#Godzilla x Kong review

[outofcontext-letterboxd]

some of my favorite Godzilla x Kong letterboxd reviews:

[agentnico]

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) review

Someone should call child services, as Kong uses a baby monkey as a weapon and flails him around like a whip, using the poor little fella to bash against incoming enemies. Granted the little chap is durable, but like….. I’m sorry, this movie is ridiculous. Like I can’t even!

Plot: Godzilla and the almighty Kong face a colossal threat hidden deep within the planet, challenging their very existence and the survival of the human race.

2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong holds a special place in my heart in that during COVID-19 it was one of the first and only films to come out during lockdown. I recall sitting in my living room suffering from high depression (I mean, who wasn’t at that time, am I right??) and I stuck on the Godzilla vs Kong film with low expectations……and I had the greatest time ever. By no means was it a masterpiece. It’s even far away from being a good film, but at that time when I was cinema-deprived and life was in a constant state of limbo, a big trashy Hollywood blockbuster with two massive CGI monsters beating the living crap of each other was exactly the entertainment I needed.

In cometh Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Naturally we’re no longer in a pandemic so the WOW factor is gone, and also Godzilla Minus One only recently came out reminding us that Godzilla can be sophisticated when need be. That being said, am I opposed to seeing some ridiculously over-the-top kaiju brawls for absolutely no other reason other than Hollywood wanting to throw money against the wall and seeing what happens? Yes. Look, from the set-up the whole thing doesn’t make sense in the first place. I get it is fantasy and suspension of disbelief is required, but it’s a giant walking nuclear power plant that holds the title of king of the monsters against a bloody monkeh. I don’t care how cool or likeable Kong is, if we’re being realistic he’d get smushed just by touching Godzilla. Like, ain’t that lizard boi radioactive?? Last time I checked radioactivity is pretty fatal. Kong should have developed multiple forms of cancer since the 2021 film, I’m just saying. But again, that’s if we’re thinking logically, however as we’ve learned from these MonsterVerse movies, logic isn’t a word that exists. So let’s enjoy the lizard and monkeh for what they are - bring it on!!

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is exactly what you expect it to be… in the last 30 minutes. The first hour and a half is actually a casual sequel to Kong: Skull Island, with Godzilla a fleeting cameo just getting up to random shenanigans, with every appearance lasting no longer than 5 seconds. I’m serious, Godzilla to this movie is like Scrat is to the Ice Age movies. If you recall the little saber-toothed squirrel hardly ever connects to the main plot-line of those films, and instead is only obsessed with getting his stupid acorn. Same with Godzilla, he fights random kaijus just cause. He takes naps in the Colosseum just cause. He eats nuclear plants for breakfast just cause. He turns Barbie-level pink just cause. His entire role in this movie is just cause. Otherwise this is through and through a King Kong movie. Not that I’m complaining, if you want to make a somewhat engaging and emotionally resonant narrative (as if this movie has a plot!), it’s easier to focus on Kong as he has the baggage of being lonely and wanting to find a home and more of his kind, so there’s something there to work with. So we spend most of the movie wit Kong as he explores Hollow Earth that’s discovered from the previous film, and I quite enjoyed all that. Does the movie need to be 2 hours long? Nope, as the whole Hollow Earth story-line is dragged out so much when in fact all that happens could have easily been told in the size of a short film. Essentially nothing much happens is what I’m saying. Like the whole thing is a set-up for the inevitable and highly anticipated final showdown that we’ve all paid for.

About the final showdown - it’s so dumb. I mean the whole movie is dumb, but the final battle breaks any last remaining realm of reason and turns into this crazy bonkers monsters v monsters smashy-bashy bonkers beat ‘em up, and it was absolutely fantastic! Again, I fully admit the stupidity of it all, but watching this movie’s finale in a crowded theatre with everyone cheering, laughing, clapping and howling alongside all the CGI madness that is thrown at our faces - it was awesome! I’d give the final 30 minutes a 10/10 score easily, as it is exactly what we want from a Godzilla and Kong movie. Godzilla spears Kong through a pyramid and then immediately follows that up with a suplex. That right there is cinematic genius!! The rest of the movie is fine and has its moments, but is just a meandering set-up for that ending.

