For the past 10 years, the Godzilla/Kong movies had a nice flow to them. The good news was there was only four to them and they got straight to the point. The first one was ok, but it was setting everything up. Then with Kong: Skull Island, the pace sped up. Godzilla King of Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong were two of the best monster movies of the recent years.
And even though the last movie felt like it left some things unanswered, it was a fitting end. Yet, nothing is ever certain and final in Hollywood, especially when the big green monster is involved. Adam Wingard returns to direct this movie which feels more like a mediocre coda to a story that seemed to wrap a lot up. That’s why there’s no Back to the Future 4. That’s why Peter Jackson didn’t filming Saruman invading the Shire in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. And that’s why Disney and Marvel hasn’t had much luck with the franchise after Avengers: Endgame.
George from Seinfeld learned to go out on a high note.
Yet, still Godzilla x. Kong: The New Empire could’ve been a nice continuation. However, there’s more Kong and less Godzilla this time around. Kong is living it up in Hollow Earth while Godzilla is trying to maintain the order between humanity and the Titans on Earth. A Monarch observation outpost picks up an unidentified signal that is making Jai (Kaylee Hottle) experience hallucinations. Her adoptive mother, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), and her travel to Hollow Earth to locate the signal.
They take with them Trapper (Dan Stevens), a veterinarian for Monarch, and conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), who used to work for Apex. Also, in Hollow Earth, a sinkhole opens up and Kong discovers more of his species, along with the child ape Suko. The tribe is led by the tyrannical Star King who’s been using the ice-powered Titan Shimo to maintain his rule. Back on Earth, Godzilla travels to the Arctic where the Titan Tiamat lives.
Mostly the movie is all over the place. And if you’re going to have three stories that revolve around each other, it’s only good when it can work the right way. However, this movie doesn’t. The pacing doesn’t work at all. Godzilla’s story seems to linger like it’s in another movie until the two reunite in the final act. My guess was there could’ve been a lot more to Godzilla but the powers that be wanted to keep the run time at the same as the previous movies. Also a longer movie means more money spent on the budget and the special effects.
The biggest problem with the franchise has always been how it handles the human story. The first one tricked people into believing Bryan Cranston would have a bigger role and instead we got Aaron Tyler-Johnson’s wooden performance. Kong: Skull Island built up John Goodman’s character at first just to do nothing with him. While I’m glad Hollywood is casting more actors who are deaf, Hottle doesn’t really add much to the role of Jai especially when there’s a big discovery made in Hollow Earth. Henry does the same schtick he’s done in previous movies. And the movie seems to suggest some type of relationship between Hall and Stevens’ characters that never comes to fruition.
When the titular characters are on screen, especially in the end, I felt like the movie finally got the charge it should’ve had a lot sooner in the movie. And for that reason, I felt the climax was a little anti-climatic. It may be because Star King is a weak comparison to Mechagodzilla which was actually kind of a surprise that was deserved in the previous movie. Because there’s a lot more big apes, you have to wonder if this movie was rushed into production to get ahead of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
But it also comes after the wonderful Godzilla Minus One which had a perfect blend of action and human drama to make everything work. This can’t compare to the previous movies. I’m also wondering if this was made to keep the rights to the franchise. Legendary Pictures, the production company that has the rights has said a third movie is set for 2027. This one made $570 million worldwide which is about four times as much as it cost to make.
Hopefully, it’ll be a better story. But if they get to the point where Godzilla is sliding on his tail to drop-kick someone, it might be time to end things.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 