Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire — Review

Legendary executives must have shuddered at the thought of releasing their latest Godzilla vehicle so soon after Toho’s critically acclaimed GODZILLA MINUS ONE, but the MonsterVerse has always operated on an entirely different wavelength. American productions of Godzilla have always preferred to champion destructive bombast over rich and emotionally complex characters, and GODZILLA X KONG is no different. Titanic kaiju clash as monuments are destroyed and cities are levelled, and each explosive sequence is loosely connected by a threadbare human plot that’s stretched thin by absurd dialogue and ludicrous narrative progression.

GODZILLA X KONG is a B-movie made on an enormous budget. It’s a dazzling light show that combines high-end visual effects with stellar sound design and heart-thumping music, and very little else. No longer satisfied with simple punches and tail swipes, the action sequences use an assortment of weapons to enhance our titans. Mechanical arm braces, bone whips and Kong’s dorsal fin axe are used to inflict damage, as is a smaller ape once wielded unwillingly as a screeching morning star. GODZILLA X KONG is built entirely around colossal spectacle, from the mindless crunch of battle to the countless moments of roar-at-the-sky catharsis, and it's within and only within those sporadic sweet spots that the movie finds itself.