Released: March 2024
Director: Adam Wingard
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 115 Minutes
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Genre: Action/Science Fiction
Cast:
Rebecca Hall: Ilene Andrews
Bryan Tyree Henry: Bernie Hayes
Dan Stevens: Trapper
Kaylee Hottle: Jia
This year, on October 27, it will be the 70th anniversary of the legendary Japanese monster Gojira, or Godzilla. There have been few movie characters that have been around as long as Godzilla and James Bond, not that I’m equating the two, obviously. The point is, is that even if you haven’t seen any of the movies, you automatically know who and what James and Godzilla are. The famed Japanese kaiju(monster) first appeared in 1954, 9 years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The movie was quite serious and warned people about the dangers of then-burgeoning nuclear power. It was a movie that really captured the imaginations of film-goers and film-makers the world over. It wasn’t the FIRST giant monster movie, however. There were several including The Lost World in 1925, but it was King Kong in 1933 that took the world by storm. Eventually the two would collide in 1962’s Kong vs. Godzilla. That was…an interesting little movie. The pair wouldn’t show up together again until 2021’s Godzilla Vs. Kong. To say that was a better movie than the 1962 movie is nothing short of an understatement. The bar was so low that the 2021 film could’ve stumbled over it. This year, the two pair up again in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.
Several years have passed since MechaGodzilla was destroyed by Godzilla and Kong. Kong would take to wandering Hollow Earth, the mythical underground realm where the titans originated. Godzilla would take to the surface of the Earth taking on the various other giant monsters that roam the planet. Meanwhile, scientist Ilene Andrews continues to work for Monarch, the mysterious organization that was formed to monitor titan activity. Ilene’s adopted daughter Jia, the last known surviving member of a native tribe of Skull Island, is having issues adapting to modern civilization. She continues to have bizarre visions, while an outpost in Hollow Earth detects what appears to be some kind of signal from an uncharted area of Hollow Earth. A new threat to the world appears and it seems that Kong can’t fight it alone. Nobody goes to these kinds of movies for the story. If someone tells you that they do, don’t trust them. They’re lying. With Godzilla Vs. Kong and now this film, it’s all about the monster mayhem. On that level, these movies work. However, after seeing Japan’s recent Godzilla: Minus One, The New Empire rings pretty hollow. Minus One gave us a grounded human narrative that struck a chord with audiences around the world. There really is no comparing the two movies, yet I can tell you which one is the better film. If all you’re looking for is glorious monster mayhem, then The New Empire is for you, because it definitely delivers on that front. One of the best parts about The New Empire? It has no secondary human villain. The main bad guy is Skar King, essentially an evil and demented version of Kong. No one else is required. It keeps things fairly simple and that works in the movie’s favor. However, if you want something that’s got more meat on the bones, Minus One is the one you’re looking for.
In the recent American version of Godzilla, the visual effects have been nothing short of outstanding. For the most part, that remains the same here. However, Godzilla X Kong has a problem that really hasn’t affected the Western franchise thus far: The scale. What do I mean by scale? When you go back to the 2014 Godzilla movie starring Bryan Cranston, Godzilla’s introduction was EPIC. The size of the beast was unlike anything that we had seen in a Godzilla movie before. You could absolutely feel and understand the colossal size of these creatures. Even in King of the Monsters and Godzilla Vs. Kong, the scale of the monsters just felt enormous. In The New Empire? Not so much. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that a huge chunk of the movie takes place in Hollow Earth, which is completely computer-generated. As a result, it has no real depth or verisimilitude that makes me believe that it’s real. When the monsters show up on the surface, that’s when the scale of what we are dealing with comes into focus. But half the time in the movie, we don’t feel the enormity of these creatures because everybody knows it’s all fake. Suspension of disbelief only works when you can believe in what you are seeing. Let’s go back to Godzilla: Minus One for a minute. The way the film was shot and the way the camera is used, the size of Godzilla feels enormous because the camera takes the perspective of the people on the ground. When you put that perspective up against something gigantic, a monster like Godzilla has more of an impact. The CG in Minus One is mostly excellent and totally conveys the true scale of a kaiju. That said, despite my issues with the scale of the monsters in the movie, it’s incredibly well-shot. It’s a stunning movie, and while Hollow Earth is clearly CG, it’s beautiful to look at. The creatures are wonderfully designed and the environments are creative.
Let’s be truthful with ourselves, shall we? Godzilla X Kong ain’t gonna win any awards with its acting. That said, it’s fairly serviceable. The standouts in the film are Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, and young Kaylee Hottle as Jia. Henry plays Bernie, a conspiracy theorist who showed up in the last movie, and he clearly likes playing this character. Dan Stevens almost steals the show as Trapper, a self-appointed Titan veterinarian. I think Dan was having the time of his life in this movie, because his performance was just wild. I’m okay with that. The real surprise of Godzilla Vs. Kong and this movie, however, lies with Kaylee Hottle, who plays Jia, the last known member of an ancient tribe from Skull Island. The character doesn’t speak, but uses sign language, which is great because the actress herself is deaf and uses sign language. So, her performance has to be more emotive than vocal, and you can only really get that through the eyes and the face, but she’s great. Jia is the emotional core of the film, and when the group discovers that Jia is not alone, that actually adds a bit more emotional weight to her performance. Not bad for a kid whose only appearances include two Godzilla/Kong movies and an episode of a recently cancelled TV series. She’s one to watch out for.
Perhaps it’s not fair to compare Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire to Godzilla: Minus One. I mean, the two came out literally within 4 months of each other. However, the approach that Japan took with the character is vastly different than the direction that Warner Bros took. The 2014 Gareth Edwards movie proved you could Godzilla seriously even as a Western adaptation of a known Japanese property. But the subsequent movies clearly veered off into Showa-era silliness. While I don’t necessarily have an issue with that, the fact is that Toho managed to craft a recent movie that really had something to say about people and the world around them. The New Empire is all about the mayhem, and I’m also all for that. But if we’re talking about quality of movies here, then Minus One is the superior film. I think that the two movies needed more space in between releases. If it sounds like I’m coming down hard on The New Empire, I’m actually not. There’s a lot to like here, but it’s a very different kind of movie than what Minus One is. Ultimately, there’s plenty of room for both kinds of Godzilla movies. The fact that we did get two Godzilla movies within months of each other speaks to the continuing and enduring popularity of the greatest giant movie monsters in history. We’re still going to be getting more Godzilla movies from both Japan AND the west. You know what? Bring ’em on.