Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is a monstrously wicked ride that not only fulfilled every hope & expectation I had as a huge fan of this universe, but went above & beyond them to deliver arguably the best MonsterVerse film yet nailing the balance between a mythological driven epic like Godzilla: King Of The Monsters & a whimsical Kaiju blast like Godzilla VS Kong.
The latest entry into the decade long & strong running MonsterVerse series is directed by returning Adam Wingard (Godzilla VS Kong) with Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett & Jeremy Slater penning the script. It sees Kong forced to unite with Godzilla to prevent an ancient tyrannical leader from invading the surface world as the humans unravel the mysteries of both their pasts.
Wingard delivers what we’ve always wanted to see from a MonsterVerse movie, the monsters front & center as the main characters to their movies with the humans aiding the story rather than leading it & Godzilla X Kong, while for sure being more a Kong story than a Godzilla one, is that movie & its all the more better because of it.
Though one Titan has substantially more time than the other on screen, both are treated equally as important to the narrative as one another. Kong kicks off the movie & leads its story while Godzilla is developed & explored through the world & mythology building of the Titans’ great history & wars. & when the two finally do meet, which takes much longer than one would have liked, It’s beautiful & worthwhile.
As such the human counterparts, both old & new, can be viewed as hollow & one dimensional, but I didn’t find that to be the case or something that hinders the movie & how much fun it is. Returning is Rebecca Hall’s Dr Andrews & Kaylee Hottles Jia who’s adoptive relationship is developed greatly & serves as the focal human story throughout the film & in many ways is a mimic’d version to that of Kong & Sukos on the Titan side of the dish. Suko is an absolutely triumphant new much welcomed piece to this world. Little in size but mighty in effect. Charming, Humourous & Playful. Back to the humans! as also returning is the great & always beneficial addition to any project! – Brian Tyree Henry’s Bernie Hayes who shares much of his screentime with newcomer Trapper, portrayed by Dan Stevens who’s having just as much fun in the role as his character is across the runtime (which is a lot!).
& now for every heroic and/or bridge hating Titan like Kong & Godzilla, you need their equals & their opposite. Enter the latest villains to the MonsterVerse, Skar King & Shimo!
Skar King is wicked! menacing & cool. A great opponent to Kong. & Past his awesome design & long arms, he puts up a great fight & presence across the movie. His in-movie reveal in particular was striking & his unique weapon of choice, a spinal whip, allowed the movie to relish in its possible brawl creativities, which truly come into play during the films sensationally satisfying third act climax where the already riveting action takes itself to another level. Shimo on the other hand, also rocks a great design though has less of a presence overall & is more so just a physical embodiment to go toe to toe with Godzilla & as such some may look at it as wasted potential.
In conclusion. As someone who has a special place in their heart for this universe & the highest of excitement & hopes going into this movie, I left more than delighted & consolidated.
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is massive in spectacle, scale, big on thrills, riveting action, laughs and a surprisingly huge amount of heart & soul. With the movie being accompanied by a killer soundtrack and delightful performances from start to finish. I don’t say this lightly and with that in mind, it may be a contender for my favorite MonsterVerse movie to date right alongside Kong: Skull Island. Not only is this a great KAIJU! movie, it’s a great movie period.
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE releases in theaters on March 29.
