GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Better shot than I've seen before, looks a lot more detailed than the trailers.

Also..if you've seen the leak on FB you know.

For a better refrence,  think of a scene ripped directly from "Speckles the Tarbosaurus" if any of you saw that film.

I thought  I saw that film but  I can't recall a jump scene. It was very Ice Age like to me.   

There is the infamous Land of the Lost bit, but I don't think the GxK scene is that out there

[dragon53]

" The Official Novelization for Godzilla x Kong, has just been unveiled by the appropriately named Titan Books.

The book, based on Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater's screenplay for New Empire, was written by MonsterVerse vet Greg Keyes. The author previously adapted King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs Kong as well as Christopher Nolan's sci-fi gem Interstellar. It will be available in most reading formats, including paperback, ebook, and audiobook. Also, if you're worried about spoilers, the novelization will be released on April 16, 2024. This is a few weeks after this enormous battle unfolds on the big screen."


source: collider.com

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I've preordered this one : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1681161281/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It comes out March 26th and is a prequel to Godzilla x Kong The New Empire.

[HD-man]

Other than Kong's look, I mostly like this new video:

[Nyrorosaurus]

Other than Kong's look, I mostly like this new video

It looks to me like they used this model of Bigfoot or one like it: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/sasquatch. A strange choice, but otherwise, yeah, I was impressed by all the obscure Godzilla/Kong references they included

[dragon53]

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

That's hilarious, Godzilla is faster  than Kong so he hitches a ride. 

[dragon53]

[Takama]

Spoiler

So. Yeah. I walked in the rain too see GodzillaXKong: the New Empire

And its not as terrible as the marketing made it out too be.

(Though it  could use less 80s song cues)

And the villian they all been hyping up?

He is nothing but a panzee who abuses his pet lizard.

Oh and one other Toho Monster makes a return to the Franchise.

Overall I liked it better then GVK honestly.

But they had TWO misssed oppertunitys to use a  Serpeantine Toho Kaiju in the film (you know it when you see them)

[close]

[HD-man]

Forgot to share this when I 1st saw it:

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Spoiler

So. Yeah. I walked in the rain too see GodzillaXKong: the New Empire

And its not as terrible as the marketing made it out too be.

(Though it  could use less 80s song cues)

And the villian they all been hyping up?

He is nothing but a panzee who abuses his pet lizard.

Oh and one other Toho Monster makes a return to the Franchise.

Overall I liked it better then GVK honestly.

But they had TWO misssed oppertunitys to use a  Serpeantine Toho Kaiju in the film (you know it when you see them)

[close]

Spoiler

I thought it was a fun film overall, plenty of laughs and action though I did miss a little down time to explain some things, like where did Shimo's control crystal come from?

There was some canon issues. The titans are supposed to help the earth, so why would Godzilla feel the need to kill two that were obviously less powerful than him?

One of those scenes is one you were alluding to Takama the other the giant eel? I wouldn't want Manda in there just to be diced up like sushi. I actually think they could have had him kill other titans that weren't named/aware of really. IDK it bothered me.

You could tell it is a Kong film, the original working title was Son of Kong and it shows. Substituting Mothra for the new bird kaiju made sense from a lot of standpoints but it still was easy to tell it was meant to  be something else. They totally ignored the giant Mothra egg found at the end of KOTM, Mothra doesn't materialize out of thin air usually either.

Music was a rehash of the last film, way more 80s in feel..kinda like Stranger Things? Really missed Godzilla theme, Kong's theme and Mothras too.

[close]

[Brocc21]

Full review

Spoiler

I'm sad to say that as excited as I was for this one I was disappointed. It just didn't really do it for me, and I say this as someone who has liked all the Monsterverse films very much. Especially GvK, which I was really hoping this movie would feel more like. 

My biggest issues were pacing and tone. Forcing this movie to be under 2 hours was a mistake. Every scene felt too short, like it had been chopped up in the editing room. The fight scenes, though there were many, all felt like they lasted just a minute (some did) and the final battle left me pretty underwhelmed. It all goes by too fast for anything to stick with you. It never gives itself time to slow down and let you appreciate the moment, which at times it could have really benefitted from. There was no anticipation or build up to anything. Combined with the movie constantly being cranked up to 11, there were no real standout moments and it all sort of blurred together into a big blob of a movie. As I was leaving the theater it felt like I hadn't even watched it.

And I was definitely not a fan of the sardonic Marvel style writing of the humans. The lack of sincerity and constant need for everybody to be funny and make quippy remarks really rubs me the wrong way. With one or two exceptions none of the jokes landed for me and their presence felt far bigger than it really was. The past MV films would have really crazy things happening onscreen but they would play it straight and the characters took it seriously for the most part. Not everything had to feel like a big joke. They only exist to give exposition dumps and the way they went about doing it felt very forced and unnatural. The movie could have greatly benefitted from more silence. Which strangely I felt was the original intention, but the execs must've forced them to have more dialogue.

