. He explained in an interview that as long as a moment like this is open to interpretation, it’s allowed by Toho.
In other words, Godzilla’s laugh works because the scene was done in a way where what was really happening was left up to the imagination of the audience. The look on his face gave many the impression that after many failed attempts, Godzilla gained some enjoyment from finally getting a good hit Kong with his atomic breath. The idea that Godzilla could find Kong falling funny has been appreciated by the viewers who - like Godzilla himself - were looking forward to seeing him at last get his chance to blast Kong out of the air. But since it wasn’t made 100 percent clear by the way the shot was framed, those who feel that humor doesn’t suit Godzilla in any situation, they can interpret it to mean nothing at all.