This being a MonsterVerse movie naturally there are also some human characters that we are forced to care about. Like I give a f***, gimme me more lizard and monkeh!!! I want them here, and I want them now! To be fair the producers must have listened to the audience feedback as there is much less human stuff in this movie. There’s a useless sub-plot with Rebecca Hall and her adopted daughter that was so boring and generic and was the dullest part of the movie. Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens are a delight though, providing some enjoyable comedic tongue in cheek, with Stevens especially excelling at the one-liner quips. Nice also to see Stevens teaming back up with director Adam Wingard, the two having previously worked on the wonderful indie thriller The Guest. Honestly if you have not seen The Guest you’re missing out big time - a delightful slice of action horror with a fantastic atmosphere that sucks you in with a dash of dry black comedy edge.

Speaking of Adam Wingard, he’s evidently a good match with these goofy Fast & Furious-level silly monster flicks. He directs the movie using a fun colourful visual palette, with some fantastic sci-fi set pieces, and Hollow Earth is reminiscent very much of a Jules Verne-type adventure locale, very much in the vain of a Journey to the Centre of the Earth, or a Mysterious Island. There’s also a strong 80’s retro vibe to the movie with the techno-synth music score from Junkie XL that had strong Thor: Ragnarok feels to it. I must say through all its stupidity, visually the film is really cinematic and looks awesome on the big screen.

I had a solid time with Godzilla x Kong, especially with those last 30 minutes. Satisfyingly entertaining blockbuster fast-food. It does get a while to get there, and also the movie is fit with so many plot holes and inconsistencies, and also it really did feel like the writers were making things up as they were going along, but I don’t care. This was never intended to be high calibre award worthy filmmaking. It’s only a monkeh, standing in front of a radioactive lizard, asking him to fight together. Really entertaining and super fun. Best part was when it was revealed that Kong could talk and screamed “it’s KONGIN TIME!!’

Overall score: 6/10

[virovac]

I was unable to really enjoy Godzilla X Kong with Godzillas part in early film killing off,imo, the best designed members of the supporting cast .

Feels mean to kill off kaiju not created by yourself but earlier writers as well,

And Scylla was out of character going from freezing ice caps to now apparently damaging the ozone according to novelization which likely has parts from earlier drafts

So uh. Kong Parts were good. Godzilla parts felt like trying to be like the Godzilla anime prequel material where Godzilla is basically a serial killer.

[adm-starblitzsteel-4305]

So anyway, about the critics and the audience score...

[amalgamasreal]

Japanese Endorsement of Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

The Godzilla Double Feature in 109 Screen X locations in Japan started last night where they were showing Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla X Kong back to back with an intermission, which was a genius move that I need to happen here in the States immediately.

But anyways, the reviews from the Japanese viewers who are seeing GxK for the first time are some of the best I've ever seen (excuse the machine translations):

I don't know about you, but someone telling me "it was a silly movie made by an idiot and it was very good" is a ringing endorsement and would get my butt into a seat faster than anything else. 🤣🤣🤣

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (November 26-December 2, 2023)

I wasn't over the moon when Toho announced that Takashi Yamazaki's Blockbuster Monster Movie was in fact the next Godzilla film. I had seen a few of his works—none bad, but none spectacular either. Well, I've set my sights on watching the rest in the new year, because Godzilla Minus One is an unqualified masterpiece. A tagline from the original Godzilla, King of the Monsters! comes to mind (as it often does when you're me): "Mightiest melodrama of them all!" A lot of the post-Showa films suffer from an abundance of characters who just spout exposition and look at monitors; here, almost everyone in the small cast gets at least one close encounter with Godzilla, and the monster's backstory is conveyed with extreme efficiency. This tale of a war veteran trying to rebuild his life in the ruins of Tokyo, stumbling into a family, finding fulfillment in blowing up leftover mines, and haunted by what he perceives as his cowardice in combat, would have been plenty compelling without Godzilla.

