Chris Stuckmann reviews Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, starring Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns. Directed by Adam Wingard.
I found it so funny when Kong was trying to ask Godzilla for help and they just end up beating the shit out of each other! it’s always on Sight with those two 😂😂
Godzilla Minus One falls into the serious social commentary side of kaiju storytelling. Godzilla x. Kong is the wacky, over the top monster brawl side of his subgenre. Both are valid in their own right.
I saw it last night and it was a full house. People laughed, gasped, cheered, and clapped. It was a modern day whacky showa film. The fight scenes especially the encounter of Kong & Godzilla for the first time since GVK. I’ll be seeing it again this weekend.
I recently got out seeing Godzilla x Kong and I had a blast. It was so ridiculous that it comes off as a modern day Showa movie in a good way. To me, it doesn't matter if Godzilla is serious or silly, those two types are part of the franchise DNA in the end. I've been enjoying these Monsterverse movie for a while now. They may not be flawless, but it's incredible to see them still continuing these movies.
As Chris said, the human element has ALWAYS been corny in these movies. For me, it’s baked into them and makes me feel like they’re consistent. I wish they’d go back to using the classic musical cues for the monsters though. It’s part of what keeps KoM at the top of my list. (Full disclosure, I missed G-1 at the theater, so I haven’t seen that one yet)
This one was way better than the previous monster verse movies. Between all the body language of the titans, literally creating original titans for the movie, all the increase and fights and visual spectacles like godzilla shooting a quick atomic breath out of the water then you just see tiamats body parts float up. The whole ocean getting frozen. Dude there was so much to enjoy😊
Godzilla Minus One is probably the greatest Godzilla film ever done. The Legendary Godzilla/Kong films are a different flavour, and I’m ok with that. This was a pure popcorn film. The monster fights on the biggest screens are fantastic. I liked the humans this time around, especially Dan Steven’s.
Minus One is like going to a fancy 5 star expensive high end restaurant with top quality food and good costumer service , While Legendary Godzilla is like going to a cheap fast food restaurant to stuff your self up with as many burgers and drinks as you can and leave 2 completely different taste and feeling i think people should honestly just stop comparing the 2 movies and let them do at what there good at
@@marcianomorisson-ki9it Love the analogy. They serve different purposes and different audiences and I think they both do that well. We are living in a time for great Godzilla content. We all win, the fancy restaurant goers and the fast food fans. 😁
@@marcianomorisson-ki9it That's your opinion. I'm a Kong fan and The last two Legendary films were more enjoyable for me that watching Japanese sub-titles.
I thought this one sucked. At no point going in did I assume this was for 6 year olds. Then in the first scenes with the monster juice explosion im like this is literally going to suck for anyone over 12.
So, I just got out of seeing Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.......with three 7 year old's that were up at 5AM because they knew they were going to see the movie today and couldn't sleep. They were so excited to see the movie they were running into the theatre. When it was finally ALL over they ALL gave it 4 out of 4 stars!!!!!! I've been watching Godzilla movies since the 1970s. I think Godzilla Minus One is one of the BEST MOVIES I've ever seen period. That said, The New Empire should not be compared to it because the basic themes of the movies are completely different. The New Empire was fantastic in it's own right. The gripe about the previous Monsterverse movies was the lack of actual Monster action and they definitely fixed that with this iteration. It was jam-packed with it and loads of fun. While there were issues with the story I would definitely go back to see it again. It was a blast.
I like your take, but I disagree about the themes being entirely different. Both -1 and xKong have an emphasis on the bonds of adopted families and how they can save you from loneliness.
I just saw this film today ! My 13 year old son loved it and it was a lot better than I was expecting - the appearance of one particular and unexpected kaiju certainly brought the nostalgia for me (I'm 58). Yes, in the 70s Godzilla et al where a big part of my childhood too. Cheers Chris.
In my opinion it’s not fair for people to compare Minus One to this one, they’re two different genres and it’s like comparing apples to oranges. This one is a fun turn-your-brain-off monster brawl flick and it delivered on all I was hoping and that’s all I needed
My dad and I love Godzilla. Watched them when I was growing up with him. So naturally I took him to go see this yesterday. We both loved it. Definitely can't be going into this expecting some impactful film. It's a big dumb "turn your brain off for 2 hours with a big bucket of popcorn" experience, then put it on as background noise when it comes to max/Netflix, and there's nothing wrong with that. I hope they keep making these films for sure
YES!!!! This, Exactly right, I just love movies like that, this one did require some thinking here and there with the humans... but it more or less was just sit back and relax type of film.
