Following in the footsteps of its 2021 predecessor Godzilla vs Kong, the latest MonsterVerse film finds director Adam Wingard returning to helm yet another story about titans battling each other.
Credit writers Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett and Jeremy Slater for dispensing with extraneous exposition about previous entries. The film wisely only features some brief news footage of Godzilla’s last spat with Kong before quickly (re)introducing its three returning players: Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), her adopted daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), and vlogger/conspiracy theorist, Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry).
After Godzilla vs Kong, a temporary peace has been established because Godzilla has taken up residence in the Coliseum and gone to sleep. Kong, meanwhile, has been relocated to Hollow Earth, a mirror world accessible via a dedicated portal in Barbados. The passageway is closely monitored by Monarch, the research group overseen by Dr. Andrews’ boss, Dr. Hampton (Rachel House).
The action kicks off when Godzilla wakes up unexpectedly and begins consuming an arsenal of atomic energy. This coincides with Jia being plagued by nightmares, which is eventually traced back to its source in Hollow Earth: she’s sensing some kind of distress signal.
In order to assist her displaced daughter and Kong, who briefly emerges for dental care courtesy of loony veterinarian, Trapper (Dan Stevens), Dr. Andrews assembles a team to go into Hollow Earth. Their journey reveals a hidden civilization presided over by the Iwi Queen (Fala Chen), who warns of an impending apocalypse courtesy of Scar King, the leader of a subterranean group of apes intent of breaching the portal and ascending to our world.
Despite being overly complicated and juggling too many threads, in reality the narrative only exists to justify a series of outlandish action sequences. In that capacity, Godzilla x Kong is escapist fun: it’s very big, very loud, and very stupid.
Like so many team-up and “versus” films, the monstruous Titans are the real stars, not the humans. Pity poor Hall, who is saddled with a groan-worthy familiar arc playing the concerned mother, and Tyree Henry, who acts as comic relief, but just as often simply narrates what is happening on screen.
Stevens fares best because he’s a full-on caricature. Trapper is jokey and irreverent, which works best in a film that isn’t actually interested in its human characters. It doesn’t hurt that nearly all of his scenes are accompanied by needle drops.
That leaves the creatures themselves. For long stretches the film is simply a barrage of CGI creatures battling each other and while nothing actively looks bad, none of it looks especially great, either. Fan favourite Mothra is introduced in the last act and she’s easily the best-looking creature, but some of the Scar King’s lieutenants, as well as the mutant wolves chasing Kong in the opening, and the hacked-up bodies of several sea creatures, actively look fake and janky.
So what about the action? Audiences who go up for disaster porn will *love* the film. Godzilla wrecks seemingly every bridge in Italy. The pyramids of Cairo act like WWE ropes when Kong lures Godzilla out of slumber, and the level of destruction to Rio in the finale would render the city completely uninhabitable.
Throw in some wonky reverse-gravity action in Hollow Earth and an ice-spewing dinosaur Scar King rides and Godzilla x Kong features no shortage of cluttered action sequences. None of them carry any weight or stakes, but that’s hardly the point. If you’re simply looking for a film that features oversized creatures punching each other in the face for 115 minutes, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is going to give you everything you want.
Is it good? No.
But is it entertaining? Yup! 3/5
Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire is in theaters March 29, 2024.