Godzilla vs. Kong was a massive success, grossing $470 million worldwide against a budget of around $155 – 200 million. It was the 8th highest-grossing film of 2021, HBO Max’s most successful launch title, and a hit with critics. Naturally, with that kind of success, a sequel would follow, formally announced in March 2022. Adam Wingard agreed to direct this follow-up, with much of the last film’s cast and crew also returning. With a budget of $135 million, principal photography started in July 2022 around the Gold Coast, Queensland. Filming wrapped in November in Australia, and a year’s worth of post-production followed, with Alessandro Ongaro supervising the visual effects. Meanwhile, Toho released Godzilla Minus One, a financial and critical hit that earned an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. After premiering at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire premiered in March 2024.
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Rating
Synopsis
Since the last movie, Kong has made Hollow Earth his home while Godzilla defends Earth from various Titans. All is well until a Monarch research station detects an unknown signal, which triggers Jia (Kaylee Hottle) to have hallucinations. Sensing that something’s wrong, Jia’s adopted mother, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), recruits Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) for help. Alongside Titan vet Trapper (Dan Stevens), they travel to Hollow Earth to find the signal’s source and discover what’s happening. Meanwhile, Godzilla is spotted attacking nuclear power plants and absorbing their energy, possibly preparing for something big. Back in Hollow Earth, Kong discovers a group of giant apes living deep underground led by the tyrannical Skar King. It turns out that the Skar King plans to invade the surface with his apes and an ice-breathing Titan, Shimo. Kong and Godzilla must team up to save the world once again!
Review
While I wouldn’t call this movie unique or groundbreaking, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is at least entertaining. Honestly, entertaining is all this movie had to be, and it more or less succeeds at providing pure popcorn entertainment. Sure, this film isn’t as good as Godzilla Minus One, but it was never going to be, and that’s fine. As the last movie demonstrates, Adam Wingard knows what his audience wants and delivers on it tenfold. Admittedly, G-fans may be disappointed that Godzilla doesn’t get as much screen time as Kong, who’s more-or-less the central focus. Besides teaming up for the climax, this might as well be Kong: The New Empire with special guest star Godzilla. Granted, there are a few standout Godzilla moments, mostly him battling other monsters and even napping in the Colosseum. Seeing them team up to fight different monsters is all worth it.
Like many other Kaiju movies, the human characters aren’t as significant as the monsters, but they’re at least well-acted. Rebecca Hall is the film’s emotional core and does a great job playing a sympathetic lead. Her scenes with Kaylee Hottle as her adopted daughter are funny and heartwarming, which helps ground the film’s reality. Brian Tyree Henry returns as the comic relief, and while his humor is hit-or-miss, he isn’t overly annoying or obnoxious. Dan Stevens, who starred in Wingard’s 2014 thriller The Guest, is also fun as the brash and arrogant Trapper. Aside from them, there’s not much else to discuss with the human cast since they’re just background noise. Admittedly, the smaller human cast is a welcome change from Godzilla vs. Kong, which had too many human characters. It shows that, sometimes, less is more, especially regarding extra human characters.
Before writing this review, I decided to see what other critics were saying, and I’m wondering what they were expecting. Many complain that the film doesn’t explore deeper meanings or the implications of these monsters’ existence. Like I said earlier, this film would never explore any deeper meanings, and that’s fine. Not every movie needs to be a profound contemplation on life’s meaning or what being a giant ape means. Sometimes, you need a big, ridiculous, fun popcorn movie to escape from reality for two hours. While filmmakers should strive for more than surface-level entertainment, there’s nothing wrong with making pure escapism. I’m not saying this movie is a masterpiece that will sweep the Oscars, but it’s a fun watch. Overall, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire falters in some aspects, but it’s a fun way to kill two hours.
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