GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE (2024) - Movie Review

Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Adventure
Writer: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, Jeremy Slater
Runtime: 115 min
Rated: Rated PG-13 for creature violence and action
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), 4K Ultra HD, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

This latest entry in the Monsterverse franchise follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new cinematic adventure, pitting the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence -- and our own. The epic new film will delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins, and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

Review:

"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" follows up after the events of "Godzilla vs. Kong" and takes us deeper into the mysterious world of Hollow Earth. It's probably better to watch the previous installment in order to catch up with the plot, but a few well placed exposition dumps do a decent enough job of quickly reviewing the essential story elements.

First of all, this is almost entirely a King Kong movie. Godzilla spends three-quarters of the movie travelling, and only joins up with Kong for the third act's lengthy climactic fight. Secondly, the humans are totally irrelevant and everytime people were talking I felt a strong urge to fast-forward through the dialogue. The characters are poorly written and are basically just there to explain the plot, which is just bonkers. Rebecca Hall is a walking exposition dump and completey wasted in this, while Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens are the only ones that are somewhat watchable due to their quirky charm.

The movie basically only exists to expand the Monsterverse lore and make more money for Warner Bros as they contemplate new spinoff opportunities. It introduces a couple of new kaijus that are quickly dispatched, a brand new giant simian Titan villain and its frost-breathing pet, as well as a tiny new monkey friend for Kong. If you've watched the trailers you've seen pretty much everything the movie has to offer creature-wise. The designs are pretty good, and at least in the first half of the movie there's some fun to be had with the many wonders of Hollow Earth, even though it feels a little "Avatar" rip-off-ish.

The CGI is much better than I expected, and most of the movie is very pretty to look at. I loved the color palette they used, but it just ended up reminding me I was watching literal eye candy. It's quite a visual rush, but the charm quickly wears off when humans open their mouths. Of course, the story is absurd, and the more the lore expands, the more ridiculous it gets. Regardless, I suspect there are not a lot of people out there watching this movie for the plot.

If you want a good Godzilla movie, watch "Godzilla Minus One" instead. As for Kong, his last good movie was 2017's "Kong: Skull Island". For the undemanding viewer who only wants to watch loud brawls between giant monsters, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" delivers exactly that. In every other regard, it's a pretty bad and forgettable movie.

SCORE: 5.5/10