The Monsterverse movies are all about cinematic Kaijus clashing and causing massive devastation as they stomp across cities and collide against buildings. And it’s no different with “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which sees the two titans fight for titan superiority—and our entertainment. However, that seems to be all it has, as the drama, more prominent themes, and human dynamics don’t do much to support the film. Although, one doesn’t go into a Kajiu film to watch any of those three. They want to see two giant monsters clash and level cities. And they’ll get that in spades.
To keep the peace between Godzilla and King Kong, the two kaiju are separated, with Godzilla living on Earth and King Kong on Hollow Earth. As Godzilla continues to serve as Earth’s defender above, Kong is settling in his new home at Hollow Earth. As long as neither crosses their territory, humanity has nothing to fear.
As as Godzilla prevents cities from being completely flattened by other Kaijus and peacefully sleeps in the Collisum like a giant baby after lengthy fights, politicians and corporations grow weary of his actions. Meanwhile, Kong is relaxing at Hollow Earth, or at least tries to if he isn’t exercising his alpha dominance against other chimera titans. But this isn’t a way for the king to live. Especially since it is determined that he is a very social animal, and it’s not natural for him or his kind to be alone for a long time. Monarch has set up a station at Hollow Earth to monitor Kong’s activities and keep him from entering the portal that leads to Earth. But when strange signals appear on their readings, they send them to the only authority on Kong and Kong-related activities: Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall).
These readings aren’t a random occurrence. Dr. Andrews’ adoptive hearing-impaired daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), has visions of Hollow Earth and drawings whose patterns are similar to the Monarch station’s readings. Dr. Andrews has no idea how to “fix” what Jia is experiencing, so she reaches out to Kaiju podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) because she believes he can only give her the answers she seeks. He is the only one who discovers how the strange signals and the patterns in Jia’s drawings correspond to specific titan events. These signals are distress calls, and something is down in Hollow Earth calling for help.
But the two will have to act quickly, with Godzilla on the move and Kong entering the portal to Earth. No one knows why Kong is heading to the surface—that is, until they find out Kong is looking for relief from the pain of an infected tooth.
Enter Trapper (Dan Stevens), a Kaiju veterinarian in a Hawaiian shirt with the personality of Ace Ventura and a killer playlist he blasts on loudspeakers as he performs his procedures. He sees himself as a rebellious Dr. Doolittle who likes to take on titanic challenges like swapping out teeth for big animals. While he’s successful, this is more than just any ordinary service call. It is also an opportunity for him to reconnect with Dr. Andrews. They confide how much they have changed since their college days, with Andrews opening up about her struggles raising Jia, who is disengaged with school, failing her classes, and can’t connect with her classmates. She
Dr. Andrews hopes to contain the problem, especially since the government has been looking for an excuse to overhaul the Monarch program and corporations want to monetize, getting rid of all the Kaijus. So Dr. Andrews, Jia, Trapper, and Bernie, along with a Monarch soldier (Alex Ferns), head to Hollow Earth on a reconnaissance mission to discover the station’s status and who is sending the mysterious signal. But they uncover a colossal threat that could destroy both dimensions and the origins of the Kaijus.
Directed by Adam Wingard, who uses a script penned by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is a gargantuan sequel that delivers on the Kaiju battle spectacle but fails to give audiences anything to connect to on an emotional level. It’s not an overly terrible film, but it’s one that lacks a plot and solely relies on Kaiju brawls and narrative convenience to keep the story moving forward.
But the sequel uses the exploration of Hollow Earth to expand upon the Monsterverse and the mythologies of the Kaijus – more so for Kong, who calls Hollow Earth home. Kong has had no problem acclimating to this new world and coexisting with other creatures who try to take a bite out of him. He doesn’t so much as run away in fear of these creatures so much as so as he leads them into the traps he has planted. Traps include chasms of spikes and tripwires that release falling boulders. However, Kong lacks an emotional connection with a community he can call his own.
When a mini-Kong appears before the King, it is the first time we see anything like him. As such, the film inserts an element of intrigue about what other mysteries Hollow Earth may hide and how it could expand the Monsterverse. Hidden away from a protective layer of silk is another paradise, and underneath that is a menagerie of Simian titans led by the tyrannical Skar King. As the exploration of Hollow Earth continues, it is revealed that the Titans were the guardians of nature, and the great apes became the protectors of humanity.
However, Skar King attempted to conquer the surface, which led to a war with Godzilla. That war with the giant simian nearly destroyed Godzilla. But Godzilla prevailed and imprisoned the apes in the fiery realm of Hollow Earth. Ultimately, the Skar King remained obsessed with reaching the surface and has amassed a significant following of other simian titans, most of whom fear him because of his power and a crystal whiplash he uses to tame his pet titan, Shimo. Shimo is another titan that can best be described as an icy contrast to Godzilla’s heat-based powers. This titan proves to be formidable against Kong, who has nothing else but his brute strength to rely on. As such, he will need more than muscle to fight the two.
Of course, once Dr. Andrews and the gang see how powerless Kong is against the Skar King and Shimo, they realize that Kong will need to level up with some mecha augmentations and team up with his titan rival. This leads to some extrodinary fight sequences that makes the theaterical experience more than worthwhile.
Though it is exciting to see how these fights escalate from trampling the Hollow Earth landscape to leveling cities, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” doesn’t do much for audiences to care for the human characters. The script tries to get the audience to sympathize with Jia’s struggles to find her place in the world and humanize Kong with a similar difficulty, but it doesn’t go anywhere with it, nor does it flesh that out. These character’s plots and the larger themes don’t intersect as they should. Additionally, the convoluted exposition is a sloppy attempt to justify whatever kaiju fight comes our way. As such, the film lacks the emotional impact to connect to its audience.
Dr. Andrews and Jia’s relationship is the emotional anchor for “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” As Jia struggles to connect and find her place, Dr. Andrews desperately searches for the answers to fix what troubles her adoptive daughter, even if that means coming to terms with letting her go when she finds what she is looking for to fit in. The two work with the weak script they are given and carry the weight of the film with their poised performances and poignant dynamics.
And yet, even with all of those flaws, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” still manages to be the big dumb fun we’d expect to see from a film about two iconic kaiju and titans fighting each other on the big screen. And then, in a surprise turn of events, they team up for a tag team battle against the Skar King and Shimo. Sure, the exposition bogs it down, the human drama is non-existent, and the time it takes to get to these fights can be excruciatingly long, but audiences are there to see the cinematic kaiju tag team match of the century. Okay, that may be upselling it, but the reality is, watching Godzilla and Kong fight against the Skar King and Shimo, while leveling cities in the process is the kind of fun we all deserve. I just wish there was more to it than just the fights.
7.5/10