I remember an educational kids show in Latin America used a Godzilla toy as a puppet of one of the characters. Imagine a show with Godzilla teaching you about Science and History
Really wish they had more shot from human perspective to make the monsters look more convicing as an actual giants now that these creatures all hurdled like tornado. Also,a better written human character that help drive the plot would have been great.
That's my issue with this one, from the trailers. There's that shot of all the massive apes together where Kong and Scar are, and they just look like...apes. There's no huge scale or perspective that makes them seem gigantic. They just look like they're hanging out in a Planet of the Apes movie.
Same! I would have loved to have been in one of those recreational houses off the Nile River when godzilla was swimming thru it to meet kong. It looked like a really fun water ride
imo Gareth Edwards should have been the one to take the franchise forward and build upon the world and the tone that he first established, despite its flaws, but I get it that people just want Boom Boom Pow
I'm 58 and I grew up on all the old Godzilla movies and loved them. But I have to say that of all the Godzilla and Kong movies, I loved this one the best. It was funny and I also loved that Kong found his own kind and would never be alone again.
This is my favorite, too. It had several LOL moments & the human characters were likeable. Kong had a complete character arc. I felt a lot of empathy toward both Kong & Jia in their respective isolation & not belonging. I like Godzilla as a hero. A certain kaiju looked BEAUTIFUL in this film & I loved seeing Godzilla get knocked on his ass and the scene of him meeting Jia. I loved Big G curling up in the Roman Colosseum "like some big, angry baby." LOL! I loved the ending. It was all a feel good film & people need that. The movie stayed in theatres here in Columbus for 3 months! I checked their website a week ago & it was STILL playing in about a dozen theatres in the U.S.
Even Godzilla 14 was kinda good and gave room to connect with the human characters a little bit. They did waste Bryan Cranston by killing him off that quickly tho.
Godzilla 2014 started off on a good foot with the human aspect, then traded Cranston for... whoever that guy's name is. I love bold swings like that where it's like, woah, you only got Bryan Cranston in just for the first ≈15 minutes. that being said, swings like that only work when what they lead into is also good, and the actual main character of that movie could've gotten squashed by Godzilla (in a pitch black scene because we're talking that dogshit 2014 film with its dogged refusal to light anything) in his second scene and it would've drastically improved the film. a plotless monster rampage with no human half would have been significantly more interesting than "stock army dude runs around in the dark and occasionally sees Godzilla's ankle." imagine a Western Godzilla film helmed by Guillermo Del Toro. Pacific Rim (the only Pacific Rim movie) had dynamite human characters. I can actually remember a bunch of their personalities, and (gasp!) even the main characters' names.
I honestly thought monarch was not very interesting. Very boring show, and besides Kurt Russell, I didn't really care that much about the human characters
@@NeilYoungHorne I wanted to love that show sooo much when it was announced. But I agree it was a little boring. AND I too didn’t care about the characters. It clearly was too expensive to show the MUTOs in more of the episodes. Maybe the 2nd season will improve?
Oh trust me. Every fight in this movie is a spectacle. Of the monster verse movies, the story is the best, the human side is the best, and it’s more monster than people now
@@TheDRODORPeople will always find something to complain about. It’s very human to only look at the negative things and ignore the positive things. This movie was amazing
Yes sir Chris, saw it last night got exactly what I expected I laughed I cheered and I held my nose through the human parts. My only disappointment was that your video was not up when we came home. It is tradition to tune you in on opening night after we come home from the theater reinforce our personal opinions lol.
I loved every minute of this movie because it's exactly what I wanted: giant monsters fighting each other, Godzilla & Kong teaming up for a tornado tag team fight, and Godzilla taking naps in the Coliseum is now my favorite mood!
