Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), directed by Adam Wingard, stars Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Brian Tyree Henry, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen. This is the 5th film in Universal’s “Monsterverse” franchise but it acts more as a direct sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). The film follows returning characters from the previous film after they receive a mysterious transmission from Hollow Earth, Kong’s home world. Illene Andrews (Hall), Jia (Hottle), and Bernie Hayes (Henry) are accompanied by Illene’s ex-boyfriend, Trapper (Stevens) on a journey to discover who sent the transmission. Meanwhile, Kong finally discovers the existence of other giant apes. However, the apes are ruled under the iron fist of a merciless leader known only as “The Scar King.”  Back on the surface, Godzilla protects his territory from various titans, slowly gaining power with each victory. Outmatched and only accompanied by his human allies, Kong returns to the surface to seek Godzilla’s help. The question is: Can the two set aside their petty rivalry to save the world from total annihilation?

The cast here is a big improvement over Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) in the sense that there isn’t an overabundance of characters this time around. Although a similar amount of focus is given to the human characters, a lot more development is achieved considering we don’t have to jump back and forth between 3 different groups. I also think the film makes the correct choice in terms of which characters to bring back and which characters to drop. 

Kong also receives a good bit of characterization which is impressive because the character can’t talk. I was never once confused when the apes communicated with one another. I feel like the monsters are actually growing as heroes, leading nicely into what could be some interesting follow-up films. However, I do wish that at this point in the franchise Godzilla could receive a bit more characterization similar to Kong. The choice to make Godzilla the more emotionless brute seems intentional, but it causes the titular protagonists to feel unequal in terms of importance. It feels more like Kong featuring Godzilla as opposed to what the title may suggest. 

The film carries over the choice of having a tone that is akin to a Saturday morning cartoon, and I’m all for it. The loose and sometimes goofy tone results in the film being a ton of fun simply because it doesn’t take its absurd concept too seriously. Unfortunately, the film features a much heavier dose of CGI that takes the movie down a notch in terms of visuals. 

I found myself enjoying the fact that while Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) had a more Godzilla-like disaster movie feel, this film juxtaposes that with a more Kong-flavored adventure film. You can tell that director Adam Wingard understands exactly what these movies should be beyond just two monsters smashing each other for two hours. There’s a real appreciation of what came before and this results in the film feeling like a throwback in the best possible way.           
 

Overall, this is another win for Universal’s “Monsterverse” franchise and is ultimately a lot of fun despite its flaws. I can see this being a bit too silly for certain viewers, but those people probably hopped off this franchise’s bandwagon a long time ago. It improves on the previous film in a lot of key ways including the cast, comedy, and action. Unfortunately, I don’t think the film looks that great; especially in terms of the CGI apes. If you like the previous film, check this out. It’s more or less of equal quality. B