Godzilla vs. Kong – the fifth film in the Monsterverse franchise – stumbles into cinemas with all the grace of a giant lizard battling an oversized ape, and sadly, it never quite finds its footing.
Directed by Death Note and Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire sees the return of Rebecca Hall as Monarch anthropological linguist, and Kaylee Hottle as her adoptive daughter Jia. Also back for another slice of Kaiju mayhem is Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie Hayes, a Cybernetics technician turned conspiracy theorist and podcaster.
Kong, accompanied by his guardians, embarks on a treacherous quest to uncover his ancestral homeland. Their journey takes an unexpected turn when they cross paths with a rampaging Godzilla, leaving a trail of devastation in his wake.
Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014) felt like a real breath of fresh air. It was a film that managed to breathe new life into a much-loved franchise by offering a modern twist on the classic monster genre. Equally, Kong: Skull Island followed up with an aesthetic that looked like it was straight out of a classic Vietnam War movie set.. It is therefore hugely disappointing to see these two franchises crash and burn in such a catastrophic manner, once more.
There is very little here that makes any kind of of sense and, were it not for Dan Stevens injecting some much-needed humour into the chaos as quirky science dude Trapper, this whole sorry affair would’ve been even more unbearable. For her part, Rebecca Hall should be commended for her ability to utter any lines of an almost indecipherable dialogue with a straight face.
It is once again a case of leave your brain at the door if you want to have any kind of fun with this. Having said that, the film’s worst crime is the fact that it isn’t until at least 80 minutes or more into the film that we get to see any kind of battle between the titular monsters. I was bored stiff.
