"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" is the sequel to 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong" and the fifth film in Legendary Pictures' "MonsterVerse". Once again directed by Adam Wingard and starring Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kaylee Hottle, it delivers what it promises for fans of Kaiju action with a handful of pleasant surprises along the way.
Following the events of "Godzilla vs. Kong", both the giant ape Kong and the giant reptilian Godzilla have agreed to keep their distance from one another, leading to a safer world as a result. Kong has since made his home within the depths of Hollow Earth while Godzilla continues to swim the surface world's oceans only occasionally emerging to attack any invasive Kaiju. One day, Kong ventures deeper into Hollow Earth where he discovers something huge that could threaten the very existence of not only his species but all life on the surface. Quickly realising that he cannot handle this threat alone, Kong attempts to form an unlikely alliance with his fierce rival Godzilla before both Hollow Earth and the surface world is destroyed.
Ten years since its debut, Legendary Pictures' "MonsterVerse" has managed to give western audiences their own cinematic universe of giant monsters, with Japan's iconic Kaiju Godzilla leading the way in his own self-titled 2014 film. Joining this colossal reptilian from the east is the equally famous King Kong (or just "Kong" for short) from the west, who also had similar success after first appearing in 2017's "Kong: Skull Island". It was inevitable that these two Kaiju would face off against one another, which is exactly what happened in "Godzilla vs. Kong", marking the first time since 1962 that both monsters have appeared in the same movie together. After that fight ended in a decisive draw, it seemed uncertain what direction things would head from there, but in "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire", we see the pair working together in an entertaining follow-up that once again showcases great special effects and that signature Kaiju destruction.
Rather than focus on two separate stories at once, this time the plot is mostly centred around Kong by himself. Though he is a powerful and respected figure among the inhabitants of Hollow Earth, Kong still needs to assert his dominance whenever necessary. Much like any gorilla, he demonstrates this through physical combat and by roaring loudly while pounding his chest. However, like any primate, curiosity gets the better of him as he decides to explore further into Hollow Earth to find out what lies beneath. Of course, what he ends up discovering poses a threat to his position of power, which later leads to some interesting lore about the origins of both Kong and the other Kaiju who call this planet home. These scenes are what I would consider to be the best parts of the film, as they allow us to see that Kong isn't just a mindless monster who wants to destroy everything he sees, but in fact a curious animal with a natural instinct to remain at the top of the food chain.
Maybe it's the better special effects or maybe it's the better way the mythology is handled but I actually found myself more invested in this story than I did with the previous film. This is likely due to the way the film is told primarily from Kong's perspective, as when we see him learn more about ancient life in Hollow Earth, we are learning along with him. From his surprised expressions to his determination to defeat his opponents, the visuals do a fine job at clueing us in to how Kong must be feeling on this journey into unknown territory. As a result, Kong is a surprisingly relatable character this time around, at least by giant gorilla standards.
On the other hand, Godzilla's role in this story has been significantly sidelined in favour of his mammalian rival. Whenever we see him on screen, Godzilla is either fighting off any large miscellaneous Kaiju that dare to appear on the surface or he is swimming around looking for another place to rest. Humorously, it would seem that Godzilla has taken a preferential liking to curling up inside the Roman Colosseum to sleep in the same way a dog might curl up in its own fluffy bed. In any other case, I would be annoyed that the "King of the Monsters" has been reduced to playing second fiddle to Kong, but remembering that he has already had two other solo movies that adequately established all we need to know about his character, I wasn't nearly as bothered.
As is usually the case with giant monster movies, there are plenty of action sequences and scenes of chaotic destruction that are sure to keep audiences satisfied with what they've paid to see. For example, we see Kong punching his way though large, mysterious creatures who attack him and we watch Godzilla smashing through skyscrapers and other landmarks to destroy any other Kaiju that threaten his territory. Out of all these parts, I found the scenes with Kong to be the most exciting due to him being the more emotionally sympathetic of the two monsters. That's not to say I didn't enjoy Godzilla's scenes at all, as he certainly has some memorable moments too, especially during the film's climax. It's worth noting that most of the time Kong is merely defending himself from opposition while Godzilla is usually the instigator of his large-scale fights.
Regarding the human characters, they all serve their respective purpose to the story and nothing more. I didn't really care much for Rebecca Hall or Brian Tyree Henry's roles in the story other than for them to quote exposition that Godzilla and Kong cannot verbally communicate to the audience. Though they were far from annoying, I just wish there was a way for them to have had a more memorable impact on the story other than being the stock humans with scientific knowledge on the titular monsters. It is clear that these two human characters are only there to set things up for the next action scene involving either Kong, Godzilla, or both of them at once, meaning that practically anybody could have played their roles.
The closest the film comes to having an emotional moment with a human character is with the deaf girl Jia (Kaylee Hottle), who is able to communicate with Kong using sign language. Without spoiling too much, there is one scene with her and Kong that I found quite touching, which is more than can be said for all the other human characters whose names I can barely remember. At the end of the day, this lack of human drama doesn't really matter because as I said once before; we don't pay to see a monster movie for the human characters the same way we don't go to McDonalds to order a filet mignon. Then again, if "Godzilla Minus One" was able to accomplish greatness along these lines, then the potential was certainly there at least.
For yet another giant monster movie filled with gratuitous destruction and chaos galore, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" is a worthy addition to the decade old "MonsterVerse" that promises to entertain with its great visuals and plentiful action scenes. As I said about the film's predecessor, you shouldn't expect anything less from a movie that has Godzilla and Kong's names in the title, and once again that's just what we get. I'm curious to see what direction the franchise will head in from this point forward, as there are a number of ways this story could continue with its already established mythology. Until then, I'm satisfied with simply watching these giant monsters beat the hell out of each other for our own amusement.
