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We live in a golden age of giant monster movies. Last December, I watched Godzilla serve as an example of post-war Japanese anxiety in the Academy-Award-winning Godzilla Minus One. Less than a year later, I’m watching the same monster team up with King Kong to do battle against an evil monkey king with surprise guest Mothra. While The New Empire is nowhere near as compelling Minus One, it does fulfill that light dose of popcorn entertainment, ensuring audience can still get campy Godzilla at the same time as prestige Godzilla.
For those who need a recap, here’s what’s currently happening in the Warner Bros MonsterVerse, as it’s been dubbed. When we last left Godzilla and King Kong, they had formed a temporary alliance to take down the terror that was MechaGodzilla. With King Kong dwelling in his inner-Earth jungle and Godzilla relegating himself to Earth’s seas for tackling monsters against humanity, they have a treaty of sorts. They stay in their own territories while the organization of Monarch tries to keep Earth’s protective heroes analyzed and content. If Godzilla starts sucking up radiation, the scientists take note. If King Kong has a broken tooth, Monarch’s Trapper (Dan Stevens) is ready to play dentist.
There’s some returning human characters. Rebecca Hall is back as the scientist Dr. Ilene Andrews, trying to understand the monsters while taking care of Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a survivor of Kong’s wrath and a communicator with the big ape based on her sign language. Brian Tyree Henry is back as the eccentric conspiracy theorist, eager to prove more of the secrets of King Kong and Godzilla. Along with Trapper, all four of them take a trip down to Hollow Earth to figure out what Godzilla is preparing for and why Kong seems absent. They’ll soon learn the Kong has unearthed another part of Hollow Earth that harbors the evil Skar King and his frost-shooting monster Shimo.
There’s a whole plot about Andrews trying to let go of Jia and a secret lost tribe that Jia can relate to and….but does any of that matter? This is a film more notable for how cool Godzilla and King Kong fight than what they represent. It’s a sugary dose of cinema junkfood for those whose only requirements for this film is that Godzilla shoots a lot of energy blasts from his mouths and King Kong punches a lot of monsters. If that’s all you’re seeking, you’ll be happy to know that King Kong does so with a mechanical arm as he teams up with Godzilla for a massive throwdown with the evil ape Skar King, wielding a whip and riding atop the vicious Shimo. If you want all that with classic rock, then you’re really going to love this movie.
It might seem like whiplash to go from the poignant drama of Minus One to the cartoonish popcorn-entertainment of The New Empire. Because, yes, at it’s core, it’s a childish film more about how many cool moves the monsters get in with their fights than any of the carnage that they cause. That’s more or less what the MonsterVerse has been for a few films. While there are some cool moments, including Kong smacking apes with other apes and a wrestling match he has with Godzilla around the pyramids, the candy-coated allure is certainly lesser this time. The last time we saw these versions of King Kong and Godzilla on the big screen, it felt like a refreshing dose of camp and crossover fun. But with this latest entry, it feels fairly par for the course, where there’s little surprise in Kong’s robot arm or the resurgance of Mothra. There’s still some joy, but you really have to be fully steeped in giant monster love to get in the mood for a kaiju smackdown.
The New Empire is a decent wrestling match movie for Godzilla and King Kong, but not much else. It does try to have fun with its trippy Hollow Earth lore of gravity defying and some rather amusing reaction shots from Kong that did make me smile. There are moments of joy when the film gets to the fights, but there’s only so many times you can watch Kong wield an ax and Godzilla shoot his energy blast into a monster’s mouth before they lose their luster. For as much as I found myself pleased with this film, the rust is clearly visible on this long-running machine. It’s like that old rollercoaster at the county fair. It doesn’t look as stable, but there’s still some mindless fun to be had from the frenetics of it all. I just can’t stay mad at a film where King Kong befriends a Mini Kong as they bond over giant monster meat.
