I’ve always been a movie person more than a book person. Growing up, my most vivid memories of watching movies are of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and King Kong from 2005. Naturally, my current 20-year-old self is a big fan of the Marvel and MonsterVerse movies. And here I am to talk about the newly released Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. But while we have new exciting villains and new locations to look at, does it really nail it? Hate to admit it, but nah. Good thing that I didn’t have any expectations from it, so it didn’t disappoint me to that extent. Literally got what I had thought would get– lots of fights, some amazing visuals, and a storyline that doesn’t make sense. Seedhe, saral shabdon mein kahu toh adrenaline rush grab hai bass.
Plot
It starts off pretty similar to the 2021 movie. We’ve got Rebecca Hall back as the anthropologist Ilene Andrews, and her adoptive daughter Jia (Kaylie Hottle). Similar to the last time, Jia feels weird about something and ends up drawing frantic images of ‘things’. At the same time, APEX records some mysterious energy pulses which are eventually linked to Jia’s drawings. Guess what? It turns out there’s a whole Dead Poet’s Society kinda secret civilization of giant Kong-like creatures enslaved by their leader in Hollow Earth. Their leader, Skar King, (one huge pain in the ass honestly), has got big plans to break out and take over the surface world. I know the premise sounds pretty cool, but hold your horses guys. But there’s so much more to it that at one point you just give up thinking about it and simply watch it for the visuals.
Performances
It’s pretty much the same cast so the performances are okay only. Rebecca Hall and Kaylie Hottle do a solid job as the mother-daughter duo. Last movie ki tarah, is mein bhi their relationship adds some much-needed heart to the chaos. Brian Tyree Henry is back as Bernie Hayes, the conspiracy theories podcaster, and he’s hilarious as always. Then there’s Dan Stevens as Trapper Beasley. The most prominent newest addition to the cast, he plays a vet for the Titans vet who quotes poetry and pulls off some seriously absurd stunts. His chemistry with Henry is great, but the movie doesn’t make the most of it. So yeah, nothing extraordinary here, just the same old regular stuff.
Direction and Writing
See, one thing about these kinda movies is they don’t rely on the direction and writing much. Cuz it’s more about presenting a visual spectacle than anything else. If we keep that into consideration, I think director Adam Wingard has done a decent job here. But the movie is too much on the nose. Like chill guys, you don’t have to over-explain every other plotline– we’re smart enough to figure it outtt! This slows things down and makes some scenes really drag. But Wingard nails the action scenes, especially that climax, but the pacing is all over the place. Also, I’ll NEVER forgive them for introducing Skar King so late in the movie. Bro really has no real impact. It’s like the movie has all these cool ideas but doesn’t quite know how to put them together.
Screenplay and Cinematography
Now it’s okay if a monster movie doesn’t focus on the direction and writing much. But the screenplay NEEDS to be splendid, or else the movie is cooked. And I’m afraid that’s the case with this one. The screenplay is where things get messy. There’s a lot of back-and-forth between monster fights and human drama, but the balance is missing. When the monsters are on screen, it’s awesome – the battles are epic and the visuals are stunning. But the human scenes feel like filler, ngl they kill the vibe. The CGI is solid, but is it just me or do the creatures look a bit more cartoony than in previous movies? Especially Skar King, I wasn’t buying his animation at any point in the movie. Also, they fail to grab on to the more emotional moments, like Kong bonding w a baby ape and stuff. You can’t just have action and humor to drive a story, right?
So, here’s the deal: “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is a mixed bag. The action scenes are killer and the world-building is next-level, but the story is a mess. It’s like they threw everything at the wall to see what sticks. Fans of the franchise will still have fun with the monster mayhem, but what sucks is the realization that it could’ve been so much more. If you’re in it for the epic battles and don’t mind a scattered plot, you’ll have a good time. Just keep your expectations in check.