Since it does have Godzilla, it's high on my list of the best movies of the year, and I only need one viewing to call it one of the best installments in the almost-70-year-old series. Yamazaki patiently waited some 15 years after Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 for his shot at a Godzilla feature. You certainly get the sense, watching one of the most brutal, pissed-off incarnations of the monster ever to grace the screen, that he spent every day of it in preparation. Watch it often while it's still in theaters, and watch it big.

Godzilla Minus One will gross about $10 million in its U.S. opening "weekend", a third-place finish that beat expectations. For context, Godzilla 2000, the last Toho Godzilla film to receive a wide release here, made about $10 million during its entire theatrical run here. Ticket prices were cheaper then, of course, and Minus One was helped along further by almost half of attendees going to premium-format screenings. Conversely, it had to overcome Americans' subtitle phobia, and the first weekend of December is usually a slow one. I was pessimistic at the outset, but now I expect larger theaters to carry the film into the new year, especially with near-universal raves from critics and audiences.

Yes, a third section for Godzilla Minus One; it's well-deserved, I promise. MyKaiju is risking life and limb by hosting an English translation of the film's novelization, written by Takashi Yamazaki himself. It appears to be at least partially machine-translated, but the Japanese text is included for comparison. Haven't read it yet, as I want to see the film a second time first, but quite a breakthrough given how mysterious this sort of thing usually is.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters could never hope to compare with the opening of a stellar new Godzilla film; unfortunately, I also thought this week's episode was the weakest so far. It's bookended by Frost-Vark action, but the rest just drags. All's forgiven if the teacher and the hacker smooch though.

Toho and Legendary used to let each other's live-action Godzilla movies breathe; now the U.S. opening weekend of one is coinciding with the opening marketing push of the other. IGN released a trio of pics from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, showing Kong with his axe; Dr. Andrews, Jia, and Trapper (Dan Stevens's character) in uniform; and Godzilla "evolving into a powerful new form." The same article included an interview with director Adam Wingard. Naturally, he didn't give away much... besides the return of Doug.

Earlier in the week, Legendary put out a trio of posters featuring Godzilla, Kong, and the film's antagonist, now christened Skar King. The taglines ("Unite" for our heroes, "Bow to Your King" for SK) sound like kaiju campaign slogans. Makes me wonder if, like Godzilla vs. Megalon before it, the movie will improbably capitalize on the presidential election next year. To steal a joke from Titanollante: Godzilla/Kong unity ticket? They'd have my vote.

Godzilla's new form, meanwhile, has already been spoiled by a T-shirt on Legendary's own site and some dire-looking Playmates figures. It makes sense that Wingard would want to have his own spin on the character after keeping the design from Godzilla: King of the Monsters for Godzilla vs. Kong. Hard to cast judgment without seeing the real design in full, but there's one particular detail I really like.

The film also has a booth at CCXP in Brazil, with a panel later today, so I think a trailer is incoming (the main reason I hammered out this whole post so quickly).

I missed this one last week: Tsuburaya announced an anime project called Ultraman: DARKNESS HEELS. The DARKNESS HEELS branding has been around for a while, spotlighting prominent evil Ultras—and, of course, Jugglus Juggler. No details on the anime yet, but if the Juggleman's there, so am I.

The big toy reveal this weekend was Super7's ULTIMATES! MaiGoji figure. Previous Godzilla figures from this line haven't lived up to the official photos, but hope springs eternal. It's $85 (much less than the MonsterArts); preorders started Friday. Other highlights: a Super7 ReAction figure of the original Godzilla's skeleton, which comes with a little Oxygen Destroyer, and a plush Mothra from Surreal Entertainment that can flip to imago form to a neck pillow-shaped larva.

