Directed by:
Adam WingardCinematography:
Ben SeresinCast:
Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House, Ron Smyck, Chantelle Jamieson, Anthony Brandon Wong (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever. (Warner Bros. US)
(more)Videos (8)
Reviews (9)
If I had to compare Adam Wingard's previous Godzilla vs. Kong and this one, I would compare it to a concert of Def Leppard vs a concert of the grindcore band Cannibal Corpse. I mean, sleek, a bit predictable, safe rock vs. totally unhinged wildness in the front row of the audience to the point of being health hazard. I've seen almost all Japanese Godzilla movies from the SHOWA and HENSEI era, and I can say with certainty that none of those 25 or so movies had the kind of insanity I saw here. Not even in Ishiro Honda or Jun Fukuda's films, which were made with a kind of judiciousness, a kind of safe kaiju mainstream, even if Godzilla and Kong were putting on wrestling holds, or in other works there that mixed in aliens, octopuses, monsters spawned from toxic waste, etc.. This movie was bonkers. The script looked like it was written by an 11 year old with an overactive imagination, with one absurdity after another, but it was all topped off with amazing fan-service. Human characters reduced to useless goons? Checked. Protector Mothra? Checked. A plot that gives no trace of elementary logic? Checked. The only thing missing was a baby godzilla with a little Japanese boy. I laughed in disbelief at what I was seeing the entire movie, but my similarly kaiju-fan buddy and I had a terrific time. At the same time, I felt sorry for the elderly couple in front of me who had to suffer terribly at this – the gentleman got up halfway through and went to sip beer in the cinema bar instead. I absolutely do not understand (and at the same time appreciate) that a Hollywood studio, which routinely makes financial calculations, predictions and audience surveys, gave such a budget for such a basically non-mainstream and also fan service for the insiders and knocked this insanity off Wingard. I’ll probably never want to see it again, but the unexpected feeling in the theater was priceless. KAIJU is still alive, dude!
()
In Hollow Earth, Kong discovers a civilization terrorized by a giant monster, and since he's no match for it, he must join forces with Godzilla. And all the while, things are going horribly wrong. The new entry into the Monsterverse is utter bollocks, except that director Adam Wingard fills it with lots of cool fights, a nicely colored world, and doesn't waste any time. The two hours are a fine loud action flush. That's all it is. But that's all anyone could hope for.
()
Adam Wingard picks up where he left off, and what he did so well last time, he does again. The point is that Kong, Godzilla and the other monsters are once again regular characters, well acted and much more interesting than the human ones, and they carry the film comfortably for almost two hours, with the humans there mainly for scale. I was really hoping to see those who played the monsters among the cast in the end credits, because they would have deserved it just as much as Andy Serkis did once. Kong in particular is great, because he acts like Arnold Schwarzenegger at his best and his facial expressions and whole body language is SO funny! The action scenes are also fun and imaginative, and I liked the music... That the movie is better than the last few Transformers didn't surprise me so much, but that I enjoyed it more than the last two Jurassic Worlds did, that yes.
()
The Hollywood blockbuster has finally developed into the form of pure camp. For many years I dreamed that a movie consisting of pure, unadulterated silliness would come along and displace the would-be sombre and fanboyishly over-clever spectacles. The New Empire is aware of its own silliness and roguishly cranks it up. So here we have phantasmagorical technobabble, exceedingly stupid human characters, superficially calculated twists and paper-rustling peripeteias, but everything fits beautifully into the overall colourfully crazy world where the boneheaded alternative hollow-earth theories become their own absurd caricature. This papier-mâché puppet theatre then gets perfectly trampled by a full range of giant monsters. The human characters are relegated solely to the role of narrative crutches that bridge the monsters’ individual storylines, for which purpose they utter absurd nonsense. The monsters have finally have broken free from western individualism and human exclusivity. The New Empire turns the genre’s perspective back to its Japanese kaiju roots, thus making the titular titans the main characters and bearers of both the narrative and the overarching point of view. The character that guides the audience’s perspective is not one of the ant-like humans with their insignificant plans, but a mini-Kong. Of course, I remember almost nothing about the film just a day after the screening, but I know that during my ride on this roller coaster, my eyes were glued to the screen just like when I saw the goofiest kaiju movies from the delirious sixties. P.S.: My perverse dream is for Werner Herzog to deliver the special commentary on the Blu-ray release.
()
Godzilla is enjoying a vacation in Europe and Kong is looking for more apes in the hollow earth and has a toothache. A modern version of the Verne films, which degenerates into unadulterated Kaiju-porn at the end. Swashbuckling battles, solid visual effects, 80's soundtrack backed by Holkenborg synths, tremendous destruction and people who don't get in the way but are props for the main fighters. It's rubbish and digital crap, of course, but it's fun and even in neon colours with a pink Godzilla who justifies the change by sucking out nuclear power plants in Europe to fulfil his part of the Green Deal. It's got a bunch of subliminal messages. The villain is OK, but the main asset is Adam Wingard's wacky ideas, which somehow manage to get implemented. The most entertaining entry in the franchise.
()
Gallery (31)
Photo © Warner Bros.
![Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/168/780/168780703_xgmu1q.jpg)
Ads