J.C. Reviews: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is Big, Loud Fun!
by James Coulter
As with the new Planet of the Apes movie, I also watched this film unprepared, not having seen any of the previous Godzilla or King Kong movies. Then again, in my defense, I feel these movies aren’t exactly hard to grasp.
Godzilla is a giant lizard that smashes things. King Kong is a giant ape that smashes things. Their crossover movie was about the two giants smashing each other. And now their new movie is about them teaming up to smash a bigger ape and lizard.
So, how does their new blockbuster crossover hold up? Did it prove to be another smashing success? Or did it only crash under its enormous weight?
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire starts with the two giants having gone their separate ways. Godzilla remains on the surface fighting off new threats while King Kong has ventured into the Hollow Earth in search of other giant apes like him. Meanwhile, a human child from the tribe on Kong’s old island has dreams and visions involving the two creatures.
Upon delving deeper into the Hollow Earth, Kong finds a tribe of other giant apes led by an even bigger, meaner ape, one with a giant ice-breathing lizard at its command. The two plan on invading the surface and wreaking havoc.
Now, Kong, with his new mechanized arm, must team up with Godzilla to fend off this new diabolical duo. Will they set aside their differences and work together to defeat this new threat? And how much damage will they make doing so?
As I mentioned before, I didn’t even bother watching the other Godzilla or Kong films before watching this movie because I felt confident enough that the premise was easy enough to follow.
And, for the most part, it was.
Sure, there were human characters from the previous movies. But let’s be honest: they’re only flat cardboard cutouts that only serve to provide exposition about what Godzilla and Kong are doing and why they are doing it. Otherwise, they’re rather expendable. One of them even gets eaten alive during the movie.
The only human character with some significant development is the young tribal girl. Her story is about how she doesn’t feel like she fits in with the rest of the other human characters, which mirrors how Kong feels out of place even with his own kind. And her dreams and visions reveal that she plays an important role in assisting the two giants in their fight against the main antagonists.
Otherwise, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is truly an exemplar of style over substance. It truly is one of those movies you need to turn your brain off to enjoy. Because, in the end, as I mentioned before, these movies are about two giant creatures smashing things.
And, boy, do Godzilla and Kong smash a lot of things in this movie. They smash Rome. They smash Rio de Janeiro. They even smash the pyramids. They smash giant serpents and moths and other apes and lizards. They smash and smash and smash. And, honestly, it’s a smashing good time.
Unlike Kingdom of the Plants of the Apes, which presents itself as a smarter, more serious film, Godzilla x Kong knows it’s a big dumb movie and revels in offering big dumb fun.
Interestingly enough, I accidentally paid to watch a 3D version of this film. But it was a happy accident. The 3D truly enhanced the larger-than-life visuals of the movie, and this movie truly needs to be seen on the big screen—especially in IMAX in 3D—to be appreciated. Overall, catch this movie while you can while it’s still in theaters. Because it’s big, bold fun
