‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ Review: A Big, Beastly Blast

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is ridiculous. Outright ridiculous. The thing is, it should be; it has to be. The self-aware system of insanity that it purports is essential to the place it holds in blockbuster cinema as it stands today. Adam Wingard, in his second directorial turn with the two titular monsters, shoots vials of fluorescent adrenaline directly into the veins of this film.

This is a sophomore effort that is concerned only with what lies ahead, barreling forwards with reckless abandon, and it’ll be up to you how much is worth leaving behind to join it. GxK is a manic adventure that goes to extreme lengths to entertain, and to that end, at least, it succeeds with flying colors (and teeth.)

Wingard has developed his tastes a bit since his 2021 turn in Godzilla vs. Kong. There, he seemed to prefer longer takes and slightly more naturalistic tones; he’d allow shots to dwell on the environments around them in favor of a slow-building immersion before inevitably flying off to the next battleground. Not all of that is lost on GxK, with the time spent in hollow earth being as delightful and detailed as it was in the former effort, for the most part. But here, everything moves a little quicker, and feels a bit higher off the ground. 

This starts with the story. After an extended prologue spent just following Kong around through what is basically his daily routine, we’re rushed along with the humans to meet him in his new hollow home and wasting no time dwelling on any sort of space in between, because that’s where Godzilla dwells. This is Kong’s story by a monster mile, as Godzilla is relegated strictly (and a bit surprisingly) to a side plot. He still has enough screen time to make his expected impact, and a stint involving him in the final act makes up for much of it, but his lessened inclusion in spite of his name still being in the title represents a larger issue with this film found in that sped-up pace.

GvK was good about maintaining engagement without completely forgetting to tell a coherent story; the human characters got annoying, sure, but they served a respectable purpose beyond vomiting exposition, which is almost all they exist for in GxK. It seems clear that Wingard is slowly pushing for a kaiju-only extravaganza in the future, and GxK would be a necessary step in that admirable process, but it suffers in feeling like a bridge in that way.

If you’re watching it at the cinemas, few experiences will even come close to the excitement that this one has to offer.

Thankfully, in trading a chunk of the human screentime, Wingard hauls in a ton of monster action, often simply for the sake of it. Both Kong and Godzilla get in multiple mini-brawls; brawny shows of strength set to remind you that, eventually, you could have a whole movie of that stuff. Even if it feels aimless on occasion, Wingard always manages to squeeze some awe out of any given sequence, so every time these beasts start to battle, it’s gonna be a fun time.

That’s what this movie is: a fun time. The scope is obscene, the villains totally slapstick, and the energy uncontainable. Aside from Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, which opened Legendary’s MonsterVerse on a serious note, the franchise has gradually been ramping up the silliness ever since, with this latest effort being perhaps the biggest jump in that direction yet.

Some may find the hollow (wink) nature of it all a bit hapless, but if you’re watching it at the cinemas, few experiences will even come close to the excitement that this one has to offer. This is a must-see on the big screen because it truly is one of a kind. Kaiju films on their own are rare these days, but big-budget, franchised releases like this one that tout ridiculously expensive visuals and oodles of unreal excitement are near nonexistent these days. For that reason, this is a must-see.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is now playing in cinemas worldwide.

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