Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House, Greg Hatton
Directed by: Adam Wingard
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Kong faces a new threat in his subterranean world and must enlist Godzilla's help to save the world.

Review:

Tim: Okay, so Adam Wingard's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has an atrocious title, but is generally an enjoyable, fun movie. I find it fascinating to compare this film to Godzilla Minus One, last year's stunningly great, character-driven drama/action film. That movie was outstanding and presents Godzilla as a supporting character. This American production is far different- it's spectacle, entertainment, pure popcorn fun. These characters are malleable and can fit within the context of very different movies. This film isn't nearly as good as that Japanese production, but it delivers high octane, big visuals, and tons of action. It's flawed, but I had a lot of fun with it.

I do believe this is the central tenet of how you feel about this film. You have to go into it looking for something specific- you want to see enormous kaiju creatures battling it out. That's the key. The human characters need to matter, yes, but you have to know they'll be a bit secondary. This movie is really a team-up. It's about wanting to see Godzilla and King Kong fighting together. Now, yes, we want it to make some kind of sense. But, suspension of disbelief is going to play a huge role in this. I have to say, I was mostly able to do this. It's great fun to watch these deadly titans battling each other and even worse creatures. It's blockbuster entertainment. You have to accept that the movie will sacrifice logic and believability to a certain extent. That doesn't make it right, but that's part of the trade off this movie makes.

If you're willing to go there, you'll find a ton of great action sequences. Godzilla wrecks havoc above ground and in the water, fighting monsters and destroying civilization whenever he comes across it. The Titanus Scylla fight is an impressive one. Kong is waging his own war in the subterranean world of Hollow Earth, against a formidable foe- the Skar King and his enslaved monster, Shimo. They and their army make for a fantastic villain, easy to hate and root against. These overwhelming odds force Kong to enlist the reluctant help of Godzilla and they get an assist from Mothra, whom I deeply love and always get excited when she shows up on screen. So, we get Godzilla-Kong-Mothra-Suko (baby Kong) vs. Skar King, Shimo, an army of apes, and maybe someone else, I can't remember. It's an all out war and it's great fun to see on screen. The visuals are solid and pull us into the entertainment.

Now, as much as I loved the lunacy of the plot and the pure adrenaline action sequences, this movie has a lot of flaws. As you might expect, none of the plot makes all that much sense. So many convenient things happen to shepherd these enormous creatures into this final battle. Logic often goes out the window. The whole thing is quite frankly, stupid. The question is whether you can embrace it or not. I'm sure a ton of people disliked this movie for that reason. I liked it, but I acknowledge the shortcomings.

The human characters aren't all that interesting- but just likeable enough for us to forgive some of the dialogue and absurdity in their stories. Rebecca Hall makes for an unlikely protagonist, but she brings a hint of gravitas and real intelligence to the role and she mostly works in it. Brian Tyree Henry is a fantastic supporting actor and I loved the humor and energy he brought to the role. I'm a big Dan Stevens fan and it was great fun seeing his charismatic, almost scenery chewing performance here. It was great fun. Kaylee Hottle was solid in her role once again. These four don't always look the best, but they weren't given great material to work with. They are likeable enough that we never completely dismiss their human stories, although it's obvious they are just our surrogates and the real stars are the battling titans. I do wish the movie gave us a slightly more compelling human story.

So, I enjoyed Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It's dumb, but it's fun. It was entertaining. However, I do want to note a bit of a worrisome trend. The American Monsterverse got off to a strong start with 2014's Godzilla reboot. It felt dark, serious, important. 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters felt too bloated and ineffective, it wasn't good. Adam Wingard took over the franchise and Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021 worked well, but it did trade realism for thrills. This film furthers that trend- the seriousness, the darkness, the importance of 2014's film feel completely abandoned. The same thing happened with Japans' Toho Godzilla franchise- it became a silly monster vs. monster slugfest and lost its effectiveness. Wingard has delivered two good (but flawed films) and that should be applauded. However, I'm concerned about the path this franchise is on and I suspect the next movie could be where it crosses the line and stumbles into absurdity. Let's hope they battle against that.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla vs. Kong