Prepare yourself for destruction and monster mayhem with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Bringing these two characters back to the big screen is Adam Wingard who directed Godzilla vs. Kong back in 2021.

 

The film takes place a couple of years after the matchup between Godzilla, Kong, and Mecha Godzilla. We find Kong living out his days in Hollow Earth searching for his own species and really a sense of belonging. While Kong continues his search, we find Godzilla traveling around the world defeating various Titans and building up his power level for some odd reason. We are re-introduced to returning human characters from the last film with Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) who oversees Kong for Monarch, Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) a conspiracy theorist podcaster, and Jia (Kaylee Hottle) who is the last descendant of the Iwi tribe that worships Kong on Skull Island. The newest addition is Trapper (Dan Stevens) who plays the veterinarian for Kong. These four characters will team up to learn about a new threat in Hollow Earth called the Skar King. Skar King leads a group of species like Kong to find one of the portals that leads to the surface and rule over all of Earth. To prevent this outcome Kong will need to team up with Godzilla to prevent the end of Hollow Earth and humanity.

 

This film from start to finish is straightforward. You don’t need to do a lot of thinking or be emotionally invested. It’s just one big monster fighting another big monster with a sprinkled in plot that really doesn’t mean a whole lot. On top of that, the newest character, Trapper, seemed to have all the answers to help move the plot forward, but didn’t. The same goes for the overall storyline the humans deal with when helping Godzilla and Kong with the fight against Skar King. Speaking of Scar King, I had some high hopes but in the end that character just flopped. I wanted to be fearful of him but really, he was just there to be a punching bag for Godzilla and Kong. There wasn’t any real threat except the destruction of a lot of cities with massive casualties. I just find it difficult to watch these types of films and be invested when I know it’s going to be a slugfest with no real storyline that is worthwhile. In my opinion, Godzilla Minus One is a far superior film and has a human storyline that pulls at your heartstrings.

 

Overall, this film had some good action sequences, but the story and villain are very bland to say the least. You might want to see it once in a theater to experience it on the large screen with theater sound. If you have a good sound system and large TV at home, then watch it there when it’s available to rent.

 

Rating: 3 out of 5