Godzilla and Kong team up once again in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”, and it’s an immensely bigger and brighter Titan extravaganza made for the big screen.
Note, however, that this is NOT the “Godzilla” film that won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects – that was last year’s “Godzilla Minus One”.
Sadly(?) for Malaysians and most of Southeast Asia, “Minus One” will never be screened owing to certain World War II sentiments. So you won’t feel the fatigue most other countries will likely face: too much Godzilla, too little time.
During the premiere of 2021’s “Godzilla v Kong”, director Adam Wingard expressed his wishes to make a film that focused more on the Titans and less on the humans. In fact, he said he’d rather make it all Titan and no humans!
Well, guess what? He delivers (almost) exactly that for the 10th anniversary of the Monsterverse.
“Godzilla x Kong” primarily follows the big ape’s journey as he explores his new home, the Hollow Earth realm. The poor guy is lonely, being the last of his species – or so he thinks.
Godzilla, meanwhile, is on his own power-hungry path, tossing aside other Titans that get in his way. Of course, the two eventually meet, and boy, is their chemistry explosive!
In terms of plot, let’s not get ahead of ourselves: this is clearly a popcorn flick, so make sure you get the large combo.
Still, audiences get to fully immerse themselves in the Hollow Earth introduced in “Godzilla v Kong” and expanded further in the “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” series, though Wingard has thankfully loosened up a lot more on the science of time dilation in this realm.
Carrying on from the previous film, Godzilla and Kong’s relationship stays the same: “Step into my territory and it’s pound town.” Some mediation is required for this team-up.
The villain, Skar King, is pretty straightforward, and the film doesn’t dally in making sure you know how evil he is the moment he appears on screen. (Side observation: the first scene between Kong and Skar feels like a remake of “Planet of the Apes”, with some of the King’s mannerisms reminiscent of a Mat Rempit gang leader from “KL Gangster 2”. Hmmm.)
On to the design of the Titans: They. Are. Gorgeous. Godzilla’s new look, which initially drew ire from netizens, is beautiful on the big screen. Inspired by Heisei-era’s Millennium Godzilla, the movie does justice to how the monster’s design would look in CGI.
All the other Titans, too, are crisp and unique, even if they simply seem to float around as extras.
Visually, “Godzilla x Kong” is a lot brighter in terms of colour and lighting, with most of the fights taking place in daylight. For a film with more VFX shots than a Marvel flick, these scenes are executed well.
But enough monster talk – let’s focus on the humans. “Godzilla x Kong” would have been perfect without any of the people, whose sole purpose seems to be for exposition.
Heck, the relationship between Dr Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and Jia (Kaylee Hottle) is so bland that even Jia tries to stop the doctor from making things about them.
Thankfully, veterinarian Trapper (Dan Stevens) and conspiracy-theorist podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) continuously remind viewers not to take the movie seriously. One particular cutaway from the multiple Titan fights to the humans will make you go: “Oh right – these guys.”
All in all, is “Godzilla x Kong” any good? Truthfully, it’s a beautiful love letter to the Showa-era kaiju films, but it’s a weak outing in general. And the blame is fully on the humans, who sure know how to mess things up.
That said, the movie was made for the big screen, so it’s best to catch it for the first time in any of the fun formats available – Imax, Imax 3D, ScreenX, etc.
As for whether it’s worth a rewatch… well, your kids will love it, but you, the grown-up, might want to wait for the digital release after one viewing.
‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ screens in cinemas nationwide from today.