There was potential for some very emotional character scenes with the titans that were not capitalized on. Kong discovering the other apes did not feel as grand or as emotional as it could have. And I was greatly looking forward to Goji's reunion with Mothra, but it just sort of happened and was over in an instant with no further contemplation. Godzilla was greatly underutilized this time around. I'm down with these movies being more Kong focused but Goji had very little overall presence in the film. Their team up happens too late and there wasn't much of a dynamic between them.

I may have to see it again for me to warm up to it, but this was the only MV I didn't enjoy the first time I saw it. Which is not a good sign. It's a noticeable step down from the previous entry. GvK just sort of clicked for me. I thought it had the perfect mixture of serious and absurd, and it knew when to slow down and let the moment just play out naturally. That all being said there were things I liked. Kong's story was great. All the monsters were brimming with character, and I am more confident than ever that an all monster film could work wonderfully. All the jokes involving the monsters I thought landed. Hollow Earth was beautifully rendered. And Godzilla was a total beast in this! He melts through kaiju in a way only Finalgoji out does. And there were some interesting lore developments and cool Easter eggs for keen eyed fans.

[close]

Final score: 5/10

Current MV ranking:
Godzilla vs Kong
Godzilla 2014
Skull Island
King of the Monsters
Godzilla x Kong

[Carnoking]

Been avoiding this thread for fear of spoilers so I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone's thoughts.

I just got out of a late screening myself, and all I'll say is that there seems to be a series of diminishing returns when it comes to the storytelling and craft of these MonsterVerse movies.


For better or for worse though, the fun level is cranked up a little more each time!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Been avoiding this thread for fear of spoilers so I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone's thoughts.

I just got out of a late screening myself, and all I'll say is that there seems to be a series of diminishing returns when it comes to the storytelling and craft of these MonsterVerse movies.


For better or for worse though, the fun level is cranked up a little more each time!

Thank goodness it was pretty easy to avoid spoilers here, they are everywhere on FB. I'll use spoiler tags for at least this week, hopefully give fans enough time to see it.

Wingard said it was always possible to go back to the 2014 level of serious film if need be, Godzilla was versatile. I think saying this one was fun was the best description. It's the polar opposite of Minus One even though Godzilla is still a grumpy jerk in this one. Which this is more of a Kong film anyway and Wingard said he wasn't trying to do serious this time. All of which I agree with. It made a fun campy monster movie that critics don't get.  I'm not sure how movie critics still have jobs lol

[alexeratops]

Full review

Spoiler

I'm sad to say that as excited as I was for this one I was disappointed. It just didn't really do it for me, and I say this as someone who has liked all the Monsterverse films very much. Especially GvK, which I was really hoping this movie would feel more like. 

My biggest issues were pacing and tone. Forcing this movie to be under 2 hours was a mistake. Every scene felt too short, like it had been chopped up in the editing room. The fight scenes, though there were many, all felt like they lasted just a minute (some did) and the final battle left me pretty underwhelmed. It all goes by too fast for anything to stick with you. It never gives itself time to slow down and let you appreciate the moment, which at times it could have really benefitted from. There was no anticipation or build up to anything. Combined with the movie constantly being cranked up to 11, there were no real standout moments and it all sort of blurred together into a big blob of a movie. As I was leaving the theater it felt like I hadn't even watched it.

And I was definitely not a fan of the sardonic Marvel style writing of the humans. The lack of sincerity and constant need for everybody to be funny and make quippy remarks really rubs me the wrong way. With one or two exceptions none of the jokes landed for me and their presence felt far bigger than it really was. The past MV films would have really crazy things happening onscreen but they would play it straight and the characters took it seriously for the most part. Not everything had to feel like a big joke. They only exist to give exposition dumps and the way they went about doing it felt very forced and unnatural. The movie could have greatly benefitted from more silence. Which strangely I felt was the original intention, but the execs must've forced them to have more dialogue.

There was potential for some very emotional character scenes with the titans that were not capitalized on. Kong discovering the other apes did not feel as grand or as emotional as it could have. And I was greatly looking forward to Goji's reunion with Mothra, but it just sort of happened and was over in an instant with no further contemplation. Godzilla was greatly underutilized this time around. I'm down with these movies being more Kong focused but Goji had very little overall presence in the film. Their team up happens too late and there wasn't much of a dynamic between them.

