'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' Review: Titan Smash Brothers Brawl
If you sat a MonsterVerse novice down and played Gareth Edwards' 2014 Godzilla against Adam Wingard's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the departure of the quality would be so staggering it would give that person whiplash. Or anyone, for that matter. How did we go from a large-scoped and painstakingly crafted blockbuster to a CG-monster fight fest franchise where Kong and Godzilla co-exist as frenemies? The previous MonsterVerse installment, Godzilla vs. Kong, centered on the big boys duking it out – something we all wanted to see. Now Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are squeezing their Titan juices because The New Empire has the boys fighting side by side. It’s the worst timing, at least for Godzilla fans.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
PG13: Creature violence and action
Runtime: 1 Hr and 55 Minutes
Production Companies: Legendary Pictures
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Adam Wingard
Writers: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, Jeremy Slater
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen
Release Date: March 29, 2024
In Theaters Only
In his new home of Hollow Earth, Kong longs for fellowship. The same goes for Kong's human companion, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the last of her Iwi tribe, who has become Dr. Ilene Andrews' (Rebecca Hall) of the Kong-specialized Monarch division's adopted daughter. Both parties have a difficult time adjusting to their new homes. Lord knows Kong can't return to the surface, for Godzilla takes it as his domain. When Jia experiences visions of a voice calling out for her, a chain of events ripples across both the surface and Hollow Earth – seismic activity screwing up Monarch's feed, Godzilla awakening and absorbing radiation from various sources across the world, and a rift opening in Hollow Earth. Dr. Andrews enlists Titan podcaster geek Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), a Titan veterinarian named Trapper (Dan Stevens), and Jia into Hollow Earth to investigate the source of the signal. What they find is a crystalized world protected by an Iwi tribe. Meanwhile, Kong discovers other ape-like creatures and goes on a quest with a rambunctious ape-child, Suko, and leads him to a new threat named Scar King, a tyrannical ape who plans to take over the surface world. Kong must trek to the surface world to find Godzilla and team up with him to take Scar King down.
First, the title may be Godzilla x Kong, but this installment is a Kong flick (feat. Godzilla). The giant dumb lizard makes cameo appearances until the meandering plot from Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater requires him to show up. The only representation from the latter's movies is Brian Tyree Henry's Bernie, introduced in GvK but now switches sides since the writers catapult him into the Kong Monarch team's adventure. As someone who swings more toward the big ape than the giant lizard, I'm not complaining that I got more of a Kong flick. I love that giant monkey.
Godzilla x Kong is at its finest when no humans are in sight, and the focus is solely on Kong and his budding parental relationship with Suko, trekking across the new crystallized terrain within Hollow Earth. The visuals tell a much more precise and entertaining story than all the human exploration and exposition mumbo jumbo. The Kong and Suko sections are so God of War (2018) coded, with Kong wielding his big-ass battle axe, embarking on a dangerous quest with this juvenile kid ape. Whenever Kong made a "let's go" nodding expression to Suko, I assumed he was going to speak and say, "BOY!" They form a genuine bond and it’s the most engaging emotional aspect of the film. If Warner Bros. and Legendary were daring and thought highly of their audience, that dynamic would be enough to carry a whole movie without humans.
While the VFX is a mixed bag throughout, it’s during the Kong portions that the art direction and CG artistry are at their best, pulling off stunning shots. Wingard's direction retains the same energetic and exuberant style as his predecessor within these portions.
MonsterVerse screenwriters seem incapable of writing an enticing or coherent human tale to hold the picture together. However, Dan Stevens is the MVP as Trapper. He arrives on screen riding off the side of an aircraft donning a Magnum P.I. outfit to investigate Kong's infected tooth. He gives the whole feature a jolt of liveliness that was desperately needed in the past few MonsterVerse installments and rightfully matches the stupid energy these movies operate on. He’s the functioning comedic relief that shares good chemistry with his co-stars, CG or not.
The human plots in MonsterVerse movies tend to be forgettable. Yet, Takashi Yamazaki mopped the floor with Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater, who can't come up with anything outside of the tired “exploration in CG-terrain” plotline with more convoluted story threads and stupid exposition. A monster who was inexplicably murdered several movies ago is magically revived with no rhyme or reason, and the film expects you to just go along with it.
To be this lazy on the heels of Godzilla Minus One is embarrassing. Don't say, "Oh, you can't compare the two because one was set during WWII, and this Godzilla x Kong is contemporary." Listen, Toho has made many Godzilla movies, and most are leaps and bounds better than this one. I watched Minus One on a whim after dropping my friend off at a Saltburn award screening that I didn't want to be at. One of those two titles ended up not getting any Oscar nominations. The other got a nom and won.
Toho raised the bar. Meanwhile, WB is just commissioning products and needs to give its visual effects team more time to cook on a staggering $135 million budget. To paraphrase Jeff Bridges in Iron Man, "Takashi Yamazaki built this on a $12 million budget… with 35 VFX artists!" What's your excuse, Warner Bros?! Man, I hope that Minus One's win was a wake-up call for Hollywood and what studios should strive for in storytelling and VFX to give a blockbuster an epic grandiose coat. We deserve that over the flat, weightless PS4-era quality, unrendered shots, and shoddy designs that made me physically wince.
We have another take-it-or-leave MonsterVerse movie for fans who just want to see Kong and Godzilla duke it out. The New Empire is a fan-service installment of unimpressive visual quality, but there’s potential to give the audience more than CG-schlock in the future.
Rating: 3/5 | 60%
