Review - Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

         Happy Easter, everyone. Chuck here, and I just got back from seeing Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Directed, once again, by Adam Wingard, this movie serves as the sequel to the 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong, also directed by Wingard, and sees the returns of Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kaylee Hottle, and they are joined this time by Dan Stevens, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, and Rachel House. Of course, both Godzilla and Kong return, as do two other Titans previously seen in 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and we get more of Kong's kind: the Great Apes. 

         Picking up some time after the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, the duo of Godzilla and Kong are kinda off doing their own stuff. King has claimed domain over the realm known as Hollow Earth, whilst Godzilla is maintaining the natural order on the surface, dealing with other Titans such as Scylla. However, when a sinkhole opens to a deep catacomb within Hollow Earth, the race of great apes like Kong are discovered, and their leader, Skar King, seeks to devastate the world with an ice titan named Shimo. So, former adversaries Godzilla and Kong, along with Mothra, must team up to stop Skar King and Shimo from destroying the world. Plus, Jia learns that her people, the Iwi, have survived within Hollow Earth and must choose her between new family with Dr. Andrews and her people. 

        Okay, so one thing worth noting is that this movie, much like Godzilla vs. Kong, puts a lot more emphasis on Kong than on Godzilla. And I think that it's most likely because director Adam Wingard is more of a Kong fan than a Godzilla fan. Now, I love this iteration of Kong, especially with how Jordan Vogt-Roberts introduced him in 2017's Kong: Skull Island, but I have always been more of a fan of Godzilla. That being said, Godzilla definitely gets plenty of time to shine throughout the movie. I, especially, loved all of the monster battles featuring Godzilla, especially the fight between Godzilla and Scylla at the beginning of the movie. 

        On that note, there is a much bigger roster of Titans in this movie than in Godzilla vs. Kong. Of course, we have Godzilla and Kong both back, but there's also the great apes like Skar King, and there's the likes of Shimo, Scylla, Tiamat, and the return of Mothra. And, seeing these monsters throw down in epic fight after epic fight is a ton of fun. I was especially excited to see Mothra return after the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and she was spectacular once again. On that note, the visual effects team did a great job with the monsters, the overall design of Hollow Earth, and the visual storytelling of the movie. 

        The human element of the movie is, while not the worst in the series, still not particularly fantastic. Both Rebecca Hall and Kaylee Hottle as Dr. Andrews and Jia were really good in the movie, as was the returning Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie. But, my favorite member of the cast was easily Dan Stevens as Trapper, who is a Titan veterinarian. This guy is pretty much Ace Ventura meets Star-Lord, and I frickin loved every minute of screen time with this guy. And, I thoroughly enjoyed some of the songs featured in the movie that Trapper plays when he's doing his stuff, with my favorite featured song being "I Was Made for Loving You" by Kiss. And that's in addition to the music score by Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio, which was also fantastic. 

        Overall, this was a fun action filled monster movie that feels like a solid throwback to the classic Showa era Godzilla movies by Toho. Director Adam Wingard, along with the team at Warner Bros. and Legendary, made an absolutely fun movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. I definitely recommend this one, especially in 3D. I'm giving Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire a rating of 5/5. Honestly, the fact that this franchise all started ten years ago with Gareth Edwards' Godzilla, and is five movies deep, is pretty amazing. I have been with this series since the start, and I look forward to seeing where it goes next. Who knows? Maybe Gigan could show up in a future movie. Or maybe Rodan could return. Anything is possible at this point. 

       Anyway guys, this is Chuck signing off, and have a great Easter. See you guys next time. 

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