Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
As it’s progressed, Legendary’s Monsterverse has leaned into the ridiculous. And God bless it, I’ve loved it immensely. I have yet to watch AppleTV+’s Monarch series, but the last three films- 2019’s “King of the Monsters,” 2021’s “Godzilla v. Kong,” and now “The New Empire”- have become progressively sillier affairs. Gone are the homages to the original films that kicked these two iconic characters off in movie history; we’re fully into each movie being an epic wrestling match between Titans. If that’s disappointing, Criterion has a fantastic box set of Godzilla films from 1954-1975- the filmmakers know what they are doing.
I’m forever grateful that Adam Wingard, the genre director behind “You’re Next” and the “Blair Witch” reboot, has been given carte blanche with this franchise’s big team-up films. As much as I enjoyed “King of the Monsters,” it seemed to try to do too much to make the film’s Titan fighting feel in the same vein as Gareth Edwards’s terrific “Godzilla,” with a color pallet that just felt too murky. I still enjoy that film, but what makes Wingard’s films work so well here are how they embrace putting these set pieces in brightly-lit environments. It allows us to appreciate the exceptional work of the visual effects crew all the more as Godzilla and Kong come to play.
After teaming up to take down Mechagodzilla in “Godzilla v. Kong,” the nuclear lizard and ape with a heart of gold put their differences behind them, and found a mutually beneficial peace between themselves. Godzilla would continue on the surface hunting other Titans, if needed, while Kong would find his place in Hollow Earth. All the while, Monarch is keeping tabs, and Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) is the public face trying to keep the government from shutting them down. Jia (Kaylee Hottle), meanwhile, is trying to acclimate to being a regular kid at school, but she’s having visions that make her feel like she’s missing something in life. It turns out her visions are coinciding with shockwaves coming from within Hollow Earth. A harbinger of new dangers, perhaps?
The screenplay by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett and Jeremy Slater keeps things simple, building off some of the strongest elements from the previous film in whom it’s following- namely, Ilene and Jia, the podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), Kong’s need to find others like him, and how Godzilla is basically a predator looking for prey- while also bringing in parts of the Godzillaverse mythos long-time fans will be fond of, and finding interesting ways to add to Kong’s arc. I really enjoyed the narrative, and how it decides to approach the ideas knowing we’ve seen this before, in everything from Christopher Nolan films to “How to Train Your Dragon” to “Planet of the Apes” to “Son of Kong.” Yes, King Kong becomes a dad, and the boy is a chip off the old block- he is the film’s big scene-stealer, both very intentionally and not so much.
“Godzilla x Kong” is about many things- giving us emotional reunions, giving Kong and Godzilla moments to be badasses, and bringing in wacky characters like Dan Stevens’s Trapper, who does some insane medical work on Kong- but it’s ultimately about having fun with these characters. We get more of Hollow Earth, more than calls back to Showa-era Godzilla, more of Ilene and Jia bonding with Kong (which made me more than a little emotional), and more wild, energetic music by Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio. Where this film really shines, however, is in its visuals. Wingard and cinematographer Ben Seresin create a rich landscape that allows us to follow every bit of the action, and allows the visual effects team to shine. I will never forgive the Academy for not nominating “Godzilla v. Kong” for its great effects; even if it ends up not winning, I hope they make up for it here. The character animation is some of the best a large-scale action movie has ever produced, with everyone feeling authentically believable, and having weight to it. That’s not easy when you’re up against franchises that have been typically built out of men in costumes or stop-motion animation, but it just makes the film come to life a bit more. As long as Wingard and Legendary are willing to give us more Monsterverse mayhem, I’ll eat it up.
