REVIEW: GODZILLA X KONG - THE NEW EMPIRE

3/5

Godzilla Plus One.

115 Mins. Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns & Fala Chen. Director: Adam Wingard. In: Theatres.

GK for GW. 'Godzilla X Kong' on Godzilla's street, in his cinema, on his 70th birthday. What an empire state of mind for this new movie. Here in Japan's Golden Week for the holidays, 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' finds its Far East release, and what better place to watch it than in the Toho Cinema in Shinjuku, Tokyo? You know, the one directly under the huge head of the God himself, clawing across Godzilla Road. Besides, this character, an even greater cautionary tale for the atomic bomb than Best Picture 'Oppenheimer' that last month finally found its release in these Japans (sorry, I'm still on 'Shōgun' time), is owned by Toho. Celebrating the kaiju's 70th birthday (same year as my legend of a father), the titans are rolling out in a clash of cameos. But after some Japanese creative classics, like considering what to do with Godzilla's corpse, 'Godzilla Minus One' stormed the Academy along with the latest Oscar winning Studio Ghibli picture ('The Boy and The Heron'), meaning two of last year's biggest movies came from the land of the rising sun. Now for 'GK', this Hollow Earth finds new ground as they live.

In skyscraper busting head-to-head combat, this crash, bang, CGI b#####ks is really the minus one though. Just like how even the new American 'Godzilla', was to its Japanese counterpart, 'Shin Godzilla'. Back in 2020, in Tokyo's year of Olympic duels, 'Godzilla vs. Kong' was put on hold, as the biggest face-off on the planet (no, not Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman spiritually and maybe remaking the Nic Cage and John Travolta 90s action classic with 'Deadpool and Wolverine') faced the pandemic. When it did hit the shores of Hong Kong (love the city, but why not Tokyo after the God and 'King Kong' golden era New York minute?), unfortunately most of us streaming from a Home Box Office were left disappointed to the Max. Even with the best mecha and meta surprise since Barbra Streisand in 'South Park'. It wasn't bad, and neither is this fun film, it's just that the long awaited and eagerly anticipated (plus one) match-up for the medal didn't quite find its place on the podium. Especially when the barer bones of the origin stories that set this all up ('Godzilla' and 'Kong: Skull Island') were so, so much, less is more, better. And that's before we even got to Japan. With that being said, this 38th film in the 'zilla' franchise (with the kaijus share being from the sun that rises) and the lucky 13th one for the King still pays homage to the hallmark, retro poster iconic history of the lizard that can now draw out his pension with that old breath. Even if by and by, this 'X' franchise film like a 'Fast' family is a team-up and not a bust-up. Looking more like a buddy comedy as they run through a messy melee together. Or even a chart-topping duet as one picture, we can't spoil, sings to heavens.

And where are the cries of destruction to all the cities, like 'Independence Day' hovering over all the world-famous landmarks? Godzilla makes one particular World Heritage Site his nesting place, and doesn't care so much for how he gets out of bed. The Internet came at the 'Man Of Steel' for how he totalled city business districts, taking them for millions of dollars, and the much unfairly riled 'Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice' answered all that, Metropolis and Gotham, side-by-side perfectly. But in this Legendary picture's biggest battle outside those crusading capes for, Warner Bros even lets the pyramids have it. All whilst Kong himself sports a tooth Goldie would be proud of and a yellow gauntlet that looks like he's about to half the world's population, like he already has its infrastructure, with a snap of the fingers. Still, it's all IMAX, big bucket popcorn fun. And in this massive MonsterVerse, 'Blair Witch' and 'Death Note' director Adam Wingard has done it again, going deeper underground like Jamoriquai. Sure, no one cares much about the human characters. Even if we are missing Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby-Brown and the exposition of Japanese legend Ken Watanabe. But Rebecca Hall more than holds her own, with a new Sally Hawkins like 'do. Mothering, the catalyst of this, Kaylee Hottle, whose actions speak so much louder than words. 'Atlanta's' very own Brian Tyree Henry, about to transform an animated Hasbro franchise with Hemsworth, is the perfect paranoid podcaster. Whilst Wingard's 'Guest' Dan Stevens is clearly having the Hawaiian shirt fun of his life. But it's "Britain's most-hated soap villain" Alex Ferns of 'Eastenders' fame (now making his mark in 'Chernobyl') and 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' origin story star Fala Chen, who make even more of this. Packing a wallop in Godzilla's recharged purple reign, this is a huge hit. The 'Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes' ain't got apes### on this! TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Godzilla vs. Kong', 'Godzilla Minus One', 'Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes'.