Sounds like a review of the old WWF fights between Monster Heels like King Kong Bundy and Andre the Giant. Facing down the American hero Hulk Hogan and somebody else in an epic Tag Team match
When Godzilla and Kong first meet up in the movie I absolutely lost it when Kong was holding up his hands at Godzilla like “bro chill” and then when Godzilla attacks him he immediately hits him with the pocket sand! 💀💀
My most central complaint about doing the Big Dumb American Godzilla movies is wasting Mecha Godzilla like that. There was so much more room with that concept for Big Dumb Fun. And space for a human character that doesn't suck.
Tangentially, I must have missed the rule saying human characters are required to be awful in these movies. It ain't that crazy to expect decent writing in between the monster scenes.
@@Whispurer I still maintain that killing off Cranston's character so early was one of the biggest missteps in the monsterverse. 2014 is a really good movie and this one writing decision is what prevented it from being great IMHO.
SAME! I however did watch American Godzilla in theaters about 7 times, so I'm super bias but still, this movie is made for fans and for people to just sit back and enjoy. Not everything has to be a damn Oscar movie.
This inner world comes straight out of Edgar Rice Burroughs books. Love that! Looking forward to seeing this with my friends and family Saturday night in Imax!
Nice that you mention that 1) Godzilla movies are kind of a guilty pleasure because of the childhood memories associated with them and 2) GvK is special because of it coming out in the middle of the pandemic. I feel exactly the same. Also glad to hear that watching Monarch pays off when seeing GxK; Rewarding true fans is important.
@@mcguzman5398 yup he is on the other side now and knows how hard it is to make a film. Plus he doesn't want to piss off people in the industry as well.
I liked this movie a lot. Old Kong gave me God of War vibes when he was traveling with Mini-Kong. I liked the story, Skar King with his speed, whip and pet Titan was a really cool villain. My only gripe is the character that’s a podcaster/blogger. You’d think we’d be past the loud, fast talking, screaming, joke character. Packed theater, no one laughed but it looked to be mostly adults when I went. The last fight was greatness. Assuming this does well, what’s next? Only thing I know for certain that in a sequel Mini-Kong would probably be a teenager and Kong would be on his way out do to his age and damage taken over the years. Will they introduce Godzuki and end this film series with the two leads dying and the next generation taking over without the hate and animosity?
My Mom and I used to love watching the King Kong and Godzilla marathons they had on TV back in the day on Thanksgiving and the day after here in NJ/NY.
@@CheekiTiki I can still hear the crunch of the male Muto getting flattened against a building by Godzilla's tail (contrast that to this recent film where he uses the same move to fling a weightless ape half way across Rio). It's a real shame, for sure.
I loved this movie, like you Chris, I use to watch the Godzilla movies with my mom so they always take me to that special place in my childhood. This movie had me grinning from ear to ear, it’s probably my favorite movie of 2024 so far just for how much fun I was having. We need more movies like this in theaters. People need more fun these days
Totally agree. Epic, silly, ridiculously over the top glorious fun. The most fun I’ve had in the movie theater since “Tropic Thunder” and the best movie of 2024. Get into the spirit of it and have the time of your life. I know I did. I continued to laugh after waking up the following morning!
@@DerrickVanderspoon Because some things simply should be taken more seriously. Film isn’t always just mindless entertainment. Storytelling has informed how we as humans experience the world for about as long as we’ve been around. Sure, the “don’t take it too seriously” comment works perfectly well for a film like this, which no one is saying is trying to be realistic or say something about the world. This is just “monke v lizard v big monke v lil monke v other big lizard” and it’s great. But do I want that to be the overall state of film? No. Films can bring comfort to those who need it by reflecting their lives. It can inform and sway opinions about important things. It can educate. Art as pure entertainment is fine, but it doesn’t need to be all of it, and it certainly doesn’t need to be an excuse to defend you liking something you may not fully understand. A film that has a brilliant story but all people talk about are the bright colors like it’s a theme park is kinda soul-crushing (yes I am Scorsese). Again, this doesn’t apply to this film in particular, but it does to tons of others that depict issues people still turn a blind eye to.
