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In Godzilla x Kong, Kong's control of Hollow Earth is threatened by an evil monkey called Skar King and his "pet" lizard, Shimo. This forces Kong to team up with Godzilla as he tries to take back his home. At the same time, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) has to deal with the struggles of her adoptive daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) to adapt to "regular life".
The latest entry in the Monsterverse takes all the worst aspects of its predecessors and tries to make something out of it. On one hand, it pushes most of its human characters to the background and makes mere caricatures out of most of them, while on the other hand, it treats the two titular creatures as "pets" instead of real threats (see my review of Godzilla: The King of Monsters). Heck, Godzilla even sleeps all curled up inside the Colosseum like a puppy.
There is a certain amount of silliness expected from a film like this, but it has to be handled properly. Godzilla vs. Kong did a solid job with it; this one, not so much. It's just one stupid contrivance after the other surrounded by a whole bunch of pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo that doesn't make any sense. Did I mention the underground civilization that communicates telephatically while using portals to travel to the surface? It's just too much nonsense.
There is some fun to be had out of the fights between the creatures, even if at times it feels like a checklist. Look! They're fighting in the pyramids. Ha! Now they're in Rio. There is also a fun rapport between new character Trapper (Dan Stevens) and returning character Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry), but like I said, they're all caricatures used to move the plot forward until the inevitable clashes between the creatures. For the most part, I was bored by it.
Grade:
GODZILLA x KONG
THE NEW EMPIRE
(2024, Wingard)
THE NEW EMPIRE
(2024, Wingard)
"If Kong draws Godzilla down here... they can make their stand in Hollow Earth."
In Godzilla x Kong, Kong's control of Hollow Earth is threatened by an evil monkey called Skar King and his "pet" lizard, Shimo. This forces Kong to team up with Godzilla as he tries to take back his home. At the same time, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) has to deal with the struggles of her adoptive daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) to adapt to "regular life".
The latest entry in the Monsterverse takes all the worst aspects of its predecessors and tries to make something out of it. On one hand, it pushes most of its human characters to the background and makes mere caricatures out of most of them, while on the other hand, it treats the two titular creatures as "pets" instead of real threats (see my review of Godzilla: The King of Monsters). Heck, Godzilla even sleeps all curled up inside the Colosseum like a puppy.
There is a certain amount of silliness expected from a film like this, but it has to be handled properly. Godzilla vs. Kong did a solid job with it; this one, not so much. It's just one stupid contrivance after the other surrounded by a whole bunch of pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo that doesn't make any sense. Did I mention the underground civilization that communicates telephatically while using portals to travel to the surface? It's just too much nonsense.
There is some fun to be had out of the fights between the creatures, even if at times it feels like a checklist. Look! They're fighting in the pyramids. Ha! Now they're in Rio. There is also a fun rapport between new character Trapper (Dan Stevens) and returning character Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry), but like I said, they're all caricatures used to move the plot forward until the inevitable clashes between the creatures. For the most part, I was bored by it.
Grade: