Godzilla X King Kong: The New Empire (2024)

I remember going to the theater in 2014, completely excited for a new modern Godzilla film. Never in my mind did I think that was the starting point for a much bigger Monster Verse or that it would gain steam and grow into its own new franchise.

While I enjoyed Godzilla, Kong Skull Island got me chomping at the bit for where this universe was going. King of The Monsters was also good, but I was waiting for the main course. In 2021, we got Godzilla vs Kong, and that was pretty much the big monster kaiju spectacle of the year for American audiences. King of The Monsters gave us the death of what we thought was Mothra. Which was a level of bullshit I still bitch about. But low and behold, that wasn’t the case. We haven’t even seen Mothra yet! Not the proper one, anyway. Not until now.

Enter New Empire. Listen, the reviews have been wishy-washy overall because Godzilla Minus One has so much more depth. I get it. That’s not what I signed up for here. Tickets were bought saying, ” Give me all the Sci-Fi,” and that’s what I got for the most part.

I am not interested in the “human” aspect. I came for the Monster Movie Madness. Besides, Kong finally completed his story arc. The CGI giant gorilla carried the film. He finds his lost tribe and has to save them. Kong is brought face to face with an evil giant gorilla, The Skar King. A nasty little shit that made MechaGodzilla seem like a walk in the park. Skar King is also in control of an ice Godzilla-like creature in Shimo.

While Kong is trying to figure out how to free his species and heal himself, Godzilla is wreaking havoc on the surface. Godzilla senses a large battle is coming and is trying to fight for his survival. He absorbs all the energy from a Nuclear Power Plant and then jumps into the water to face Tiamat in the Arctic Ocean. Godzilla is hell-bent on absorbing as much energy as possible and kills Tiamat indiscriminately. With Tiamat’s destruction, Godzilla absorbs and evolves into a super Godzilla.

Kong realizes he can’t defeat Scar King and Shimo by himself and uses a Hollow Earth portal to reach the surface. However, Godzilla doesn’t take this kindly and wants to fight to death, but Mothra shows up and sets him straight. Mothra, Kong, and Godzilla head back into the Hollow Earth to battle Skar King, Shimo, and his hordes of slaves.

Kong’s character is presented here with more of a human aspect, whereas Godzilla is more like a wild rampaging beast. It’s catlike as well. Because of this, I feel like it helped their dynamic by explaining how very different they are but also have the same goals.

This film goes full next-level Sci-Fi. Think of the difference between the first Planet of The Apes movie and Beneath The Planet of The Apes. We are clearly in a fantasy, and now we are just going to amplify it to the max. I didn’t have any issue with this at all. We are talking about ain’t monsters and gorillas battling each other to the death, and you want to complain about the deeper issues?

This was a big, dumb, wild summer monster blockbuster movie, and one I will watch again. Skull Island is still my favorite of the franchise, but this deserves its spot. Imagine, if you will, that this was 1989. Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage are still a tag team. That is what the New Empire is. Mothra is Miss Elizabeth, and we are volatile against Andre The Giant and The Million Dollar Man.

This is the first of two large ape movies coming out this summer. The other is Kingdom of the Planet of The Apes. With both franchises going strong still, I see no reason why we won’t continue to see Godzilla, Kong, and The Apes films for years to come. If the quality stays as consistent as the Monsterverse and The Planet of the Apes films have, I don’t see why they would stop—Beats 20 more Fast and Furious movies.