Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
The new installment in the Monsterverse puts the mighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal deadly threat hidden within our world that threatens the existence of their species and our very own, as well as diving deep into the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond. Delving straight into the origins of Hollow Earth, this film will explore the ancient Titan battle that brought man and monster together forever.
Brad Ledbetter reviewedMay 1, 2025
The main draw of any Kaiju movie is the sense of scale as these titanic creatures duke it out on the sea, in the air, and especially in crowded city streets. The 2014 Godzilla was able to convey this sense of massive scale by keeping the action limited and viewed from the perspective of humans as Godzilla crashed through bridges and skyscrapers.
The problem in this film is that 90% of the run time takes place in the Hollow Earth world that exists beneath the surface of the Earth which was established in the previous film. The Hollow Earth is a wide open expanse inhabited by giant creatures on the scale of Kong and Godzilla. During parts of the film we have Kong fighting against giant apes in giant caves, which lose all sense of size and make it seem like a Planet of the Apes movie with far less plot and substance. Overall the action feels weightless and without stakes.
The human characters contribute very little, with the exception of Dan Stevens who excels by hamming it up as a Titan veterinarian who builds a cybernetic power glove for Kong. Brian Tyree Henry, on the other hand, deserves far better than playing the now tired cliché of the conspiracy nut (now the modern podcaster) who happens to be right about everything. He is supposed to be the comic relief, but mostly his role is just screaming about every occurrence that happens in Hollow Earth.
I honestly cannot recommend this movie, even for dumb fun. It's more boring than entertaining at every turn.
If you're interested in Godzilla, I would instead highly recommend checking out Godzilla Minus One. A kaiju film that has compelling human characters with growth and genuine emotion. Godzilla is a fearsome force of nature in this film who never loses the immense sense of scale from the beautiful cinematography. My personal favorite movie of 2023 and a much better use of time.