[liquidsludge]

Just watched this gem of a movies

What did yall think?

[cloudsoffire]

big godzilla fan but i will never in my life interact with the fandom based on what i've seen on here

[ankle-beez]

[graspingremlinhands]

So @milk-powrit asked me to draft why I didn't like GxK, to which I decide to oblige.

DISCLAIMER: Those are my personal opinions; of a fan of Monsterverse since 2014 and a nobody with any competence in analyzing media, save some common sense and maybe rudimentals??

Also I already hugely disliked Godzilla vs Kong so my discontent had a part in how I enjoyed the movie.

To conclude English is not my first langauge and even in my langauge, debate is not one of my strenght.

Spoilers alert; so skip or I kindly suggest to block the tag: Godzilla x Kong spoiler.

Let's start with the first thing: I don't enjoy how the tone of the movie shifted so drastically from Kotm to GvsK.

In this post, a youtube user explained better than me why the shifting tone felt like a downgrade. If in Godzilla (2014) Godzilla was introduced by hearing his foot stomping on the ground. It was heavy, massive, it reverbered on the glass of the airport. It felt natural, realistic. How a creature that BIG would move in the real world.

As the user said Realistic =/= Seriousness. Godzilla can be goofy. But Monsterverse!Goji was estabilished in a setting, that was the real world.

In both GvsK and in GxK Godzilla does not feels natural. Was necessary for Godzilla to evolve, to be more nimble, when already in GvsK was already moving in a way unnatural?

Or pulling the 0 gravity fight? What purpose had the evolution, if in the end it was not even necessary. Had really improved his fighting skills? They were the same, on earth and in the hollow earth.

2 reason: I've seen around posts about how media litteracy has gone bad; in some ways about people can no longer sospend their belief and calls anything a plot-hole.

But I think that one thing is suspending the belief but another is the director of the movie making the plot moving from point A to point B without telling the audience how.

For example: Suspension of belief: They had the Beast Glove ready to use, because Monarch was already working on it ✅

But why Jia is the chosen one of the day? How the Iwi in hollow earth knew of Skull island? How the shard to control Shimo works? Why Godzilla would respond to the distress call of the people who fought against him? Why Mothra has a connection to the iwi, in particular. Since in Kong: skull island there's no reference to her? How Jia flew back on Earth with Mothra, without dying for the gravitational pull?.

Not everything has to be the viewer's guess that's what I'm saying.

3 point: Shimo and Skar King are as much wasted potential as it was MechaGodzilla was in GvsK.

Skar is menacing yes, has the ability and dexterity of a formidable foe. He's vile and disgusting, oppressing his clan (let's call it that) and he's even an abusive father. All of these things: but as a villain he's really that dangerous?

He was introduced as this terrible tyrant, a danger to the world. And he wasn't even trying to go on Earth; he went up by accident basically. Because the Iwi had to play with gravity. Or should I believe him, forcing his subordinate moving rocks was to build a staircase to the upside?

And Shimo, sweet girl. She looks so horrible. Her white scales don't blend in for anything. Like she was photoshopped last minute. Her powers do damage I see. But her being presented as one or The first Titan do actually mean something to the plot, to the character? Or a simple red-herring to made her more interesting than she actually is?

Because at the end of the day SHE IS A PET!!

"Oh Kong now has found a mate, so cute". My brothers on earth, she goes on four, is used as a mount the all time and she kept panting the whole time. That's a pet, the old dog you have to force inside when it snows.

It was pretty disappointing.

Last but not least the reason I personally dislike Wingard take on the Monsterverse, which is the point you could probably throw away all my arguments, compelling or not because it's really a ME issue, who don't think no one'd agree and I don't blame anybody for it.

