Film Journal 2024: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Directed by Adam Wingard
This is a long ways from where we started. Takes all of about 5 seconds for this thing to hit the ground running, not to mention some bizarre tonal shifts that yank the viewer left and right in the first 5 minutes. Whatever whiplash this might give you, it does manage fo find its rhythm, using it to play up the monster mashup ×100 by the end.
It is dumb, but I think if you are a fan of this particular kind of Godzilla/Kong movie, which fits most readily in line with its predecessor (and even then, ratches things up), you should have a good time.
The middle part of the film is the strongest, having assembled the cast of characters, given us a decent dose of the monsters, and then engaging in some world building. Once it hits the back half the story gets cranked up into overdrive and the plot essentially fades away in favor of the climactic showdown we all know is coming.
This is probably the most ambitious of the bunch on an idea front. It lacks the atmosphere of Godzilla, the cinematic presence of Kong and the thematic push of King of Monsters. Even the sheer spectacle of Godzilla versus Kong seemed to feel more substantive in its world building and a bit more urgent in terms of the threats (I mean, it was literally Kong versus Godzilla, so The New Empire wasn’t going to top that). But a step down still has its entertainment value, especially when it’s made for Imax, and this at least knows what it’s going for in terms of silly fun.
If you aren’t a fan of this kind of Godzilla/Kong movie, and especially if you think this one would make you bitter releasing on the heels of the most recent international iteration, then rest assured, you’ll probably hate this.
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