Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire promised an epic clash of titans but ultimately, fell short of its lofty ambitions. Directed by Adam Wingard, this installment in the MonsterVerse franchise feels like a missed opportunity rather than a triumphant addition. 

From the outset, it’s evident that the film relies heavily on CGI spectacle at the expense of storytelling and character development. While the visual effects are undeniably impressive, they often overwhelm the narrative, leaving little room for emotional resonance. The characters feel like mere placeholders, existing solely to move the plot forward and provide exposition. The plot itself is a convoluted mess, meandering from one contrived set piece to another without any sense of cohesion or purpose. The film introduces a plethora of new concepts and plot threads, from the Hollow Earth to a mysterious energy source, but fails to explore them in any meaningful way. As a result, the story feels disjointed and rushed, with crucial plot points and character motivations left unexplained.

The pacing of the film is equally problematic. Although the beginning of the film was well paced, it felt like the director ran out of time at the end as one thing after another started happening very fast with little time to breathe. But Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire ‘ wasn’t all bad. Its treatment of its titular monsters Godzilla and Kong, two of cinema’s most iconic creatures, is amazing. 

Their personalities truly shine in this movie, having more emotion than the one dimensional humans. Kong truly gets his character fleshed out, with him showing so much emotion between him and his family along with Godzilla. Godzilla didn’t have much development as a character, but it is more than he has before in previous movies. Both monsters are now more than just monsters and feel like real beings with just destruction in mind.

Another plus for the movie is its titan fights. Every fight in this movie feels so amazing to watch and is a great time to watch. Kong’s action feels well choreographed, especially for a giant ape. The film also brings back some fan favorite Kaijus, a character from the movie, from older movies and media which is a nice touch and definitely enhances the overall satisfaction of watching the movie. 

In the end, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire was disappointing for how big this movie was marketed. Although it has some pros, it’s outweighed by the cons and it would be best to only watch this movie once.