The movie theater is a place where you can experience dozens of emotions and thought compelling stories. Some movies tug on your heart with a tragic yet beautiful romance. Some movies will bring you to tears with tales of sacrifice and regret. Some movies are simply there to deliver a dumb yet awesome thrill ride; And what better way to create that thrill ride, than with a gigantic radioactive lizard and a big monkey.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire tells the story of the titular Godzilla and Kong’s mission to stop the return of an ancient threat to the world known as the Scar King. This is the fifth installment of Legendary Pictures’ “MonsterVerse,” a series of films and television series focusing on the modernized version of classic giant monsters. GxK is a sequel to 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, where the two duke it out over a long rivalry. Now, they must set their past grievances aside to battle an even greater danger.
Getting the negatives out of the way first, the plot is nothing to write home about. It’s a classic team up plot made to get two larger than life characters on the screen together. It’s riddled with plot holes and unexplained events. It didn’t have to be any more than that, however, and I appreciate the fact that they didn’t make it anything more.
The human characters aren’t anything special either. The main cast consists of Rebecca Hall’s Ilene Andrews, Brian Tyree Henry’s Bernie Hays, Dan Stevens’ Trapper, and Kaylee Hottle’s Jia. Hall, Henry and Hottle are all returning actors from Godzilla vs. Kong, during which they helped Kong survive his titanic bout with Godzilla. Stevens joins the cast as a veterinarian for giant monsters and former partner for Hall’s character. These four go on a journey into the deepest depths of the Earth in order to find a mysterious distress call’s origin.
While watching the film, I felt as if the writers knew that the human story is not what people were there for. It gave off the impression that the writing and dialogue for these characters were given minimal effort, and they were only there to progress the plot. Although the focus on the monsters is appreciated, I can’t help but feel like that part of the film could have had a little more effort into it. The human perspective in a world filled with monsters is something that could be incredibly compelling to watch if done correctly. If the writers put even a little bit more into the script, the whole movie could have been elevated farther than where it ended up.
In terms of positives, the movie’s strengths all fall under one umbrella; The writers and director knew what the people wanted going in, and that was a fun monster movie. For every mediocre scene with the main cast, there was at least one other scene of giant monsters fighting. For every underdeveloped bit of exposition, there was a scene that made the audience burst out laughing. For every overly dramatic moment of tension, there was another that didn’t take itself seriously in the slightest. Before watching this movie, I never even thought to imagine a 164,000 ton radioactive dinosaur suplexing a 300 ft tall ape off of the Great Pyramids of Giza. I also never imagined that the same radioactive dinosaur would use the coliseum as a cat bed, or that same ape would have a toothache. Moments like these made up for how average of the rest of the movie was.
Overall, I would give this a 7.5 out of 10. If you go in expecting a movie with thought provoking questions, emotion filled characters, and a plot with flawless writing, then you will be sorely disappointed. Although filled with plot holes, bland characters, and lackluster dialogue, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire stands as a dumb, cheesy, mindless thrill ride, leaving a smile on your face that won’t go away.
