The Pretty Good and Hilariously Bad of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The post The Pretty Good and Hilariously Bad of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire appeared first on Consequence.
Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a true mixed bag of a film, continuing the MonsterVerse franchise in ways that don’t feel particularly game-changing or essential. As teased in the key art for the film, Kong gets a Power Glove. That’s pretty cool. And some other monsters show up to fight Godzilla and Kong. Also neat.
As underwhelming as the film directed by Adam Wingard might be, however, there were several elements deserving of praise, as there was real potential for this movie to be a strange action-packed odyssey. That potential was undercut, sadly, by a weak script and too many too conventional choices. However, to celebrate the glimmers we did get of what could have been, as well as acknowledge everything that went wrong, let’s break down what worked well and what didn’t — the good and the bad.
BAD: Rebecca Hall, Exposition Queen
Rebecca Hall returns to the MonsterVerse as Dr. Ilene Andrews, and she isn’t the only human character whose primary purpose in the film is to relay information — fellow MonsterVerse alum Bryan Tyree Henry’s Bernie also contributes to the exposition, in addition to adding some comic relief. However, at a certain point, what Ilene is asked to do is less like info-dumping and more like flat-out narrating the damn movie as it happens around her. If Hall returns again, she should demand to be paid by the word.
GOOD: You Don’t Need to Have Seen the Apple TV+ Show
Maybe you weren’t even aware that there was an Apple TV+ series called Monarch: Legacy of Monsters? (Apple TV+ does have an awareness issue.) If that’s the case for you, never fear — while the Monarch organization is featured heavily in the film, there’s no reference to anything specific from the show that would impair your understanding of the plot.
BAD: Kong and Godzilla Don’t Even Hang Out That Much
At the beginning of The New Empire, Kong and Godzilla are enjoying a truce as they chill out in their respective territories: Kong in the strange wilderness known as the Hollow Earth, Godzilla on the surface of the Earth, where he’s free to romp around having a good time.
Most of the film is spent following them individually as they encounter new threats on their own, while also tracking multiple human-focused storylines — none of which get nearly enough development, because of this script’s split focus and lack of cohesion. Plus, the intercutting largely feels sloppy, with a shift from Kong to Godzilla rarely feeling motivated by anything other than someone in the editing room saying “It’s been too long since there was a Godzilla scene, we should put one here.”
GOOD: Putting Rachel House in Charge
The wonderfully deadpan New Zealand actress is increasingly getting more recognition outside of Taika Waititi movies, and even in the thankless role as a Monarch leader, she adds some fresh spark.
GOOD: Letting Dan Stevens Be a Weirdo
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Warner Bros.)
Dan Stevens belongs to that special class of actors who, despite their classic good looks, seem deeply invested in playing oddballs like Trapper whenever possible. Hence, it’s a treat to not only see him reunited with Wingard (who used Stevens quite effectively in 2014’s The Guest) but allowed to be a gung-ho large animal vet — who seems genuinely delighted to be dealing with monsters.
To be clear, Godzilla vs. Kong’s Alexander Skarsgard paved the way here a bit (Skarsgard playing an arguably weirder weirdo). It’s a proud tradition I hope continues in Godzilla/Kong or however they decide to punctuate the next film, whether that means the return of Stevens, or the casting of a new conventionally attractive blonde man who wants to let his freak flag fly. (How busy is Chris Pine these days?)
BAD: Needle Drop Malpractice
One of Trapper’s quirks is that he likes to get stuff done while listening to classic rock. This unfortunately leads to a cruel tease of a moment where, on board the vessel that will take a small party through the portal leading to the Hollow Earth, he pulls out a Bluetooth speaker to start playing Golden Earring’s “Twilight Zone” — a perfect song to accompany a scene in which a group of people are traveling through a crazy portal into another world.
Unfortunately, the film barely gets to the chorus of the song before Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio’s score takes over for the rest of the sequence, denying audiences a really special soundtrack moment. The previous film, Godzilla vs. Kong, already gave us the straightforward version of the Hollow Earth trip! Let us rock out with Dan Stevens this time!
GOOD: When Godzilla Is Jwust a Sweepy Widdle Kitty-Cat
Over the last 12 months, the city of Rome has just taken a freaking beating in movies like Fast X and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1. Godzilla x Kong keeps that going with an opening Godzilla rampage through those hallowed streets — then, having gotten all tuckered out, Godzilla decides to take a little nap. And where else would a tye-tye boy like him curl up but inside the Colosseum? Not the most obvious of beds, of course, but it’s a nice cozy fit. This is, to be clear, the movie’s very best moment.
BAD: Rampant Property Damage That Means Nothing
A common staple of this genre is the wholesale destruction of whatever metropolis the boys might happen to roll up on, and usually there’s a visceral delight to that. In this era when we’ve all grown comfortably numb to this kind of digital blockbuster spectacle, though, it doesn’t make much of an impact — instead, it just makes you wonder which major metropolises Godzilla hasn’t attacked, at this point. (He’s been busy!). As the brilliant Godzilla Minus One just showed us, giant lizards stomping through a city is meaningless, if we don’t care about any of the people getting stomped.
GOOD: It’s Less than Two Hours Long!
The film, in fact, comes in at a tight hour and 55 minutes. (And there’s no post-credits sequence, if you want to leave even earlier.)
BAD: It Feels Much Longer Than That
There was a point, midway through the film’s major third-act climax, CGI beast raging against CGI beast, when a thought came to this humble critic: “This shouldn’t be boring.” And yet this is what happens, when there’s no emotional weight to the stakes, and the characters themselves feel as hollow as the earth they live on.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire stomps into theaters beginning Friday, March 29th.
The Pretty Good and Hilariously Bad of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Liz Shannon Miller
Popular Posts
Millie Bobby Brown’s Wedding to Be Officiated by Matthew Modine
Korn Announce Fall 2024 North American Tour with Gojira and Spiritbox
Kid Band with 10-Year-Old Singer Performs Crushing Cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Wish": Watch
Billie Eilish Blasts Artists Who Release Multiple Vinyl Variants to Boost Sales
Cypress Hill Announce Concert with London Symphony Orchestra Decades After Simpsons Joke
