As if Godzilla and Kong weren’t enough, director Adam Wingard unleashes a host of others in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” and lets the skyscrapers fall where they may.
The landscape, as a result, is so crowded it’s practically the monster equivalent of “Oppenheimer.”
Kong, you may remember, is dwelling in Hollow Earth; Godzilla is napping at the Colosseum. As long as they’re in separate corners, everything is OK.
Godzilla, however, gets up from his nap, stomps around Europe (making even more ruins in Italy and France) and senses there’s a Kong-frontation just waiting to happen.
Kong, meanwhile, has an infected tooth and needs help. We know this because Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) has a daughter (Kaylee Hottle) who can communicate with him via sign language. To set things straight, Andrews assembles a crew (including a conspiracy theorist and a gonzo veterinarian) and zips to Hollow Earth. Sure enough, Kong has a bad bite and another set of monster adversaries. When a battle hurts his arm, the vet (played by Dan Stevens) cooks up a Kong-sized Infinity Gauntlet glove (trademark pending) and gets the big ape moving.
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All sorts of creatures (prehistoric and otherwise) start checking in. The goal is to settle them and get to Godzilla. But who first? And when?
All of the creatures (including one you’ve heard plenty about but didn’t realize was so literal) cause trouble, sending all parts of the world into turmoil.
After they do their urgent care bit, the humans are fairly expendable. Still, they stick around to see what happens and give the girl plenty to translate.
While Godzilla makes his way to Kong we start calculating the insurance loss. In addition to ruining ruins in Europe, he levels pyramids in Egypt.
Kong isn’t as destructive (he just hangs from buildings) but he does have some nasty adversaries. If it’s Wingard’s goal to spin them off into other features, we’re in trouble. There are so many villains in “Godzilla x Kong” it’s impossible for anyone to divide and conquer.
Thankfully, the film comes to an impasse and the special effects experts are on to something a little less taxing.
Interestingly, the effects in this film aren’t as good as the ones in the low-budget “Godzilla Minus One.” The monsters look a bit halting. When in doubt, Wingard and company turn up the light.
“Godzilla x Kong” doesn’t have a strong script, either, and its work for the humans is marginal at best.
Still, if you're craving popcorn, this is your movie. It encourages binge-eating.