Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Review

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Review - You’ve gotta respect when a movie knows its audience. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is effectively what would happen if you took a thread from r/Godzilla and put it up on screen: a visually stunning, sensory extravaganza that’s all crescendo and no build-up. The stakes are high - though not quite firmly established - and the entire film presents action payoff after action payoff. It’s utterly breathless - unless that breath is bellowing out a massive stream of ice or fire. Especially in IMAX, it’s a 1-hour-and-55-minute amusement park ride; I was oohing and ahhing through the entire thing, wondering what was lurking around the next corner - or, as this outlandish universe would have it, behind the electrified plasma wall. I just couldn’t take it too personally when it all didn’t quite add up. This story is pretty clearly made with MonsterVerse novices in mind - which would be great if that were the case for anyone who’s going to see the fifth film in the series, but that person is difficult to envision. (Maybe Godzilla Minus One served as their introduction to kaiju movies, and now they want to check out The Big G’s noisier, flashier American output.) We know that not one, but both of these titular alpha titans come with decades of built-in lore, and those who will be first in line are superfans who have memorized every. single. detail. To have the human characters once again experience shock and confusion from yet another “electrical anomaly” - in a universe where seismic waves and electric currents have factored into Godzilla’s appearances since time immemorial - infantilizes the most passionate audience members and presents a missed opportunity for some more imaginative writing. Sure, going back to these basics keeps The New Empire aligned with the classic mythology, but at this point, our characters should be recognizing these signals from the get-go. There’s a chance to build here - we don’t have to play stupid and lose respect for the characters out of the gate.