Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
When The Flash hit screens nationwide last year, many critics poured scorn on the CGI, stating it was “the worst ever”. As I left the press screening of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, I wondered how many of those critics would be equally as scathing of the CGI in Adam Wingard’s monster movie. As the reviews rolled in, I had my answer: very few!
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is occasionally fun, but it is also the cinematic equivalent of watching a PS5 game on a giant screen for two hours. It is almost entirely CGI, and put quite simply, some of that CGI doesn’t work; the water looks thick and gloopy, the hairs on Kong Junior look painted on, and his eyes lack any sparkle in this expensive CGI take on a Saturday morning kids’ TV monster cartoon. Perhaps superhero movies are held to a higher standard than monster flicks, but there’s no escaping the visual limitations of Godzilla x Kong or the fact that the Oscar-winning Godzilla: Minus One looked and sounded 100% better, having cost $120 million less.
The New Empire is, without a doubt, a monster-sized cash-in. It’s neither a King Kong nor a Godzilla movie, as it bounces between Godzilla protecting humanity from rogue Titans on the surface and Kong searching for mates to play with in Hollow Earth.
The humans are hardly worth mentioning, as they serve little purpose as the audience waits for a CGI rumble in the jungle. But returning is Rebecca Hall’s Dr Ilene Andrews, Brian Tyree Henry’s podcaster Bernie Hayes, teen Kong-whisperer and hero Jia (Kaylee Hottle) and Dan Stevens, who attempts to bring some light relief as a monsterverse mashup of Ace Ventura and Doctor Dolittle. As Kong finds a hidden kingdom of oppressed apes desperate to rise from the Hollow Earth to the surface, Godzilla takes a break from stamping on Rome to bulk up his powers (loving the new pink look), knowing he must return to ‘Hollow Earth’ to fight the apes. That’s it; the rest is CGI fights, monster-sized carnage and cartoon-like set pieces.
I am not saying Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire isn’t fun in parts, but as a whole, it is an example of the very worst in lazy, weightless and meaningless studio filmmaking aimed at a quick buck. Adam Wingard delivers precisely what the studio wants by keeping things light, colourful and simple, but shouldn’t we, the paying public, demand more than that? Godzilla: Minus One proved that monster movies can still pack a punch without lavish CGI, offering good stories, engaging performances, and excitement. Unfortunately, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire proves that Hollywood still favours overly expensive CGI and simplicity in attempting to get bums in seats.
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