Kaiju fans have been gifted with a new entry to the expanding cinematic ‘monster-verse’ with “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”. This film strays from the kaiju films in Japan which focus more on environmental endangerment. The films produced here in America are cage-match wrestling competitions by comparison. Is this newest monster mash worth watching on the big screen or can it be pushed back a bit for a streaming release?

  Keep in mind that there will be some spoilers present. As mentioned, if you are a purest and desire the aesthetics and messages of the dangers nuclear weapons can bring, then this film is not for you. These recent kaiju films focusing on the hollow Earth storyline favor action and adventure. As such, Godzilla is almost a side character in the film, despite having the leading name in the film’s title. The story is focused more on Kong and the new lineage of towering gorillas. The film also relies on nonsensical plot lines that are far too convenient for the plot to be taken seriously. Such as when Kong receives his signature gauntlet as seen in the trailers. He just so happens to lose consciousness due to frostbite near the gauntlet. Which just so conveniently was made by the forgettable human characters before the film, who also had the foresight to put an anti-frostbite serum in the gauntlet. It is worth mentioning that in the theater this was being viewed, audience members could be heard laughing and groaning at this revelation.

  With all that being said, the film is still highly entertaining while the computer-animated characters convey their meaning and emotions fluently without too much ulterior dialogue being needed. And it is not without its emotional moments. During a segment where Kong encounters others of his species for the first time in a long time, the expressions and gestures made by the apes are the longest sections without any form of verbal speech, and it adds an intense layer of emotion that hits one in the heart. This leads to the film’s villain who is a new kind of threat to Kong. There is also the cameo monster for this film that will leave jaws hanging.

  Overall, this film is fun to watch. Whether it is worth paying a movie theater ticket fee is debatable. For this review, the film was observed in iMax. While it intensified the experience, it can be reasonably assumed that the same experience can be had when the film is released to streaming services. A staff member at the theater was asked about the film, and he responded with “I think I’m just going to wait until it’s on Netflix” (X-scape employee).  Either way, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is a must-see if you enjoy giant monster movies for the monsters themselves and not the message they may have initially been created to deliver.