Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the continuing story of monster mayhem on and inside the Earth. Set a few years after the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, the two warring titans have established stable boundaries. Godzilla controls the surface. The giant radioactive lizard monitors and ferociously eliminates any threats to humanity as they appear. Meanwhile, Kong has settled into Hollow Earth. It’s a lonely existence for Kong as he scours the deadly ecosystem for any remaining kin or ancestors. As Kong continues his explorations, he makes a startling discovery: a legion of previously imprisoned aggressive primates.
At the same time, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) begins monitoring unusual activity emanating from Hollow Earth. She suspects it might be related to the unexplained visions her adopted daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) is having, given the child’s connection to Kong and her previous home of Skull Island. Together, they investigate the happenings in Hollow Earth to proactively prevent any destruction to the humans above.
What works in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is its embrace and acceptance of silliness to make way for gigantic-sized entertainment. Early on in this 5th entry into the Monsterverse franchise, director Adam Wingard (You’re Next, Godzilla vs. Kong) makes the tone clear: we’re all here just to have fun. Wingard delivers. For people who mostly want to watch giant beasts battle, The New Empire will scratch that itch and then some.
The titans travel to exotic locales and Wingard makes optimal use of each environment with aplomb. Godzilla and Kong both get fantastic sequences of mayhem that will leave enthusiasts cheering. There’s a certain electrified joy in the adventure, and it’s incredibly contagious. Yeah, there’s humans too, and they are fine. The performers understand that they are not the main, secondary, or even tertiary attraction and seem very content to serve as exposition vessels. The decision to focus heavily on the monsters was a strong one, and it works very well.
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People who prefer films with a solid narrative plot or well-defined character development may not enjoy Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire as much as others. While the action takes place on a planet populated with humans called Earth, that’s about where any semblance of reality ends. The filmmakers couldn’t care less about logic or consistency, even within their own established rule set. The movie is primarily a collection “wouldn’t it be cool if…?” ideas loosely strung together, without consequence or impact from scene to scene. For example, the titans lay waste to entire cities and cultural landmarks. The film does a decent job of noting those places have been evacuated but even still, people shouldn’t think too hard about the repercussions of the devastation.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire fills a need within modern cinema: the epic mega monster blockbuster. There’s something innately charming about a film that is hyper self-aware of its purpose and goal. The New Empire accomplishes this incredibly well by delivering on its promise of non-stop action with a dash of humor. Highly recommended.
Recommended if you enjoyed: Pacific Rim, Godzilla vs. Kong, Transformers
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