(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest attempts at ‘things to come,’ then read on …”)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Two ancient titans, Godzilla and Kong, clash in an epic battle as humans unravel their intertwined origins and connection to Skull Island’s mysteries.”
Being a critic means that there will be times when you’re assured that your voice – your particular take – is going to be in the minority. I long ago grew comfortable with that, as I grew up often times arguing about whether a flick was good or bad with a whole slew of friends and enemies. It doesn’t mean I like throwing cold water on any fan’s experience with a summer tentpole release; rather, I’m glad you like something that perhaps I found a bit uninspired because – at the very least – it shows that we’re both still willing to risk the price of a movie ticket in return for a bit of entertainment.
And, frankly, about all I got out of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was “a bit of entertainment.”
A small bit, at that.
Occasionally exciting and occasionally funny, the production stands as a testament to what the big studios like to shuck as blockbuster wares in the spring and summer movie seasons. As I’ve often said, these pictures tend to be big, loud, and dumb … and there’s nothing wrong with that. You pay your money, you take your chances, and you reap whatever big or small rewards come your way … so it’s easy to see why the project has done respectable business as it rather safely adheres to the classic Hollywood formula of appealing to the widest audience possible.
But … I emerged from the theater thinking about how far the Monsterverse franchise has fallen since the days of the rather smart Godzilla (2014), an event that brought the seminal big, lumbering lizard back into the consciousness of the American moviegoing audience in a pretty big way. (Pun intended.) Since then, each successive entry into the expanding property has dipped further and deeper into popcorn lunacy: whereas that first flick could’ve been tied to the dangers of nuclear proliferation (much like the 1954 Japanese original) and maybe even how urban centers are functionally unprepared to deal with authentic disasters, Godzilla x Kong seems to be about nothing more socially than allowing monsters to run amuck, devastate commercial real estate, and trust your friendly neighborhood podcasters more than you trust your government.
Essentially, our world is the stuff of monsters in Godzilla x Kong as they’re only two of the behemoths featured in the film.
In fact, our planet is basically overrun with them in this addition to the Monsterverse, making the destruction they leave in their everyday existence about as commonplace as a high pollen count. Despite our lacking the technology to enforce authentic boundaries, we’ve somehow magically been able to conscript Kong to Hollow Earth – true, Godzilla’s involvement in their last throwdown likely had a little something to do with the exile – and never the two should meet again. But all of a sudden things down under as well as up here are thrown out of whack when what appears to be some cosmic, psychic connection starts encouraging these titans to come together. It would seem that Kong has a new roommate down there (that’s a vast oversimplification, but it works nonetheless), and the Eighth Wonder of the World would rather live the life of a gorilla bachelor. Cleaning house against some superior foes is going to require a partner, and that’s largely why these two enemies agree to a truce just in the knick of time.
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Two ancient titans, Godzilla and Kong, clash in an epic battle as humans unravel their intertwined origins and connection to Skull Island’s mysteries.”
Being a critic means that there will be times when you’re assured that your voice – your particular take – is going to be in the minority. I long ago grew comfortable with that, as I grew up often times arguing about whether a flick was good or bad with a whole slew of friends and enemies. It doesn’t mean I like throwing cold water on any fan’s experience with a summer tentpole release; rather, I’m glad you like something that perhaps I found a bit uninspired because – at the very least – it shows that we’re both still willing to risk the price of a movie ticket in return for a bit of entertainment.
And, frankly, about all I got out of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was “a bit of entertainment.”
A small bit, at that.
Occasionally exciting and occasionally funny, the production stands as a testament to what the big studios like to shuck as blockbuster wares in the spring and summer movie seasons. As I’ve often said, these pictures tend to be big, loud, and dumb … and there’s nothing wrong with that. You pay your money, you take your chances, and you reap whatever big or small rewards come your way … so it’s easy to see why the project has done respectable business as it rather safely adheres to the classic Hollywood formula of appealing to the widest audience possible.
But … I emerged from the theater thinking about how far the Monsterverse franchise has fallen since the days of the rather smart Godzilla (2014), an event that brought the seminal big, lumbering lizard back into the consciousness of the American moviegoing audience in a pretty big way. (Pun intended.) Since then, each successive entry into the expanding property has dipped further and deeper into popcorn lunacy: whereas that first flick could’ve been tied to the dangers of nuclear proliferation (much like the 1954 Japanese original) and maybe even how urban centers are functionally unprepared to deal with authentic disasters, Godzilla x Kong seems to be about nothing more socially than allowing monsters to run amuck, devastate commercial real estate, and trust your friendly neighborhood podcasters more than you trust your government.
Essentially, our world is the stuff of monsters in Godzilla x Kong as they’re only two of the behemoths featured in the film.
In fact, our planet is basically overrun with them in this addition to the Monsterverse, making the destruction they leave in their everyday existence about as commonplace as a high pollen count. Despite our lacking the technology to enforce authentic boundaries, we’ve somehow magically been able to conscript Kong to Hollow Earth – true, Godzilla’s involvement in their last throwdown likely had a little something to do with the exile – and never the two should meet again. But all of a sudden things down under as well as up here are thrown out of whack when what appears to be some cosmic, psychic connection starts encouraging these titans to come together. It would seem that Kong has a new roommate down there (that’s a vast oversimplification, but it works nonetheless), and the Eighth Wonder of the World would rather live the life of a gorilla bachelor. Cleaning house against some superior foes is going to require a partner, and that’s largely why these two enemies agree to a truce just in the knick of time.
