Year of Release: 2024
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Brian Tyree Henry, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House, Ron Smyck, Chantelle Jamieson, Greg Hatton, Kevin Copeland
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
Warner Brothers' Monsterverse continues, with another sequel to Godzilla versus Kong, this time around with the two titans coming together to vanquish another foe. This is the fifth film in the series, which started with Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla" in 2014, followed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts' "Kong: Skull Island" in 2017, Michael Dougherty's "Godzilla: King of Monsters" in 2019, and the more recent "Godzilla Vs. Kong" also from Adam Wingard (from 2021). The plot picks up three years after the battle between Kong and the Mechagodzilla. Kong is now living in a territory known as Hollow Earth, where he seeks for others of his species, while still staying friendly with his human partners. On the Earth's surface, Godzilla keeps an eye for other Titans which may attack the planet. A signal is sent from Hollow Earth, which sets Godzilla in motion, as he senses an impending threat. Close to the gateway to Hollow Earth, Dr. Ilene Andrews realizes that her adoptive daughter Jia is also sensing something, as she is in fact that last known survivor of the Iwi tribe from Skull Island. Kong unexpectedly uncovers another one of his species, a little cub, and follows him to where others are living. He realizes they're living under the rulings of the Skar King, who controls a Titan by leveraging an ancient crystal. As Dr. Andrews and her team go to Hollow Earth to figure out where that signal is coming from, Godzilla is packing on more and more energy to battle the treat that is coming. Andrews realizes that there are more Iwi living in the Hollow Earth area, and that the Skar King wants to conquer the surface world leveraging its Titan. She also uncovers that Jia has a part to play in reawakening Mothra, and that Morthra will be essential to defeat that enormous threat.
One of the biggest challenges in making monster films lies in telling a story that doesn't solely focus on the mayhem and destruction brought on by these immense creatures, but that somehow also has an interesting human element to it. Peter Jackson's "King Kong" was admirable since it did manage to create both an epic action feature, but one that was also about the connection between this creature and the woman he cared for. There was enough of these characters for that film in particular not to fall into the trappings of supporting characters simply being crushed by monsters. Adam Wingard's "Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire" isn't quite as nuanced as Peter Jackson's opus. The human characters in this film do fall into the embodiment of your regular chichés, including the intellectual, slightly affected beautiful lead doctor, the romantic rebellious love interest who is also a genius, the comic relief who is also a genius, but can't totally function in the real world (and therefore is "quirky" and "funny"), and the young daughter/precocious child who is possessed of a special sense or vibe, which enables her to connect with the monsters. None of these characters in reality make this film particularly memorable or that compellingly watchable, even if Dan Stevens is indeed a chameleon. This film manages to make itself watchable by relying on superbly crafted visual effects, which render these monstrous characters with a realism and detail that is quite stunning to behold. Part of the challenge for this type of film as well, is how the writing never truly addresses the fact that while these creatures wreak havoc on these cities, one would assume millions of people would die in the wake of their carnage, but that is a topic that is always left out. This film in particular manages to have some successful aspects in the definition of the different worlds in which these characters navigate, at times going back even to Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but the characters and their relationships are never particularly convincing and they're ultimately not an anchor for this storytelling. And as lovely as good special effects are, bits and bytes can't really replace the adventurous aspect of say, Indiana Jones, or even Ellen Ripley, as they battle some epic foes. The cast is competent, but doesn't have much to do, though Dan Stevens is always great in anything he does, the same going for Brian Tyree Henry. The production team is excellent, with highlights going to Ben Seresin's cinematography, Tom Hammock's production design, Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio's score, and the special effects teams. It's watchable, but also quickly forgettable.
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