'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' is Just Another Dumb Monster Film

Here's another big, dumb monster for you to enjoy. I liked monster movies when I was a kid. Then I grew up and saw the original 1954 Godzilla, titled Gojira, and discovered a movie that wasn't just filled with mindless action. Gojira was a response to the atomic bomb. How men can create destructible terrors manifests itself into a creation that exists only for one reason. To kill. The only way to kill the unkillable is by poisoning the water it swims under. The only drawback is that by poisoning the water, every aquatic species will die. During the film's closing moments, Akira Ifukube's score plays a mournful piece titled "Prayer for Peace" as the water is tainted. Killing the monster isn't a celebratory moment. It's a saddened calculation of man's cruelty. How can we create such great things and terrible ones at the same time? Are we destined to destroy ourselves through our inventions? 

Godzilla was a murderer, not a protector of humankind from other monsters. Yet, over the years, Godzilla has had about the range and depth of a WWE match. Instead of having man question their heinous actions through the creation of Godzilla, we get silly monster fights where people cheer on the creature that's leveling their cities. 

When it comes to Kong, the movie gets him right. Mostly. King Kong was originally a big dumb ape that ate people and had a crush on the girl he held captive. Ann Darrow had no feelings for the monkey. That was an aspect that later changed in King Kong remakes. In this movie, Kong isn't as dumb as he seems. He can communicate through limited sign language and isn't a harm to humanity. That is, as long as you're not living in a house nearby whatever town he's rampaging when fighting another monster. 

If you want to satisfy a very basic necessity for action, the movie does that, but it gets boring. What all these Godzilla movies don't get, with the exception of the masterful Godzilla: Minus One, is that your monster movie can be more. Your human characters don't have to be dull, underdeveloped people. They can have your narrative flourish. In Godzilla: Minus One, the protagonist is a kamikaze pilot who didn't finish his suicide mission. For that, he's called a coward. Already, we have a strong character with a clear motivation. He must prove his bravery by taking down Godzilla. Even if that means our hero may lose his life. 

What do we know about the characters in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire? Everyone is more of a stock character than a real, live, breathing person. Ilene Andrew (Rebeca Hall) is the wise scientist. Bernie Hayes is the conspiracy theorist podcaster that nobody believes, although he's consistently proven right. Trapper (Dan Stevens) is the charismatic thrill seeker who happens to have a charming british accent. Lastly, there's Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the cute kid who has a connection to King Kong. 

All these characters have little to no character development. The only one who does is Jia, and her character arc is pretty goofy. Jia was a member of the Iwi tribe, a group of people who live under the surface in Kong's world. Somewhere within these forgettable sequels, we see how Jia rose from below the surface to be Ilene's stepdaughter. The film has a talented cast without much of a plot for them to lean on. It doesn't matter as all the filmmakers care about, like the audience they're reaching out to, is monster fighting mayhem. 

The movie wastes no time jumping straight into the action. The opening credits sequence distractingly fills up the screen when Kong is getting into the middle of another fight. Rather than providing a memorable narrative, the film waits for the next action sequence instead of building any character. Worse yet. What are the stakes? Is it human lives because that seems like an afterthought to our "heroes." Rather than lamenting humanity's destruction, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire celebrates it. 

The beasts travel from city to city destroying everything in their path during their bouts. But Kong and Godzilla are fighting the bad guys, so it's okay. Not okay. Like Man of Steel's destruction, we question if what the good guys are doing is right. The movie doesn't question it, but anyone with an IQ can see that something is very wrong. The good guys keep sending Godzy and Kong out to fight other monsters that threaten human life. So, man is partially responsible for their genocidal actions. But the film doesn't see it that way. It sees buildings as more of a field in a playground of collateral damage. 

There are no real resonant themes or emotions. You could say Jia learns that home is what you make of it, but that's a very weak point if that's what the film is going for. The movie knows the audience isn't there to see the humans, so it gets into as many monster mashups as it can. If you want to turn your brain off, you could see Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire on the big screen. The film is certainly big enough that it's intended to be shown in a theater. But you'd be wasting your money. You're better off at home watching the original King Kong or Gojira. 

I get that not every movie has to have a deep meaning. Sometimes, brainless fun is perfectly okay. But your movie should always try harder to better itself. The film has a talented cast. So, use that talent instead of letting it go to waste. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire fundamentally misunderstands Godzilla. Worse yet, it's a cookie-cutter plot that almost anyone could have written. The filmmakers could take note from Godzilla: Minus One in how to make a monster film be more than just another monster movie.