Warner Bros. and Legendary’s MonsterVerse is now a decade old since it began with 2014’s Godzilla. It now boasts four movies and a spinoff TV series, Monarch Legacy Of Monsters (which is extremely good and recommended to watch). 2021’s Godzilla Vs Kong gave us the highly-anticipated kaiju clash of the century but is Godzilla X Kong The New Empire a follow-up worth watching?

For Kaiju fans, it definitely is.

Clash Of The Titans

2021’s Godzilla Vs Kong’s Adam Wingard returns for Godzilla X Kong The New Empire. Godzilla X Kong The New Empire runs at about 115 minutes (which is less than two hours long), but it’s around the same runtime as its predecessor. This movie will satisfy fans of Kaijus (or Titans as they’re known in the MonsterVerse). The movie delivers more kaiju action than any previous movie in the MonsterVerse, especially in terms of screen time. However, Godzilla X Kong The New Empire does feel more like a Kong movie than it does a Godzilla movie, though both Titans get a chance to shine nonetheless. The antagonists (Scar King, etc.) feel like a decent threat though they still don’t feel as threatening as King Ghidorah was in 2019’s Godzilla King of The Monsters (which was still the peak of the MonsterVerse).

Just like all the previous MonsterVerse movies, the humans in Godzilla X Kong The New Empire are the weakest parts of the movie. The only returning characters from the previous movie are Rebecca Hall’s Dr. Ilene Andrews, Brian Tyree Henry’s Bernie Hayes and Kaylee Hottle’s deaf character, Jia. Thankfully, there are no more bland characters like Millie Bobby Brown’s forgettable Madison Russell. One of the new cast members, Dan Stevens, adds more fun and humour to the movie with his laidback and charming personality. This is perhaps the smallest human cast in a MonsterVerse yet, and that’s a good thing because we’re all here to watch the titular monsters anyway.

As for the Titans, I won’t spoil what’s in store in Godzilla X Kong The New Empire but this movie seems partly inspired by 1968’s Godzilla Destroy All Monsters in terms of tone. This can be seen in the interactions between Kong and the new mini Kong, where there’s more humour. Kong really gets the most screen time in this movie, so if you’re a fan of him, you’ll be satisfied. There are many dialogue-less parts featuring just Kong. That being said, one of the flaws of the movie might be that Godzilla feels more like a side character despite having his name in front of the movie’s title. Godzilla does get his moments, but this is more clearly more of a Kong movie. On the plus side, there are much more kaiju in Godzilla X Kong The New Empire (a few surprises) than in 2021’s Godzilla Vs. Kong (Godzilla and Kong were essentially the only two kaijus in that movie!).

There are also a lot of coincidences in the movie’s story, though you can’t exactly expect a kaiju movie to be “realistic” so there has to be a suspension of disbelief. There are one or two surprises in Godzilla X Kong The New Empire awaiting fans that I won’t spoil, but the story here is perhaps a bit better than 2021’s Godzilla Vs Kong because in that previous movie, we were all just waiting for the eventual clash so nothing else mattered much. In Godzilla X Kong The New Empire, there’s at least more of a vested interest in what happens in the narrative, even though it’s all still just an excuse to see kaijus fight. Last but not least, most of Godzilla X Kong The New Empire actually takes place inside the Hollow Earth itself, so a lot of the movie has a tone and vibe that feels like a classic adventure exploration movie ala Journey To The Center Of The Earth. That distinguishes itself from past movies in the MonsterVerse, which tend to feature a lot of urban city settings, so it’s great to get something different this time around.

Journey To The Hollow Earth

If you don’t see (or never saw) the appeal of watching giant Kaiju monsters fight on the big screen, then Godzilla X Kong The New Empire certainly won’t change your mind. It’s more of the same of what we’ve come to expect from the MonsterVerse, and best of all, Godzilla X Kong The New Empire actually delivers more kaiju action than in previous movies. If that’s what you want, you’ll like this movie, though perhaps this is more for the Kong fans than the Godzilla ones.

FINAL SCORE: 80/100

We attended a press screening of Godzilla X Kong The New Empire courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Malaysia. Godzilla X Kong The New Empire premieres in Malaysian cinemas on 28 March 2024.