by Jeremy Kazieva,
‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ is another beautifully added film to the Monsterverse. This movie ups its game in ways I couldn’t have pictured with a combination of humor, stunning visuals, action sequences, new species, and threats. Giving the audience something they’ve never seen before.
‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ is the continuation of the first film that came out back in 2021. In this sequel, Godzilla and Kong face a colossal threat hidden deep within the planet, challenging their very existence and the survival of the human race. We go even deeper into the world of Kong and get to explore his tribe of apes and its history. We get to watch him grow as an ape and what life would be like as the gorilla in his potential parent form. This sequel, again, is a continuation of the first film, but not all of the original cast members return for this one. This film limits the original casting count for humans and instead brings in some fresh new faces for both humans and apes. They are giving it a new and fresh look that the movie needed and delivered.
As far as Godzilla, well there’s a reason why he’s the “King of Monsters”. In this sequel, we see him as strong as ever, as more brutal than ever, and what his life is like after the first film, being the “protector”. The sound effects of his screech sound clearer, he’s more versatile and way more mobile than before. We see him at literally full strength, which is stunning in countless amount of ways. The only downside is his screen time. We get a whole lot more of Kong than Godzilla that it makes you feel like it’s a sequel to Kong rather than Godzilla x Kong, but it all becomes worth the wait towards the 3rd act.
The overall sequel shows us what it’s like to have what were once two Titans clashing against each other, to the two Titans fighting side-by-side as they team up this time to fight an even bigger foe. A duo that we never thought we’d get turned out to be a duo we will now never forget. The way Kong and Godzilla fought together in this movie and the completely new and random locations will always keep me in awe. All the fight scenes were either visually stunning or the combat just blew me away. These are certain scenes that MUST be viewed in IMAX.
As far as screentime, I do wish we had more Godzilla on the screen, but you begin to understand why Kong had much more screentime as the film goes on. This film focuses more on Kong, finding more apes like him to be surrounded by, going through so much adversity, and building himself back up just in time to be strong enough for when the time matters. It came to the point where it made you think that Kong was the main character rather than both of them. This is my only criticism so far. If you are looking for moments when these two titans are on screen together, you should wait until the 3rd and best act of this sequel, but it does happen to be very much worth the wait once you find out what Godzilla has been doing the entire time.
Finally, the music and dialogue. Boy oh boy where to even begin. It’s not every movie where a character acts like a clown, saying a quality amount of humorous lines as well as acting it. Bryan Tyree Henry happens to be one of those characters. In every scene he’s in, it’s either we’re getting the same smart version from the first film or we’re getting the clown version where he just says or does something silly to keep the viewers entertained, and it honestly works. His acting will put a smile on your face no matter the situation in the film. This is probably one of the fewest films out there that keeps you seriously entertained without any dialogue even at times, since we get more alone scenes with Kong and his apes along with Godzilla’s screentime. Watching their species interact is just as entertaining, if not more, than watching the cast themselves. A movie does rarely this, but in this kind where two giant titans are the main characters, the people behind the making of this incredible sequel make it work.
The music helps throughout this film as well. There are certain moments where you know we need an entertaining song during the most incredible parts of this film and WE GET IT. The music just so happens to make you smile and keeps you engaged throughout the entire 1 hour and 55-minute span. Whether it’s a good or bad moment, the composer for this particular movie does an excellent job. Overall, this film is up there as one of, if not the best, movies in the ‘Monsterverse’. It starts with action and a hook, the pacing is just fine, the overall cast is great, the locations and settings are visually stunning and completely random at times, and the director does an amazing job with the camera during some of the action sequences. A movie I’d recommend in IMAX.