I rate it 7/10.
Following the events of "Godzilla vs. Kong", both the giant ape Kong and the giant reptilian Godzilla have agreed to keep their distance from one another, leading to a safer world as a result. Kong has since made his home within the depths of Hollow Earth while Godzilla continues to swim the surface world's oceans only occasionally emerging to attack any invasive Kaiju. One day, Kong ventures deeper into Hollow Earth where he discovers something huge that could threaten the very existence of not only his species but all life on the surface. Quickly realising that he cannot handle this threat alone, Kong attempts to form an unlikely alliance with his fierce rival Godzilla before both Hollow Earth and the surface world is destroyed.
Ten years since its debut, Legendary Pictures' "MonsterVerse" has managed to give western audiences their own cinematic universe of giant monsters, with Japan's iconic Kaiju Godzilla leading the way in his own self-titled 2014 film. Joining this colossal reptilian from the east is the equally famous King Kong (or just "Kong" for short) from the west, who also had similar success after first appearing in 2017's "Kong: Skull Island". It was inevitable that these two Kaiju would face off against one another, which is exactly what happened in "Godzilla vs. Kong", marking the first time since 1962 that both monsters have appeared in the same movie together. After that fight ended in a decisive draw, it seemed uncertain what direction things would head from there, but in "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire", we see the pair working together in an entertaining follow-up that once again showcases great special effects and that signature Kaiju destruction.
Rather than focus on two separate stories at once, this time the plot is mostly centred around Kong by himself. Though he is a powerful and respected figure among the inhabitants of Hollow Earth, Kong still needs to assert his dominance whenever necessary. Much like any gorilla, he demonstrates this through physical combat and by roaring loudly while pounding his chest. However, like any primate, curiosity gets the better of him as he decides to explore further into Hollow Earth to find out what lies beneath. Of course, what he ends up discovering poses a threat to his position of power, which later leads to some interesting lore about the origins of both Kong and the other Kaiju who call this planet home. These scenes are what I would consider to be the best parts of the film, as they allow us to see that Kong isn't just a mindless monster who wants to destroy everything he sees, but in fact a curious animal with a natural instinct to remain at the top of the food chain.
Maybe it's the better special effects or maybe it's the better way the mythology is handled but I actually found myself more invested in this story than I did with the previous film. This is likely due to the way the film is told primarily from Kong's perspective, as when we see him learn more about ancient life in Hollow Earth, we are learning along with him. From his surprised expressions to his determination to defeat his opponents, the visuals do a fine job at clueing us in to how Kong must be feeling on this journey into unknown territory. As a result, Kong is a surprisingly relatable character this time around, at least by giant gorilla standards.
On the other hand, Godzilla's role in this story has been significantly sidelined in favour of his mammalian rival. Whenever we see him on screen, Godzilla is either fighting off any large miscellaneous Kaiju that dare to appear on the surface or he is swimming around looking for another place to rest. Humorously, it would seem that Godzilla has taken a preferential liking to curling up inside the Roman Colosseum to sleep in the same way a dog might curl up in its own fluffy bed. In any other case, I would be annoyed that the "King of the Monsters" has been reduced to playing second fiddle to Kong, but remembering that he has already had two other solo movies that adequately established all we need to know about his character, I wasn't nearly as bothered.
As is usually the case with giant monster movies, there are plenty of action sequences and scenes of chaotic destruction that are sure to keep audiences satisfied with what they've paid to see. For example, we see Kong punching his way though large, mysterious creatures who attack him and we watch Godzilla smashing through skyscrapers and other landmarks to destroy any other Kaiju that threaten his territory. Out of all these parts, I found the scenes with Kong to be the most exciting due to him being the more emotionally sympathetic of the two monsters. That's not to say I didn't enjoy Godzilla's scenes at all, as he certainly has some memorable moments too, especially during the film's climax. It's worth noting that most of the time Kong is merely defending himself from opposition while Godzilla is usually the instigator of his large-scale fights.
Regarding the human characters, they all serve their respective purpose to the story and nothing more. I didn't really care much for Rebecca Hall or Brian Tyree Henry's roles in the story other than for them to quote exposition that Godzilla and Kong cannot verbally communicate to the audience. Though they were far from annoying, I just wish there was a way for them to have had a more memorable impact on the story other than being the stock humans with scientific knowledge on the titular monsters. It is clear that these two human characters are only there to set things up for the next action scene involving either Kong, Godzilla, or both of them at once, meaning that practically anybody could have played their roles.
The closest the film comes to having an emotional moment with a human character is with the deaf girl Jia (Kaylee Hottle), who is able to communicate with Kong using sign language. Without spoiling too much, there is one scene with her and Kong that I found quite touching, which is more than can be said for all the other human characters whose names I can barely remember. At the end of the day, this lack of human drama doesn't really matter because as I said once before; we don't pay to see a monster movie for the human characters the same way we don't go to McDonalds to order a filet mignon. Then again, if "Godzilla Minus One" was able to accomplish greatness along these lines, then the potential was certainly there at least.
For yet another giant monster movie filled with gratuitous destruction and chaos galore, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" is a worthy addition to the decade old "MonsterVerse" that promises to entertain with its great visuals and plentiful action scenes. As I said about the film's predecessor, you shouldn't expect anything less from a movie that has Godzilla and Kong's names in the title, and once again that's just what we get. I'm curious to see what direction the franchise will head in from this point forward, as there are a number of ways this story could continue with its already established mythology. Until then, I'm satisfied with simply watching these giant monsters beat the hell out of each other for our own amusement.
I rate it 7/10.