Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024). 1h 55m | PG-13

“Starts off as (and sadly that hue does stay during most of the movie) another run-of-the-mill, generic hollywood tentpole blockbuster. From the weightless cgi looks to the boring dialogue and characters, the first act of Godzilla x Kong didnu0026#39;t do much for me. However, as the film progresses, it started to show off its bonkers ideas and charms one by one, and slowly u0026amp; ultimately managed to win me over. This cinematic universe slowly drifted away from its dark, grounded, almost disaster-movie-like origins of godzilla 2014 as it went on, and after watching gxk you wouldnu0026#39;t believe theyu0026#39;re even set within the same continuity. Gone are the rains, dust and night-time battles of king of the monsters or the vibrant, operatic cinematography larry fong achieved in skull island. In gxk, 90% of the battles are set in broad daylight, and the camera spins, cuts, and turns upside down (director adam wingard goes crazy in some shots) to maximize and display these battle of titans in a cartoon-like manner. You are basically being waterboarded with cgi spectacle, and thatu0026#39;s not a bad thing! As someone who was turned off by the way godzilla ran in the first trailer, i kinda do miss the old aesthetic of the monsterverse, but i canu0026#39;t deny that what they achieved in gxk is helluva fun. I was basically cheering inside during the third act. They cut off all the bs (mostly) and solely focused on delivering a bonkers, digital, fantasy-like colosseum for the titans to punch and throw each other. Also notable is the role of kong as basically the protagonist of the movie. Contrary to godzilla, who gets less screentime and is treated more like a force of nature/beast he is, kong acts, feels, and emotes more like a human. There is an interesting contrast between kongu0026#39;s human-like and godzillau0026#39;s animalistic behavior. Most of kongu0026#39;s scenes works as a dialogue-free fantasy action film about a lone warrior wandering this fantasy world and bonding with a child.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHollow earth where exotic creatures dwell, ancient hidden civilization in there, huge temples built with shining crystals, hidden lore of monsters, portals, giant monkey tyrant riding an ice dragon, anti-gravity action sequence, and historic landmarks being destroyed disaster-movie-style. You can not fully be on board with the new direction, but you canu0026#39;t deny its charm and fun.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlso forgot to mention godzilla fighting an radioactive(?) sea dragon in the arctic. Think this maybe qualifies as a gonzo blockbuster.”