Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Adam Wingard picks up where he left off, and what he did so well last time, he does again. The point is that Kong, Godzilla and the other monsters are once again regular characters, well acted and much more interesting than the human ones, and they carry the film comfortably for almost two hours, with the humans there mainly for scale. I was really hoping to see those who played the monsters among the cast in the end credits, because they would have deserved it just as much as Andy Serkis did once. Kong in particular is great, because he acts like Arnold Schwarzenegger at his best and his facial expressions and whole body language is SO funny! The action scenes are also fun and imaginative, and I liked the music... That the movie is better than the last few Transformers didn't surprise me so much, but that I enjoyed it more than the last two Jurassic Worlds did, that yes. (04/02/2024)

In Hollow Earth, Kong discovers a civilization terrorized by a giant monster, and since he's no match for it, he must join forces with Godzilla. And all the while, things are going horribly wrong. The new entry into the Monsterverse is utter bollocks, except that director Adam Wingard fills it with lots of cool fights, a nicely colored world, and doesn't waste any time. The two hours are a fine loud action flush. That's all it is. But that's all anyone could hope for. (03/28/2024)

It's interesting to see what direction American films about Godzilla, Kong and the other kaiju monsters involved have taken over the decade: While Gareth Edwards' Godzilla tried (and at times quite successfully) to add some artistic value, the current film about the giant lizard and an equally giant ape is essentially one big, mindless, ultra-action carnage where the main goal is to entertain the moviegoer - ideally one that filters out the human dialogue and focuses purely on the action. And thankfully, there's plenty of that action in New Empire, and while the logic often gets lost underneath the colourful visuals, the film can be forgiven for that, as it doesn't even pretend to be a deep reflection on the titans' relationship with humans and with themselves. The film's lower budget is quite noticeable in places, which is a shame – I felt this most acutely with Scar King. I also could have done without the characters of the "amateur grand-dentist" and Mr. Conspirator, whom I found somewhat redundant. But if you accept the rules of a film in which anything can happen (literally, really) – the "anti-gravity sequence" speaks for itself – you will certainly not be bored in the cinema. (04/17/2024)

Godzilla is enjoying a vacation in Europe and Kong is looking for more apes in the hollow earth and has a toothache. A modern version of the Verne films, which degenerates into unadulterated Kaiju-porn at the end. Swashbuckling battles, solid visual effects, 80's soundtrack backed by Holkenborg synths, tremendous destruction and people who don't get in the way but are props for the main fighters. It's rubbish and digital crap, of course, but it's fun and even in neon colours with a pink Godzilla who justifies the change by sucking out nuclear power plants in Europe to fulfil his part of the Green Deal. It's got a bunch of subliminal messages. The villain is OK, but the main asset is Adam Wingard's wacky ideas, which somehow manage to get implemented. The most entertaining entry in the franchise. (04/29/2024)

Delightfully deranged madness that you'll forgive most of its ills, like the fact that it doesn't make any sense at all. Skull Island may be far from surpassed in its imaginative visuals and original retro atmosphere, but Godzilla x Kong takes itself far less seriously than previous films in the Godzilla multiverse, so all bad things are forgiven. As an absolute no-brainer, it's easily watchable. (05/16/2024)