Great review i hope to get to go see it soon. I definitely can relate to you saying its a part of your childhood. Because, for me growing up on the Southside of Chicago the godzilla movies was definitely my shows to watch! I wven had the toy where his hand flew off when you pressed the button by his elbow!💪🏿 As a 70's baby raised in the 80's they were an escape for me then with everything going on on the outside of the house and on the inside of the house! So watching these movies now are absolutely awesome and amazing! Plus, it's still a way for me to escape with everything going on now and great nostalgia moments for for me personally! The only thing missing is my Mom(God rest her soul)watching them with me! R.I.P. MOM I MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU!❤
1:11 I think the Japanese Godzilla movies cannot be compared with the American ones because the Japanese Godzilla films have a different theme emotions etc American Godzilla films are all about action
Uh. Apparently you haven't watched any Godzilla movies they started to get super silly in the 60's and it's apparent you were spoiled by Minus One. And maybe Shin Godzilla. Godzilla has been ridiculous for decades. The director fo Minus One saw a pre-screen of THIS movie and absolutely loved it stating the there is enough room in the Godzilla lore for different types of stories siting the silliness of decades of Japanese Godzilla movies. Do your research! Edit: Sorry I didn't mean to be insulting I just saw an opportunity to talk about the old school Godzilla movies which were totally ridiculous and action heavy. Made in Japan.
@@ichigen511 Sure bro, backpedal all you want. 👀 Bottom line, there's a Godzilla film for basically everyone. I'm still waiting for that Hedorah reboot/sequel to this day.
I can relate Chris. We used to have something here in Massachusetts when I was young called the Creature Double Feature and it always had King Kong and Godzilla movies. Big part of my childhood too. Can't wait to see this one!!
@@TheZeroNeonix Last week. I’m chill. It’s just easy to tell now when Chris doesn’t like a movie. Which is okay! If he doesn’t review the big release of the weekend, he didn’t like it.
What's your opinion on the 1998 Godzilla staring Matthew Broderick... I think it was panned at release but it's still one of my favourites for all it's flawes.
1998 was decent still one of my favorites. But I like the classic Japan ones better. Minus one from Japan was my most favorite as a prequel to the original 1954 movie.
Mark Kermode pointed out that the new Godzilla movies seem like a monster in search of a story, whereas Godzilla minus One was a Story in search of a monster.
Godzilla: Minus One was perfect. I think the bar was set high for whatever monster-verse/kaiju movie was coming out after. Can totally relate with the childhood stuff. I’m in my mid 30’s & my mom texted me the day before it was released asking if i wanted to go with her. I did & there was quite a few mothers & daughters (not kids either) in the theatre when we went. It was so wholesome.
Because when you explicitly tell people you won't be doing negative reviews anymore and then you actually don't do them, because when you tell at the start of your video it is not a review of the movie and it actually isn't....then the easiest thing to do for people is to hate and whine....because they're retarded idiots who just follow a narrative set by someone else whose whole RU-vid career is based on hate😁
@@kasaibouF29 Am I the only one that knows Chis is making his own movie and him criticizing movies now will make him a hypocrite if his movie sucks….i don’t understand why no one understands this….hes not just a reviewer anymore
Because when you explicitly say you will not do negative reviews anymore and then you actually don't do them, because when you say at the start of your video that it is not going to be a review and it actually isn't...then the easiest thing for people to do is hate and whine...because they have no brains and only follow the narrative of someone who builds their content on RU-vid around hate and criticism 😂 (come on RU-vid I dare you to delete this comment again after I removed all the cursing!)
Every time I see Godzilla and Kong running toward the camera like Batman and Robin… It makes me laugh so hard that I actually puke my guts out. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
03:19 Chris, you really need to rewatch a lot of Godzilla movies like the original 1954, Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Astro Monster (1965), GMK (2001), Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002), Shin Godzilla, etc. A number of human characters in them are actually likable.
@@hawk2328 Well I look at Godzilla X Kong and want to vomit. That CGI use just doesn't do it for me. I still go back to films like Peter Jackson's King Kong and Iron Man for exceptional CGI for the time. We're talking about a film that was made almost 20 years ago.
