‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ is monster math that becomes a headache

Katie Walsh March 28, 2024

Before the titan-sized title of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire even flashes across the screen, director Adam Wingard has already delivered two impressively goopy moments courtesy of our lead characters: Kong rips a hyena-thing in half, green entrails spilling everywhere, while Godzilla squ

i a

shes a

giant

bug in Rome, releasing great vats of yellow goo over the ancient city. Its an indication of the colorfully excessive ethos that Wingard brings to this loaded monster jam,

which is

overflowing with

kaijutitans,

creatures

and kaiju

. Considering that much of the action takes place in the underworld known as Hollow Earth, you might even call this picture

stuffed crust.

Wingard, who directed the neon-synth fever dream that was

2021’s

Godzilla vs. Kong ,

in 2021,

comes from the world of horror films

, (

“You’re Next”

)

and he brings that same approach to his blockbusters, with a penchant for gleeful experimentation and over-the-top style. He drives this vehicle like he stole it, and with co-writers Simon Barrett and Terry Rossio, seems to throw every idea hes ever had for a monster movie at the script. Its a lot. Its fun, but its a lot.

On the plus side, Wingard has arguably three of the best working actors in the game:

in this picture.

Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry reprise their roles from Godzilla vs. Kong, and Wingard brings along the star of his 2014 thriller The Guest, Dan Stevens, who possesses a kind of

glowingradioactive

charisma thats almost too much to take in. With these three, you truly

cannot can’t

go wrong

,

and Henry and Stevens, playing

, respectively,

a

blogger/

podcaster and a wacky wild

–

animal veterinarian,

respectively,

prove to be the most valuable players of the movie

, (

after the title characters, of course

)

.

To quickly get us

caught

up to speed

, after since

the events of the last film

:,

Kong now lives in the verdant paradise of Hollow Earth, which is nice but lonely, while Godzilla remains on the surface, very cutely napping in the Colosseum in between bouts of titan fighting. These two need to be kept apart, lest they rip each other to shreds, reducing major cities to rubble

in the process

. However, when a distress signal emerges from Hollow Earth, Dr. Andrews (Hall), her

adopted tribal

Iwi daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), her on-call vet Trapper (Stevens)

,

and the fanboy blogger Bernie (Henry), along with a stern Scottish pilot Mikael (Alex Ferns), set out to find the origin of the call, and realize that maybe Godzilla and Kong need to find a way to come together to fight off other nefarious creatures.

When you multiply Godzilla by Kong, what do you get? When

Adam

Wingards doing the math, its an earnest, wacky, hectic ride that often feels like being thrashed about in an I

maxMAX

seat. Theres a decidedly 1980s-inspired vibe to the tone and style, from the hot pinks and greens and synth

–

y score by

Antonio Di Iorio and

Tom Holkenborg

and Antonio Di Iorio

, to the narrative that follows a journey into a fantastical underworld. Theres also a heavy emphasis on crystals as both plot device and aesthetic,

that

offer

ings

this film a retro feel.

But about halfway through, one

getsdoes get

the nagging sensation that this

entry

has jumped the kaiju shark, as Wingard slams the gas and doesnt let up. There are too many monsters

,

and

,

as more and more are introduced, character falls away. It makes you long for the restrained elegance of

Japan’s recent Oscar winner

Godzilla Minus One, but this is a different beast entirely.

Theres a

bit of a

harried energy to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which is

fun enjoyable

until it becomes

instantly

tiresome and deafening. Perhaps multiplication was too much heres hoping subtraction is next in the

kaiju

mathematical equation.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.