“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla
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.
I completely understand that the sole purpose we come to see these MonsterVerse movies is to see the action-packed scenes, and the massive destruction scenes these Titans cause whenever they come face to face, or whenever they pop up in order to save humanity from a possible catastrophe. And with that in mind, I came into my screening expecting that, and only that, but I also have to admit that the Apple TV+ series Monarch, which I highly recommend you watch because of something I will mention further down is the review, is lingering the back of my mind because of how much I enjoyed the characters and story. Not to mention that Godzilla Minus One also raised the bar so high for MonsterVerse movies such as this one, that I knew I was asking too much for this movie to be more than just a chaotic action-packed joyride. It is difficult to discuss anything about this movie without entering into mild spoilers, so you have been warned.
What did not work:
Storywise, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” picks up where “Godzilla vs. Kong” ended as they finally manage to isolate these two Titans with Godzilla at the surface of Earth, and Kong at the Hollow center of Earth. This time around Jia is having trouble trying to adapt to life on the Surface and when she picks up strange sound patterns the Monarch team decides to go down the rabbit hole to Hollow Earth and follow Kong to investigate further. The investigation leads them to Titans that control another Titan with frozen powers, and all this investigation leads to a huge badass fight by the last act.
This means that storywise we cannot expect any deep emotions, or connections with the characters because there was nothing there in the script that would lend itself for use to develop any sort of connection with the character and the story. In some ways, they tried to send a message about caring for our isolated indigenous tribes and also tried to sell us the idea of what a mother needs to sacrifice for the greater good of her family but all of these subjects were touched upon so light and at a surface level, that we end up forgetting they ever happen
because we are so caught up with the Titans as we are all looking forward to their inevitable clashes. Unlike in the Apple TV+ series and the Godzilla Minus One movie, the characters and their stories do mean something, while in this one and many in the past from the MonsterVerse franchise the characters and their stories are just there in the background not doing much.
Performance-wise, the cast did the best they could with what was written for them. It is truly difficult to single out somebody who stands out since all they are basically doing as I’ve mentioned before is just standing there in the background practicable with us as expectation as the chaos unfolds in front of them. If I have to mention something that stood out to me, I would say I loved actor Brian Tyree Henry as the crazy conspiracy theories podcast, who is always right and nobody listens. Actress Kaylee Hottle mostly because her character takes a pivotal role by the third act and how the whole EPIC fight between the Titans unfolds.
What worked:
The chaos, havoc, mayhem, & destruction left behind by all the EPIC action-packed scenes between the Titans are in my book reason enough to purchase an IMAX movie ticket and just sit back and enjoy the killer joyride. I loved how the main big baddy Titan came about, I loved how it really didn’t matter where the Titans fought the destruction that followed just became something that is just your typical day as if nothing had really happened. I loved how Godzilla and Kong had to bond together in order to beat the big baddy. As a wrestling fan, I absolutely loved how the fights between these Titans became just standard WWE fights with the occasional wrestling movie also being pulled by these Titans, which I have to admit, had me cheering and standing from my seat to clapping and screaming my heart out as everything unfolded in front of.
In conclusion:
If you haven’t watched “Monarch” on Apple TV+ or “Godzilla Minus One”, and are just riding the wave following the format established by the “Godzilla vs Kong” movie and its predecessors you will absolutely love this movie from start to finish. But if “Monarch” and “Godzilla Minus One” manage to change your perspective on how a MonsterVerse movie should be told, you will still have one hell of a fun time at the movies with the killer action-packed scenes even if the story is nothing to ride home about.