This movie has been one hell of a ride, man. It's been the most entertaining thing I've seen since 'Maverick.' The reason: it's straightforward, got monsters, and there's no deep social commentary or human drama crap in the plot. Sometimes we just need this to live, you know? Otherwise, we'd be stuck being snobs, thinking everything has to be some heavy projection of human misery. Thanks for this movie, we can still take kids and teens to just have a damn good time
I have finished watching Godzilla x Kong. Oh my god, I just cannot describe how happy I am with the movie. Every single thing is on point. Every single minute of the movie is totally worth it. Thank you for not disappointing the Kong and Gojira fans. I want more movies with Godzilla and Kong.
Stuckmannnnnnnn!! You NEED to do a comparison between Minus One and (American) Godzilla 2014 to show the difference in ‘use of humans’ for these movies. It has been far too long since you did a ‘What’s wrong…’ series. We ALL need to know! Hope I don’t die before I see it!
It’s not hard to comprehend. One focuses on story and character development and the other is a mindless CGI heavy monstrosity with an over reliance on star power.
I am a life-long Godzilla fan. I've seen every movie (most of them at least twice, and several of them much more than that). So I will never understand why some people have a problem with the human characters in the Legendary films. Like Chris said, the humans characters in all Godzilla movies are always the weakest part of the films. But the human characters in the Legendary films are FAR more interesting than the majority of the human characters in the older films. If you can sit through the old movies and enjoy them, then the new movies should be knocking your socks off! And let me reiterate; I LOVE THE OLD MOVIES. I also LOVE THE NEW MOVIES. I just love all things Godzilla. And with this movie doing so well, I'm glad that we'll be seeing at least one more movie. What a time to be alive! STAY UNITED GFANS!
The thing I love about these movies is how blatantly obvious it is they’re making it up as they go along and I absolutely 100% do not care. Even the whole mecha gauntlet scene. Any other franchise I’d be calling BS but the moment I heard “I Was Made for Lovin You” I just accepted it. I do not care, I’m just along for the ride.
I love that you dont post negative reviews - enough negativity in the world and I just want to appreciate good media. Also your thumbnails signal what im watching next so thats always a pro!
I too thank my mom for my monster movie fandom. TOHO , Harryhausen, Universal classic monsters and silver age comedians were her favorites and I get to keep her memory and be a fan of them all too.
Unrelated: but wow @Chris I see your Grays coming in your beard since having your baby (Congratulations 🎉) It’s hilarious because mine came in too due to the same reason! Haha stay strong brother! 💪 such a blessing! ❤️
The human characters bring the movies down when they're not written well, but they elevate the movies when done right. If the movie is just a turn-your-brain-off movie, where the entire draw is watching giant monsters duke it out, then the human characters feel like a waste of time. On the other hand, if the movie is trying to be smarter, more thoughtful, then focusing on the humans is a smart move. In the first Godzilla in this universe, they ALMOST had it with Bryan Cranston's character serving as the emotional center of the movie, but you know how that went. I guess they couldn't afford to have him in more than a third of the movie. Neither could they afford to have the monsters on screen for more than ten minutes total. So that movie didn't deliver on either the human characters OR the giant monsters.
Funny thing is, the lack of Godzilla in the 2/3 of the movie is what paid off. The final fight was definitely worth the wait and by keeping the monsters away until the end keep the audience on their seat and anxiously want for more. Also it give them time to fresh out the human character, context and world-building. Exactly what i want from a movie that serve as an opening for entire cinematic universe
I still think 2014 is better than any of the other movies that came after in the franchise. The story is better than any of them hands down, the CGI looks better cause they don't overuse it, and it pays off with it's epic visuals at the end. I've rewatched that movie like 4 or 5 times while I haven't rewatched any of the other ones.
@@bolobalaman When it comes to story telling Kong is a better character to focus on because he's more like a human than Godzilla. We can only take so much reckless stomping of bridges and buildings just to show how tough Godzilla is. He's a one trick pony.
This movie summed up to me was: ‘Fuck it, it’s awesome’ Just total insanity fights and crazy shit. I even liked the human characters as they felt like: ‘we’re just gonna have fun’.
Just watched it and had a blast. The only thing that really felt weak were the “villains”, they are practically reverse copies of both Godzilla and Kong. And as big fan of Destoroyah, I felt that they lost an amazing opportunity. Destoroyah is a perfect match against the two kings, and could bring a lot of spectacle and excitement to the movie.