I may have to see it again for me to warm up to it, but this was the only MV I didn't enjoy the first time I saw it. Which is not a good sign. It's a noticeable step down from the previous entry. GvK just sort of clicked for me. I thought it had the perfect mixture of serious and absurd, and it knew when to slow down and let the moment just play out naturally. That all being said there were things I liked. Kong's story was great. All the monsters were brimming with character, and I am more confident than ever that an all monster film could work wonderfully. All the jokes involving the monsters I thought landed. Hollow Earth was beautifully rendered. And Godzilla was a total beast in this! He melts through kaiju in a way only Finalgoji out does. And there were some interesting lore developments and cool Easter eggs for keen eyed fans.

[close]

Final score: 5/10

Current MV ranking:
Godzilla vs Kong
Godzilla 2014
Skull Island
King of the Monsters
Godzilla x Kong

Spoiler

I agree with your comments, especially your criticisms regarding the monsters' interactions. Mothra, Godzilla, and Kong only come together really late in the movie, and when they do so they don't get any moments to slow down, interact, or develop any sort of dynamic. When they're all battling in Hollow Earth and Rio, it seems like the monsters are just having a few different 1v1s within the same general vicinity as opposed to feeling like a genuine team-up. This film did disappoint me a bit in that regard.

[close]

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Full review

Spoiler

I'm sad to say that as excited as I was for this one I was disappointed. It just didn't really do it for me, and I say this as someone who has liked all the Monsterverse films very much. Especially GvK, which I was really hoping this movie would feel more like. 

My biggest issues were pacing and tone. Forcing this movie to be under 2 hours was a mistake. Every scene felt too short, like it had been chopped up in the editing room. The fight scenes, though there were many, all felt like they lasted just a minute (some did) and the final battle left me pretty underwhelmed. It all goes by too fast for anything to stick with you. It never gives itself time to slow down and let you appreciate the moment, which at times it could have really benefitted from. There was no anticipation or build up to anything. Combined with the movie constantly being cranked up to 11, there were no real standout moments and it all sort of blurred together into a big blob of a movie. As I was leaving the theater it felt like I hadn't even watched it.

And I was definitely not a fan of the sardonic Marvel style writing of the humans. The lack of sincerity and constant need for everybody to be funny and make quippy remarks really rubs me the wrong way. With one or two exceptions none of the jokes landed for me and their presence felt far bigger than it really was. The past MV films would have really crazy things happening onscreen but they would play it straight and the characters took it seriously for the most part. Not everything had to feel like a big joke. They only exist to give exposition dumps and the way they went about doing it felt very forced and unnatural. The movie could have greatly benefitted from more silence. Which strangely I felt was the original intention, but the execs must've forced them to have more dialogue.

There was potential for some very emotional character scenes with the titans that were not capitalized on. Kong discovering the other apes did not feel as grand or as emotional as it could have. And I was greatly looking forward to Goji's reunion with Mothra, but it just sort of happened and was over in an instant with no further contemplation. Godzilla was greatly underutilized this time around. I'm down with these movies being more Kong focused but Goji had very little overall presence in the film. Their team up happens too late and there wasn't much of a dynamic between them.

I may have to see it again for me to warm up to it, but this was the only MV I didn't enjoy the first time I saw it. Which is not a good sign. It's a noticeable step down from the previous entry. GvK just sort of clicked for me. I thought it had the perfect mixture of serious and absurd, and it knew when to slow down and let the moment just play out naturally. That all being said there were things I liked. Kong's story was great. All the monsters were brimming with character, and I am more confident than ever that an all monster film could work wonderfully. All the jokes involving the monsters I thought landed. Hollow Earth was beautifully rendered. And Godzilla was a total beast in this! He melts through kaiju in a way only Finalgoji out does. And there were some interesting lore developments and cool Easter eggs for keen eyed fans.

[close]

Final score: 5/10

Current MV ranking:
Godzilla vs Kong
Godzilla 2014
Skull Island
King of the Monsters
Godzilla x Kong

Spoiler

I agree with your comments, especially your criticisms regarding the monsters' interactions. Mothra, Godzilla, and Kong only come together really late in the movie, and when they do so they don't get any moments to slow down, interact, or develop any sort of dynamic. When they're all battling in Hollow Earth and Rio, it seems like the monsters are just having a few different 1v1s within the same general vicinity as opposed to feeling like a genuine team-up. This film did disappoint me a bit in that regard.

[close]

Spoiler

They did a lot of passing off one enemy to another. Skar King gets thrown by Kong Godzilla tail whacks him. Kong holds Skar, Godzilla givea look to Shimo who realizes she's free and blasts Skar with her ice power. It's all fast I grant you that, like each knew what they were supposed to do and did it.   Some were complaining about Godzilla being sort of mindless and nonchalant. I summed it up with this. This film was about Kong, his life and future. For Godzilla it was 9-5 on a Tuesday.