I HATE HOW WINGARD DECIDED TO PORTRAY GODZILLA.

I don't hold nothing over him for having Kong as his favorite. That's personal taste, I respect it.

But when it comes to at the expense of the other protagonist, it rubs me so in the wrong way.

On this point I don't know if I want to discuss it further, but boy I do have to complain on this topic.

To summarize I'm mad Godzilla doesn't get to have the same introspection and grace is allowed to Kong, knowing he can to (if you read the Dominion comic. But since they are only distributed in the US not many does. OR should care about it. Cause I'm first a supporter of the idea that if a media is not capable to give all the informations in like the Movie, you the audience should not have to pay for more. So basically the Novelitation are cool but also a scam)

That's all I had to say about it.

Hoping any of this uphere is comprehensible. If in the end I only sound like a rambling idiot I accept it. This movie is too stupid to be too mad about it.

I'll just ignore it

[wits-writing]

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Quick Review)

Director: Adam Wingard, Screenplay: Terry Rossio, Simon Barret, and Jeremy Slater

Resurrecting this inactive blog and copy pasting this from over on my Letterboxd because I need to spread the word about this movie as much as possible!

No Spoilers, fwiw:

Well...

This fucking owns!

Easily the best stuff from Godzilla vs Kong was Kong journey to discover more about himself and his connections to the Monsterverse's delightfully bonkers lore around The Hollow Earth. Positioning him as a member of an honorable line of warriors.

The New Empire effectively triples down on that by making Kong this movie's actual protagonist over any of the human characters (who are pretty fun to watch and play their support roles in this plot damn well.) The giant ape's story playing out as a quest for purpose within his new home in the Hollow Earth. One he discovers once he comes across other apes like him living under the tyrannical fist of the Skar King. Kong's challenge becomes figuring out how to get his rival Titan, Godzilla, on his side for the inevitable showdown with this new threat.

It's a highly fantastical tale, made better by the fact that this movie trusts the audience to follow along with it as plays out wordlessly. Only having the human characters directly commentate on it after the important actions have played out.

And all of this would be enough to leave me satisfied, but this movie actually has a fair amount of surprises up its sleeve that none of the marketing gave away.

So I'll just say, if you've been enjoying the Monsterverse up to this point, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is more than worth your time!

[bloodsplatteredcinema]

Greetings, fellow Gorehounds!

In honor of the recently released Godzilla Minus One and the upcoming Godzilla X Kong, The Horror Guru has decided to dive into the original 1962 Toho classic: King Kong vs. Godzilla!

This fast paced movie riff/movie review is filled with bad puns, silly skits and a lot of behind the scenes info on the making of the movie!

[dollybraica]

Just watched the new godzilla movie and I'm obsessed with how casually they introduced the most insane shit I've ever heard. Like yeah the little girl is the Mothra avatar now. Kong is a Moses figure and he's got a robot arm and you're gonna have to deal with that.

[tikitsune]

Uh hello? Godzilla x Kong...

Rating: 9.9 out of 10

Would recommend to anyone who is okay with violence, guts, death and anything gory.

Note:Godzilla x Kong spoilers under the cut. You have been warned.

Masterpiece, the only thing that was bad about it was that I was kinda bored in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, the entire movie was entertaining and there needs to be some kind of build up but I don't really remember the first like 20 minutes of the movie. I only remember the parts with Kaylee Hottle (like the queen she is, girl getting me wanting to learn sign language) and the Dr. asking Bernie for help.

Other than that, I can find nothing to complain about.

Like I shit you not, the moment that Skar King came out with a rope dark wrapped around his torso, I shoved the popcorn into my sibling's lap and and sat all the way forward in the reclined chair.

My sibling and I loved Tiamat. Called her a pretty dragon and was kinda sad when she was killed. Although with Godzilla's new form coming into light, my sibling kept calling it Gay Godzilla and I would never fail to laugh.

