I think when you look at America’s entries in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, one has to look at these films on a curve – a curve that allows for a hollow earth, a hollower earth, and then a nearly destroyed earth. Afterall I stand by my mantra “If It’s Wrong to Love Giant Monsters Fighting, Then I Don’t Want to Be Right.” (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters crew – call me and I’ll let you use the tagline.) I say this to lead up to my honest take that I actually rather enjoyed ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire‘, even if I know it’ll fade from my memory in the weeks to come.

Now hear me out if you saw the trailer you saw Kong and Godzilla running side-by-side in slow-mo Baywatch fashion and you either thought “this film is for me!” or you laughed, you cried, and you went back to your French cinema. Ok kidding aside it was clear this film was leading up to a giant monster battle, and one that looked delightfully ridiculous. I’m all for monster fights but what actually surprised me and one me over was the first two-thirds of the film.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Courtesy of Warner Bros./Max)

The best Godzilla films from Japan so often actually take their time really letting Godzilla unleash havock. Maybe there’s a tease in the first scene; however, often we save it for the end. In America we tend to take a more is more approach, and so I was worried with the trailer we were going to just get dropped right into the mayhem. Instead we were treated to the return of some of my favorite characters from the series, including Rebecca Hall as Dr. Ilene Andrews, Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie Hayes, Kaylee Hottle as Jia, and introducing Dan Stevens as Trapper, and we were given some time for them to more or less organically come together. Simultaneously Kong and Godzilla, who we know will join up again, get some quality time apart with Godzilla destroying international monuments while Kong, lonely in Hollow Earth, begins to explore the world, ultimately unearthing a new foe.

Of course it all leads up to the battle, which is a culmination not just of this film but of the entire MonsterVerse to this point. Here is where it’s weakest in story, as with the later Avengers films the stake just feels so small. I don’t even think there’s attempt to really define the risk as “world ending”, for we already know who will win. It’s all about the journey and ultimately the battle, and as over-the-top as it can be it is fun. Likewise as much as I enjoyed the Apple TV+’s series ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘, I felt very little of its imprint on the show which was dissapointing. (Give me one crossover character at least!) So at the end of the day, even though I enjoyed the ride for what it is, the box checking approach can only deliver so much. Did I ultimately enjoy it as popcorn fare? Yes. Will it be one that stands the test of time? Unlikely, but for the time I was watching I delighted in all the Monster vs Monster chaos on-screen.