[close]

[dragon53]

GODZILLA x KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE---the sequel had a $194 million global premiere which is the biggest premiere of 2024 and beat out DUNE: PART TWO's $178 million premiere.

[Carnoking]

Glad to see this movie exceeded expectations at the box office. It's good news for the franchise and theaters in general.

That said, I'm very keen to see its hold going forward. That's typically a better indicator of success than the opening weekend.

[GojiraGuy1954]

i saw this movie very recently and have already forgotten most of what happened in it

MonsterVerse peaked at Skull Island in every aspect but the soundtrack (KoTM and G14 have that in the bag, but K:SI also has some memorable tracks. Can't be said for Tom's scores.

[Brocc21]

Full review

Spoiler

I'm sad to say that as excited as I was for this one I was disappointed. It just didn't really do it for me, and I say this as someone who has liked all the Monsterverse films very much. Especially GvK, which I was really hoping this movie would feel more like. 

My biggest issues were pacing and tone. Forcing this movie to be under 2 hours was a mistake. Every scene felt too short, like it had been chopped up in the editing room. The fight scenes, though there were many, all felt like they lasted just a minute (some did) and the final battle left me pretty underwhelmed. It all goes by too fast for anything to stick with you. It never gives itself time to slow down and let you appreciate the moment, which at times it could have really benefitted from. There was no anticipation or build up to anything. Combined with the movie constantly being cranked up to 11, there were no real standout moments and it all sort of blurred together into a big blob of a movie. As I was leaving the theater it felt like I hadn't even watched it.

And I was definitely not a fan of the sardonic Marvel style writing of the humans. The lack of sincerity and constant need for everybody to be funny and make quippy remarks really rubs me the wrong way. With one or two exceptions none of the jokes landed for me and their presence felt far bigger than it really was. The past MV films would have really crazy things happening onscreen but they would play it straight and the characters took it seriously for the most part. Not everything had to feel like a big joke. They only exist to give exposition dumps and the way they went about doing it felt very forced and unnatural. The movie could have greatly benefitted from more silence. Which strangely I felt was the original intention, but the execs must've forced them to have more dialogue.

There was potential for some very emotional character scenes with the titans that were not capitalized on. Kong discovering the other apes did not feel as grand or as emotional as it could have. And I was greatly looking forward to Goji's reunion with Mothra, but it just sort of happened and was over in an instant with no further contemplation. Godzilla was greatly underutilized this time around. I'm down with these movies being more Kong focused but Goji had very little overall presence in the film. Their team up happens too late and there wasn't much of a dynamic between them.

I may have to see it again for me to warm up to it, but this was the only MV I didn't enjoy the first time I saw it. Which is not a good sign. It's a noticeable step down from the previous entry. GvK just sort of clicked for me. I thought it had the perfect mixture of serious and absurd, and it knew when to slow down and let the moment just play out naturally. That all being said there were things I liked. Kong's story was great. All the monsters were brimming with character, and I am more confident than ever that an all monster film could work wonderfully. All the jokes involving the monsters I thought landed. Hollow Earth was beautifully rendered. And Godzilla was a total beast in this! He melts through kaiju in a way only Finalgoji out does. And there were some interesting lore developments and cool Easter eggs for keen eyed fans.

[close]

Final score: 5/10

Current MV ranking:
Godzilla vs Kong
Godzilla 2014
Skull Island
King of the Monsters
Godzilla x Kong

Spoiler

I agree with your comments, especially your criticisms regarding the monsters' interactions. Mothra, Godzilla, and Kong only come together really late in the movie, and when they do so they don't get any moments to slow down, interact, or develop any sort of dynamic. When they're all battling in Hollow Earth and Rio, it seems like the monsters are just having a few different 1v1s within the same general vicinity as opposed to feeling like a genuine team-up. This film did disappoint me a bit in that regard.

[close]

Spoiler

They did a lot of passing off one enemy to another. Skar King gets thrown by Kong Godzilla tail whacks him. Kong holds Skar, Godzilla givea look to Shimo who realizes she's free and blasts Skar with her ice power. It's all fast I grant you that, like each knew what they were supposed to do and did it.   Some were complaining about Godzilla being sort of mindless and nonchalant. I summed it up with this. This film was about Kong, his life and future. For Godzilla it was 9-5 on a Tuesday.

[close]

It is fun to think about how different things must seem from Godzilla's perspective. In the millions of years he's been alive he's seen and been through so much. In comparison all of the events since 2014 may have felt like just a week for him. Meanwhile Kong is probably just over 100 years old. The things that Godzilla has personally experienced (the great war) are ancient history to him.