While I loved the rope dart incorporation, the fact that Shimo was being basically abused hurt. When we saw Kong pet him like a dog, I was just like, 'awh cute'.

Also the baby ape... So cute and like, I think Kong adopted him, as a child or brother, idk but Kong and the baby ape are family.

Also Mothra. Just Mothra. My mom think that Mothra died in another Godzilla movie but idk. Like normally i don't like moths and I wouldn't want to be anywhere near Mothra is she were real but I would admire her from a respectable distance.

Also Jia summoning Mothra? Girl has my heart. And the unison of the three's roars was oh. After I shoved the popcorn to my sibling, my eyes were glued to the screen til the movie was over and the credits were playing.

The 2v2 fight scene has me saying 'bye bye Brazil's. And then Shimo finally get free of the Skar King's control and then freezes him, we were cheering in out hearts. Also baby ape came in clutch there.

Ugh I could gush about so many things in this but, like always, I can't find words to express my thoughts.

I just want people to know that this is a extraordinary movie and I loved every part of it.

[tinyreviews]

Tiny Review: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 2024. Violent kids show.

There’s a thin theme of parenting. With the relationship of Ilene and Jia on the line, and the lone ape and cub scenes. It’s all cursory to final fight. 

The closing mom-daughter moment could have hit harder, more emotional, imo. 

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a 2024 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. It is the sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (January 21-27, 2024)

Godzilla Minus One made awards show history in both Japan and the U.S. this week. Its Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects is the first of the series (Godzilla [1998], Godzilla [2014] and Godzilla vs. Kong were previously shortlisted) and the first for any Japanese film. Small wonder Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, and their team went berserk when the nomination was announced. The other nominees are The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Napoleon, and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. According to IndieWire, The Creator has the edge, but Minus One could very well win. And while it naturally made less headlines in the Anglosphere, Minus One also picked up a whopping 12 Japan Academy Film Prize nominations, exceeding Shin Godzilla's 10.

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is now in North American theaters. I was intrigued enough to make it my fourth theatrical viewing of this movie, but in the end it did basically strike me as a gimmick. Godzilla Minus One was shot digitally with sets designed for color, so making it actually look like a film from the 40s was always going to be an uphill battle. Even with the regrade, there wasn’t a ton of contrast in most shots, and some of the scenes taking place at night were quite hard to see. Still, apart from the Odo Island massacre, I found the Godzilla scenes as gripping as ever.

Thanks to Minus Color, Minus One made $2.6 million this weekend, crawling back into the box office top 10. Its total in the U.S. and Canada now stands at $55 million, third among all foreign-language films released in the U.S.

Brush of the God, Keizo Murase's directorial debut after a lifetime in movies, is finally complete. It'll play at the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March (link contains more images), and hopefully travel overseas very soon. Murase will also receive an Association Special Award at the Japan Academy Film Prize.

Clover Press shipped out copies of Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett to Kickstarter backers, myself included. It's an excellent art book, and there are plenty of deleted and altered scenes mixed in with more familiar sequences. Believe it or not, Bennett drew the panel above for Kong: Skull Island—they considered having James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) flash back to an encounter with King Ghidorah in Vietnam. Not sure how that would've worked, as Ghidorah is generally not one to lie low for a few decades, but it's the first I've ever heard of it being considered. I'm hoping to post some more scans soon. Here's the order link.

Minecraft social media accounts teased a crossover with the Monsterverse, in what's likely to be the most high-profile of the Godzilla x Kong video game collaborations. The Mobzilla mod was created over 10 years ago, so this is long overdue.

The big toy news this week was Titanic Creations revealing the digital sculpt for its Yongary figure. This guy's had even less figures than Gorgo - I can only think of one, and very few of them were made - so expect massive demand. New Godzilla toys were also on display at London Toy Fair, both at the Playmates booth and among the plushies made by an unknown company.