Still, audiences need both greater connection to the events of these stories as well as someone to provide them with the necessary exposition (neither Kong nor Godzilla have yet mastered speech); and Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater’s script throw together just enough human faces to get that job done. Ilene Andrews (played by Rebecca Hall) returns from 2021’s Godzilla Vs. Kong, and she brings with the also familiar faces of Jia (Kaylee Hottle) and Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry). Together, the three make the most of their increasingly saccharin scenes together, none of their professed emotions seeming anything other than subtext inserted by screenwriters in the hopes of creating ‘a moment’ for them. When the central problem is no one shows up to a Monsterverse picture to spend time with the regular folks, it’s kinda/sorta clear that humans really serve less and less purpose in this franchise. Their sequences are plastic, at best, though I’ve no doubt they’ll sell no action figures in the months surrounding the film’s release.
True to current Hollywood form, Godzilla x Kong also seriously lacks the inclusion of any confident male hero. Henry’s ‘Bernie Hayes’ is an entirely emasculated bit of comic relief that audiences have embraced since the days of Abbott and Costello; and he performs affably without ruffling any feathers whatsoever and delivering his lines with an affectionate conspiratorial lunacy that goes down easily. As ‘Trapper,’ actor Dan Stevens gets about as close to resembling a male lead as the creative powers that be will allow: he’s essentially a 60’s era flowerchild brought into the age of monsters, serving as little more than a veterinarian/dentist for Kong when the creature has something that ails him. Sadly, he acts more on mysticism than science, showing audiences that ‘how you feel’ is vastly more relevant in these times than is your book smarts.
But as for any genuine testosterone?
Well, the only guy who travels to Hollow Earth as a soldier with a weapon winds up being eaten by a carnivorous tree in the first half … so how’s that for ‘messaging?’
What has been and always will be a draw to both the Godzilla and the Kong pictures is their screen time; and – in that respect – it’s safe to say that Godzilla x Kong works wonders on its epic scale. Though I thought some of their sequences played out a bit too much like a silver screen video game, it’s still a level of destruction that tickles the fancies of so, so, so many; and this likely won’t be the only trip made to The New Empire if producers have their way. Granted, an old movie dog like me misses the human interaction and compelling personal drama that was so much a part of the vastly superior Godzilla Minus One (2023); but as I’ve tried to be clear summer blockbusters just aren’t wired that way. Thankfully, the universe is big enough for both kinds of projects; and let’s hope both studios keep the monsters alive and kicking well into the next century. This remains the stuff that makes going to the movies the events they were made to be.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) was produced by Legendary Entertainment, Screen Queensland, and Warner Bros. The film is presently screening theatrically around the world.
Recommended.
I’ve often criticized spring and summer releases as being big, loud, and dumb; and yet there are still projects fitting that formula that make for suitable entertainment. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire lacks the intellectual and emotional core that have made for better monster releases; but that isn’t to diminish its big screen spectacle, its never-ending parade of special effects wizardry, and its desire to deliver a simpler story to audiences who appreciate turning off their brains and going on a carnival ride. It’s all splash and no sizzle. However, as the Monsterverse continues to grow, it’s looking less and less like people have a place in it; and I’m wondering how well that bodes for future adventures. At some point, moviegoers may not connect with any of this … so where do you go next?
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that I’m beholden to no one for this review of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire as I went to the theater all of my own accord for a paid screening.
-- EZ
True to current Hollywood form, Godzilla x Kong also seriously lacks the inclusion of any confident male hero. Henry’s ‘Bernie Hayes’ is an entirely emasculated bit of comic relief that audiences have embraced since the days of Abbott and Costello; and he performs affably without ruffling any feathers whatsoever and delivering his lines with an affectionate conspiratorial lunacy that goes down easily. As ‘Trapper,’ actor Dan Stevens gets about as close to resembling a male lead as the creative powers that be will allow: he’s essentially a 60’s era flowerchild brought into the age of monsters, serving as little more than a veterinarian/dentist for Kong when the creature has something that ails him. Sadly, he acts more on mysticism than science, showing audiences that ‘how you feel’ is vastly more relevant in these times than is your book smarts.
But as for any genuine testosterone?
Well, the only guy who travels to Hollow Earth as a soldier with a weapon winds up being eaten by a carnivorous tree in the first half … so how’s that for ‘messaging?’
What has been and always will be a draw to both the Godzilla and the Kong pictures is their screen time; and – in that respect – it’s safe to say that Godzilla x Kong works wonders on its epic scale. Though I thought some of their sequences played out a bit too much like a silver screen video game, it’s still a level of destruction that tickles the fancies of so, so, so many; and this likely won’t be the only trip made to The New Empire if producers have their way. Granted, an old movie dog like me misses the human interaction and compelling personal drama that was so much a part of the vastly superior Godzilla Minus One (2023); but as I’ve tried to be clear summer blockbusters just aren’t wired that way. Thankfully, the universe is big enough for both kinds of projects; and let’s hope both studios keep the monsters alive and kicking well into the next century. This remains the stuff that makes going to the movies the events they were made to be.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) was produced by Legendary Entertainment, Screen Queensland, and Warner Bros. The film is presently screening theatrically around the world.
Recommended.
I’ve often criticized spring and summer releases as being big, loud, and dumb; and yet there are still projects fitting that formula that make for suitable entertainment. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire lacks the intellectual and emotional core that have made for better monster releases; but that isn’t to diminish its big screen spectacle, its never-ending parade of special effects wizardry, and its desire to deliver a simpler story to audiences who appreciate turning off their brains and going on a carnival ride. It’s all splash and no sizzle. However, as the Monsterverse continues to grow, it’s looking less and less like people have a place in it; and I’m wondering how well that bodes for future adventures. At some point, moviegoers may not connect with any of this … so where do you go next?
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that I’m beholden to no one for this review of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire as I went to the theater all of my own accord for a paid screening.
-- EZ
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