2024 is the year of the dragon, but you’d think it’d be the year of the monkey with ape-themed action films hitting the big screen. Kicking things off is the follow-up to 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, a big, dumb monster mash that actually managed to be a decently fun time when it allowed its titular kaijus to duke it out. As we waited for the sequel, Japan gave us a solo, unrelated Godzilla film, the acclaimed Godzilla: Minus One. I really loved that film and it’s definitely going to be a hard bar to pass, but really, comparing that film to Legendary’s current Monsterverse is like comparing the original Godzilla to later Showa era films; two completely different tones and approaches that are no less valid than the other. That’s the beauty of giant monster films; it can either be a depressing analogy for human tragedy or a WWE style smackdown between gigantic animals. I like both, they just need to be good, obviously. So, is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire good?
Much like its predecessor, Godzilla x Kong is at it’s best when the film says “F it” to sense and humanity, delivering on titanic clashes that actually manage to imbue some amount of character into these colossal creatures. While the humans are still boring exposition machines, the real journey and development is seen through Kong, fleshing out his personality in a way that could actually allow him to lead the film. I do wish that would have been the case, but unfortunately, uninteresting human drama still dominates the bulk of this film. The action might feel sparse at times, yet it more often than not activates the big CGI punch fest neuron in my brain when we are graced with these moments. Its issues are a bit more apparent here than in the previous film which does dampen it a bit for me, but at the end of the day I can’t deny that I mostly had a good time with this monkey drama.
Three years after the previous film, Godzilla and Kong have claimed their own territories. Godzilla maintains kaiju balance on the surface, while Kong riddles with angst underground in the Hollow Earth due to him being the last of his kind…or so he thinks. Kong eventually stumbles across the entrance to an even deeper layer of the Earth, where a race of giant primates are ruled by the tyrannical Scar King. When the Scar King plans to invade the surface and conquer the world, Kong and Godzilla must once again put aside their differences to team-up and take down this new threat. Oh and some humans do some human stuff, but who cares about that?
Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed the journey Kong embarks on, mostly because the film manages to tap into his more relatable side, which has always been what makes him stand out from Godzilla. We see his depression over the last of his kind, his hesitancy when he eventually meets more giant apes, and his sense of honor and understanding when he begins to interact with them. Without saying a word, Kong manages to be a far more interesting character than any of the humans. Seriously, all they do is spoon feed you information while not doing anything to make us give a damn about them or their struggles. I really do wish the film could have just been fully Kong centric, making for an interesting spin on the giant monster genre where the story is told through the eyes of the monster.
But we can’t forget Godzilla, right? Well, it kind of feels like the movie already did. Despite receiving top billing, this is very much a Kong movie, as Godzilla kind of just meanders about, not really having a clear direction until much later in the film. It really does feel like this was meant to be a Kong centric story, but because of where the Monsterverse left off at and potentially because of Zilla being the bigger name, he was inserted into the narrative kind of haphazardly. This might be a minor spoiler because they don’t show it in the trailer, but it’s not like a huge surprise or anything; there’s a new kaiju introduced named Shimo, a frost-breathing dinosaur who is controlled by the Scar King to do his bidding. This really feels like the filmmakers needed some kind of equalizer because the titular monsters versus the Scar King would most likely be a first round knock-out. Shimo’s inclusion doesn’t add much to the overall story, and while the concept may be interesting, it doesn’t make the kind of impact that could have been felt from seeing a classic monster we maybe haven’t seen in this universe yet.
It may seem pretty obvious, but most everything involving the humans really drags this film down. They just aren’t interesting or entertaining enough to care about, while the story beats involving them just get overly convoluted. There’s secret civilizations, ancient prophecies, chosen ones, absolutely egregious car product placement…and none of it is interesting. This is the only real comparison I’ll make between this film and Godzilla Minus One because they are very different films, but Minus One showed how to pair human drama alongside large-scale monster destruction successfully. Honestly they could have cut most of everything from the human-side of the story and not much would have been lost. And sure you could make the argument that they need to include these human moments to give the story some relatability, but I felt more connection towards Kong in this than any human character. Again, I wish they would have gone a different route and truly allowed the monsters to tell the story, rather than these half-hearted performances that need to over-explain every little thing about what’s happening.
Similarly to the previous film, the action is what you came for and it’s certainly the highlight. The concept of giant monsters punching each other in destroyed cities is fun, but it can get old fast. The film does manage to shake things up a bit with different locales and settings, but at times the end result can be a bit mixed. The film continues to establish Kong as the MacGyver of the monsters, improvising in the thick of it by either using the environment to his advantage or by utilizing what’s around him as a weapon. There’s a moment where Kong uses a monkey child as nunchucks to fend off other giant monkeys, which is the kind of big screen nonsense I can get behind. The same can be said about the Scar King to, who utilizes a skeletal whip with great proficiency. Where I think these action sequences kind of lose their impact is when there’s very little sense of scale. You kind of forget that you’re watching giant creatures duke it out because the framing and scene structure doesn’t properly translate it. Some of these scenes don’t have that gargantuan weight they should, which is something I thought the previous films had done fairly well at achieving, especially Gareth Edwards’ first film. Maybe that’s a minor complaint but I do like when my giant monsters actually feel giant.
If you’re expecting depth or good writing, then buddy you’re in the wrong theater. What you can expect is a semi-mindless CGI-fest that mostly delivers on what it promises. The storytelling is at its best when focusing on Kong’s journey and the exploration of his characters, and at its worst it focuses on the uninspired and uninteresting human character narrative, which is unfortunately the majority of this film. The bright spots do manage to shine through but it’s clear this same song and dance will only work so many times before it runs out of juice. I think it would be super cool to see a kaiju film where they fully allow the monsters to tell the story, but of course that takes smart filmmaking and not relying on lazy expository writing. I think the series can manage that, but studios these days seem more keen on repeating what worked before rather than working to expand beyond that. Luckily we are in an age where we have both spectrums of giant monster movies to pick from, so whether you’re a fan of the serious or the silly, you’ve got something to choose from.
Hopefully in the next one they’ll finally let Kong and Godzilla kiss!
Rating
Scar King
Journey with me deep in the Hollow Earth to discover the Scar King cocktail, inspired by the main antagonist of the film. The Scar King is a giant tyrant of a monkey, and this cocktail adopts his orange and white color scheme. This drink is a refreshing mix of pineapple, grenadine and lime, paired alongside banana flavored rum and a hint of spice courteous of both cinnamon syrup and overproof rum. This tropical cocktail is sweet and bright upfront with a noticeable tongue tingle on the back end; perfect for your summers on Skull Island!
Ingredients
- 1.5oz banana rum
- 1/2oz overproof rum
- 1oz pineapple juice
- 3/4oz lime
- 1/2oz grenadine
- 1/4oz cinnamon syrup
- dusting: shaved coconut
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a shaker and shake with ice.
- Strain into chilled coup glass.
- Top with a dusting of shaved coconut flakes.
The Martini Shot 