Grade: B-… As with most movie franchises in existence today, when a movie goer ventures out to check out the latest installment of the franchise, that fan of the franchise is often hoping for more of the same as the previous installment. It gives the fan a sense of safety and comfort through a sense of familiarity.
In “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire,” any fan of the Godzilla or Kong franchises will be pleased to find out that it is “another Godzilla or Kong” movie. Going into the movie you know you are going to see larger than life monsters, such as Godzilla and Kong, go out and do battle against other “titans” that are trying to put an end to Godzilla or Kong. Of course all of this fighting takes place with a side order of a thin plot.
In a Godzilla or Kong movie, most fans are not concerned about the plot and are just there to see a few of their monster heroes save the world once again from the latest nemesis.
In “The New Empire” the monster-friend duo of Godzilla and Kong, do battle on “Hollow Earth” against two enemies. One of which is truly a friend of theirs, but he is “enslaved” by an enemy that rules with fear. The humans in the movie primarily take a back seat while the monsters battle it out and deliver the majority of the plot.
The human actors in the movie were hit and miss. Some of the actors who tried to play it serious, came off as corny and over acted. The actors that were there for comic relief did a good job in their respective roles as there were unexpectedly quite a few funny scenes and one liners. Brian Tyree Henry played Bernie Hayes and he had the audience laughing for a good amount of the movie’s one hour and fifty-five minute runtime. As for the humans, he definitely stole the show.
As for the monsters, the movie focuses more on Kong than Godzilla. Kong definitely has more screen time than Godzilla. It is not much of a complaint, but sometimes I must admit that I did occasionally forget that it was also a Godzilla movie. I think the reasoning behind the decision is due to Kong’s more “humanistic” nature, it makes it easier to fold his part in with the humans. Whereas, Godzilla never really has much human interaction and is strictly business.
Like all of the previous movies in the franchise, the main draw is the monsters fighting (some to their death). “The New Empire” tackles all the fighting scenes with a nearly identical approach as the previous movies. It is formulaic but it delivers on why people pay to go see the movies. All of the monsters have a “human” part of their personality and I believe that the human quality helps to connect the movie goer deeper to the movie. Even though a monster might be a “bad guy,” the movie does a great job of conveying the monster’s side of the story and why the monster wants to get rid of Godzilla or Kong.
I was excited to see the movie after I first saw the trailer for “A New Empire” and it did not disappoint. It was exactly how I expected it to be and I enjoyed it. Just to reiterate, there is nothing new in “A New Empire” but if you’re a fan of the Godzilla or Kong movies, you’ll likely enjoy the latest installment.
Go see it on the biggest screen you can possibly find because these two legendary titans deserve and demand to be seen in the largest format available.