My expectations for “Godzilla vs. Kong: New Empire” (from now on “New Empire”) were almost as low as Kong in his first movie in the MonsterVerse (The MonsterVerse) – “only” 30 meters.
The previous films in the series, even though they were fun and included quite a few cool kaiju fights, were a bit heavy and dealt a lot with building the world of the universe and too little with the titans for whom these films were made in the first place.
But strangely enough, the fifth time feels the luckiest for me, because “A New Empire” is one of the most fun movies I’ve seen lately and that’s mainly because it’s different from the other movies (and the series) that came before in the monster universe.
Godzilla vs. Kong: A New Empire – the plot
After the events of “Godzilla vs. Kong” the world remains in the status quo – Godzilla, following proving once once more that he is the king of the monsters, guards the outer Earth once morest the threats of titans rising to destroy him, while Kong is the guardian of the hollow Earth.
When Kong discovers another layer of the hollow Earth containing a cruel and ancient enemy that threatens the entire Earth, he must return to the surface and drag Godzilla to help him in a battle that will decide the future of Earth and the Titans.
The people here are marginal
“A New Empire” is the fifth film in a franchise that I’m quite surprised managed to survive to this day. The franchise includes five films and a series and has always felt like one that focuses too much on the story and humanity facing the kaiju monsters than on what really matters – the monsters.
In the new film, the director Adam Wingard (who also directed the previous film in the series) apparently finally understood what the fans really wanted and urged to corner the humans in the film into a subplot, which although it advances the main plot of the film and gives context to the battles and the history of the kaiju on Earth , she’s not really interesting. She is the weak point of the film and they might have completely given her up and saved more or less half an hour of it.
Godzilla vs. Kong: A New Empire (Courtesy of Tulip Entertainment)
However, since there are people on the screen (such as those who also talk and are not just crushed to death by one of the monsters), the film takes a much lighter approach than its predecessors and offers a plot that includes the Brian Tyree Henry (“The Eternals”), which returns from the previous film together with Rebecca Hall (“Iron Man 3”) and does an excellent job as a comedic antagonist, and Dan Stevens One (“Legion”), who more or less plays some sort of British version of Peter Quill from “Guardians of the Galaxy”, and it totally works, both to his advantage and to the film’s advantage.
To back this fact up even more, the film interweaves rock songs from the 80s as part of its soundtrack. True, it’s an old trick that we’ve seen quite a bit in recent years, but the experience of “A New Empire” is so fun, that I feel it’s an element in the film that not only doesn’t bother me, but even enhances the experience.
When Kong met Godzilla… once more
It may be obvious that a movie called “A New Empire” will not deal too much with human stories (although I heard that “Godzilla Minus One” did deal with a human story and even did it well), so how are the titans in the movie?
I didn’t believe that giant monsters that don’t speak can convey so much emotion, but this is where the real strength of the film is revealed – its ability to tell the story of the titans without saying a word… maximum growl.
Kong stands out here in particular and feels almost completely human. His every action feels like something a person would do and his every reaction to the environment feels very natural and familiar, so much so that sometimes there is a feeling that Kong does speak and express himself even though he doesn’t utter a word, something I wouldn’t expect from a 90 meter computerized ape.
Godzilla vs. Kong: A New Empire (Courtesy of Tulip Entertainment)
In addition, the battles in the film are crazy, full of destruction, and bigger than anything we have seen so far in the series. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie that made me feel so small and insignificant in relation to a giant monster, because the titans don’t talk in human terms, they fight with skyscrapers as sticks.
Every kaiju in the movie has its own fighting style. They are all different and all look amazing in their scale and power. The choreography of each of the characters is precise and the motion capture work in the film is one of the most successful I’ve seen lately (unless it was done by a computer only).
What stood out to me the most was the choreography of the fight scene of the main villain, the “Scar King”. He moves with the lightness of a dancer and not like a giant monster. This gives him a presence of real menace and paints him as a worthy adversary to Kong and Godzilla.
Bottom line – what did we think of Godzilla vs. Kong: A New Empire?
“Godzilla vs. Kong: A New Empire” is a film that abandons all the elements that made the monster universe a bit heavy, which is mainly more people and less battles, and when it abandons them, it invites viewers to enter a world where destruction and action are the kings.
This is a movie that doesn’t require too much thinking, and that’s exactly why it’s so enjoyable and fun. I’m looking forward to seeing what new worlds and new threats we’ll be introduced to in the next Monsters universe movies, because Adam Wingard has already said he has an idea for the next movie in the series, and if it continues as it is now, I’m totally on board with this universe.
Public service: The film does not have a single scene following the credits, you are welcome to stay for the soundtrack.
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