At the risk of sounding pretentious, after seeing Godzilla: Minus One less than five months ago, my expectation for what a kaiju movie completely changed. Wherein that film was a thoughtful, exciting, and mature take on Godzilla, using the monster as a backdrop for bigger things, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire...is mostly just monster stuff.
And hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing. People have been clamouring for an American kaiju movie that sets the human characters aside and focuses primarily on the massive creatures that destroy our cities. Godzilla x Kong: TNE does this pretty well; spending the vast majority of its run time in "Hollow Earth", a realm beneath our own where Kong now lives, full of fascinating (and gargantuan) creatures.
My favourite parts of the movie were where the monsters - mostly Kong - interacted with other monsters. It was a surprisingly good showcase of non verbal storytelling that naturally, gives this movie a lot of international appeal.
But, I can't help but feel this movie could be and should be...more? It really does feel like a Kong movie that Godzilla just happens to feature in; his inclusion almost feels unnecessary. Then, of course, there are the human characters.
Minus One PROVED that great human drama and characters are not only possible, but elevate kaiju movies. This one isn't bad; Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens are fine; Brian Tyree Henry is on the verge of being annoying, but he works. The little girl is really terrible. Somehow, despite have zero spoken dialog, she can't properly convey the emotions she's supposed to be expressing with her face alone. Unintentional hilarity ensues.
There's also more people like her, who are weirdly and inexplicably mute, and in a movie with so much grunting and roaring, I felt that was an odd choice. The lore of the movie is pretty tacked on and doesn't leave much of an impression (it also doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's fine).
Overall, Godzilla x Kong: TNE is FINE. It's nothing particular special, and it's not bad. But I can only hope for the next one, we get a bit more ambition and creativity.
And hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing. People have been clamouring for an American kaiju movie that sets the human characters aside and focuses primarily on the massive creatures that destroy our cities. Godzilla x Kong: TNE does this pretty well; spending the vast majority of its run time in "Hollow Earth", a realm beneath our own where Kong now lives, full of fascinating (and gargantuan) creatures.
My favourite parts of the movie were where the monsters - mostly Kong - interacted with other monsters. It was a surprisingly good showcase of non verbal storytelling that naturally, gives this movie a lot of international appeal.
But, I can't help but feel this movie could be and should be...more? It really does feel like a Kong movie that Godzilla just happens to feature in; his inclusion almost feels unnecessary. Then, of course, there are the human characters.
Minus One PROVED that great human drama and characters are not only possible, but elevate kaiju movies. This one isn't bad; Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens are fine; Brian Tyree Henry is on the verge of being annoying, but he works. The little girl is really terrible. Somehow, despite have zero spoken dialog, she can't properly convey the emotions she's supposed to be expressing with her face alone. Unintentional hilarity ensues.
There's also more people like her, who are weirdly and inexplicably mute, and in a movie with so much grunting and roaring, I felt that was an odd choice. The lore of the movie is pretty tacked on and doesn't leave much of an impression (it also doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's fine).
Overall, Godzilla x Kong: TNE is FINE. It's nothing particular special, and it's not bad. But I can only hope for the next one, we get a bit more ambition and creativity.