Directed By Adam Wingard

Starring – Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens

The Plot – The new installment in the Monsterverse puts the mighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal deadly threat hidden within our world that threatens the existence of their species and our very own, as well as diving deep into the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond. Delving straight into the origins of Hollow Earth, this film will explore the ancient Titan battle that brought man and monster together forever.

Rated PG-13 for creature violence and action

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | Official Trailer 2 (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

As to where “Godzilla Minus One” soared to new heights for Kaiju action, “The New Empire” is a full-fledged return to the kind of popcorn thrills and limitless devastation that longtime enthusiasts have come to expect from these respective titans of turmoil. That’s not to say that it isn’t without its charms, as audiences will be paid off accordingly with intensely swift combat and worldwide destruction that not only makes this a non-stop roller-coaster of titanic scale, but also one that faithfully represents the capabilities of its monstrous forces, with a dream team collaboration that proves more good can be done together than ever opposing. While we obviously know Godzilla and Kong are along for the ride, part of the fun comes in seeing which other monsters that the film will unveil for us to momentarily gawk at, and while limited by the way they’re conjured out of thin air to the story, I took great pleasure in recognizing some iconic monsters in the lore of Kaiju that breathed an air of familiarity back to a simpler time, when I was a child who grew up on these movies. For the vital action, the production really works wonders in articulating a resounding impact, with boldly immersive sound mixing and limitless carnage painting a pulse within the irresistible force meeting the immovable object conflict that constantly delivers as promised, but also within the movie’s tonal consistencies of self-awareness, which keeps the material from ever taking itself too seriously. This occasionally leads to the kind of silliness in contrivances that you would wholeheartedly expect in a movie of this caliber, with conveniences being handed out like Halloween candy, but never the kind that are sacrificial towards the integrity of the finished product, finding a comfortable medium between the aforementioned urgency of the action and bizarre developments that we undoubtedly buy as a result of the unique world conjured by Wingard that takes something vital from every generation of Kaiju films. Adding to this personality is the synth-heavy score from composers Antonio Di Lorio and Tom Holkenborg, who infuse an 80’s element to the audible capacities that enrich transitions and imagery with a cool factor that works surprisingly well in the depths of such a violently riveting film. The instrumentals attain merit in the subtlety of their expansions, avoiding repetition as a cheap gimmick to invoke evolving tension, and when held in tow with some 70’s rock that serves as the manifestation to Stevens off-the-wall wild card of a character, we have compositions that feel like they legitimately reflect the characters they’re accommodating. For those characters, the performances are essentially nothing special, but I will say that the trio of Hall, Henry and Stevens are clearly excited to be here, unraveling energy and commitment to their deliveries that make them tolerable, even if they’re the single least interesting aspects of the movie. In particular, Stevens easy-going demeanor opposite of Hall’s professionalism solidifies an endearing dynamic with loads of history between them that brandishes chemistry without feeling romantic, and when combined with Henry’s honest observations among dire situations, supplants something vital for each of them to feel intregral to their side of the storytelling. Lastly, the film can easily be interpreted as C.G overload from even ten seconds of its marketing, but the artificial manifestations surprisingly wield a lot of emotion and influence over the capitivity of each frame, making them easier to firmly invest and believe in. Especially in the design of Kong, with boldly big eyes and facial registrations tapping into communication within his actions, scenes are able to supplant endearing heart and empathy to moments that would be dramatically underdeveloped and disconnecting to its audience without them, proving that for everything the artificial designs lack in tangibility, they more than make up for in emotional articulation, appraising meaningful merit to who is easily the protagonist of this second chapter, despite getting second billing in the movie’s title.

NEGATIVES

While on the subject of that increasing role to Kong, the decrease from Godzilla is unfortunately most noticeable in a film that finds little to no actual reasoning for him to be a part of it, leaving noticeable gaps of absence for quite literally the world’s biggest character, that grows more concerning the longer the film persists. As to where the entirety of the narrative centers around Kong and his quest for dominance against a cruel leader, Godzilla is quite literally left to sleep in Roman colliseums, waking only when he is needed to even the score against a dangerous onslaught. This might not be an issue to everyone, but to half of the audience who can never get enough Godzilla, it’s crucial, proving that this film should’ve probably stayed the Kong film that it was originally supposed to be, especially because the film slows down just as much every time Godzilla is on screen as it does the human protaognists. On the subject of them, this is unfortunately once more a regression for human characters in this world, who are left to drive the connective tissue to the audience with some of the most obvious and on-the-nose dialogue that convenience can properly muster. This makes Hall’s character feel supernatural, for the ways she’s not only able to read languages of tribes that we didn’t even know existed until this movie, but also tapping into the psychology of the various monsters, where she’s able to predict what each of them will do, long before they actually do it. When you’re not dealing with this, you’re left with Henry and Stevens, who despite a charming dynamic between them, could be omitted from the finished product, and the film would lose quite literally nothing. There’s little development or time spent with them that doesn’t consider their titanic adversaries, and considering the humor they’re given rarely if ever meets an effective landing spot, their charms wear thin quite quickly, leaving us wishing we could return to Kong in ways the film simply doesn’t do enough of. Timing imbalance isn’t just for the protagonists, however, as Skar King, this newfound antagonist that goes against Kong, isn’t fully brought to the forefront of the proceedings until there’s forty-five minutes remaining in the film, in turn undercutting the magnitude of his capabilities, which often makes him a difficult sell against the mighty powerful Kong. Because it takes so long getting to the meat of the material, the first act feels like it drowns on forever, creating an off-putting consistency to the movie’s pacing that feels like it’s constantly wasting time before setting the motions in movement to the movie’s plot, and feeling every inch of the 110 minute run time that adorns its finished product. Aside from script issues, the overindulgence of C.G, while effectively connective to Kong’s emotionality, feels too dominant over the landscapes and visuals that make up the entirety of its shot composition, in turn leaving a lack of tangibility or humanity hanging in the balance of destruction that constantly corners them. Between a lack of on-the-ground focus or reality in backdrops, the film could easily pass for animated, if not for the humans in the depths of the plot that it chooses to continuously focus on, and while this allows the budget to get as expressive as it wants with the ruthlessness of its devastation, the impacts mean so much more when we coherently interpret that there’s lives being lost in the struggles of the chaos, which is something that I never felt for a single solitary second in a movie plagued by overwhelming artificiality.

OVERALL
“Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” isn’t “Godzilla: Minus One”, nor does it ever attempt to be. Instead, it’s more of the intense Kaiju action and uninvesting human protagonists that, for better or worse, has made this such an iconic cinematic tradition handed down from generations. While the indulgences of C.G obscures tangibility, and contrivances dumb down a script frequently attempting to be smart, the film’s unabashed attempt at personality comes with comfort in art that often isn’t supposed to be taken seriously, allowing us the freedom to appreciate the simpler moments of Kong adopting a power glove, or Godzilla sleeping in the Roman Coliseum, which might be the single greatest metaphor for each of their roles in this installment.

My Grade: 6/10 or C