I think the main problem I have with this movie is all the hype that built up during the trailers and in the movie itself, they really set everything up for this to be a huge fight, a new enemy that is going to require Kong and Godzilla to work together, hell, they even said that both of them are scared of this new enemy. Only for the final battle to be quite short, and personally I think Godzilla could've probably taken out both Scar King and Shimu at the same time, they really made up Shimu as being the 1st and largest titan that created the ice age, a Titan much larger and powerful than even Godzilla himself. And yet Shimu really doesn't show her potential as an enemy because she isn't even meant to be one since she's under the control of Scar King, she even ends up being Kong's "pet" at the end, so the build up was great but the climax was really lacking, at the theater I looked over to me friend and was like "wait that's it? that's the final battle?", specially dissapointing because of Godzilla having to transform only for us to see very little of his new powers and strength. Plus even the director claimed that Scar King was going to be the biggest threat of the whole saga, even bigger than King Ghidorah... I'm just going to call BS on that, King Ghidora was way more of a threat than Scar King, Godzilla fought Ghidorah like three times and he still wasn't able to defeat him, only with Mothra's power he was able to win, that felt like a satisfying villain. One thing this movie gets right though is how they can show Kong's life and for us to understand and enjoy it despite him not being able to talk, Kong feels very human, even more than the humans themselves, they managed to show off the Kaijus very effectively in my opinion, and it's a nice breeze of fresh air because it takes time away from the humans so we can enjoy the whole Hollow Earth and Kong stuff.
The transition from 2014 Godzilla to this fast and furious Godzilla is just mind boggling! Need to watch it again but so far not a fan really and I was super hyped for this movie.
@@mewtwomotherfuka never seen skull island but I can see the progression from movie to movie leading to this but I think they should have ended with king of the monsters and then started a new era imo.
@Grt1n yes. I felt like godzilla is too overpowered rn. I felt like this should have been a kong movie about him saving his people from scar king. Godzilla and that freezer lizard should have never been in this movie.
Imagine how japanese people felt when Godzilla went from a nuclear war metaphor and political conflicts, to a franchise full of Kaiju fights, where Godzilla pretty much runs a gauntlet against earth kaijus, alien kaijus, a whole humanoid alien race that controls kaijus too, etc. And yet people still loved it somehow. More grounded and serious Kaiju movies like Shin Godzilla and Minus One still have a place in Kaiju fans hearts, but this outcome for the Monsterverse was to be expected. Just like it happened in japan. Nothing wrong with goofy Kaiju fignts.
Hey Chris, you are one of the few people I trust when you talk about the amount of monsters on screen. You were one of the only critics who has been truthful about the previous movies having a disappointing amount of screen time for the monsters. So you saying there’s extended scenes with just the monsters makes me so happy to hear. That’s the only reason I keep watching these movies, to hopefully see one that finally understands that people just want the monsters.
Quick, lazy, and soulless are synonymous with Western filmmaking these days. I'll continue to praise Minus One because it, for me, was a return to relatable themes that made human face time relevant while still keeping Godzilla as the main point of focus. Big budgets don't equate to quality films, and this Kong x Godzilla is a reflection of just that.
Fights were short and I felt that they could have utilized more of the portals/vortexes/ Yara Yara Yara/whatever they're called, to make the fight more interesting instead of just using one. I give it a 6/10.
I saw this movie yesterday and I can entirely echo everything Chris said here due to it being an entertaining and super fun romp from start to finish that I highly enjoyed. There’s a world where both this and Godzilla Minus One fan coexist, and it’ll always annoy me to know end how certain critics will compare the two rather than judging each film by their own merits.
You could tell from the trailers this was gonna be bad, man. I mean they showed BABY KONG as a highlight, if that doesn’t scream “this movie is for kids” then I don’t know what else does.
In the American movies recently, the human characters that I actually enjoyed were Bryan Cranston's character (despite the fact that he died early on which was a mistake) and Ken Watanabe's
If you go into this film wanting more than monsters kicking ass...Just dont watch it lol. I already knew what you'd say Chris and you never disappointed haha. Great review as always 👍🏾
I think a silent animal driven film would be epic for godzilla and kong within this franchise. It would not only allow audiences to use their brains to put the plot together, but allow them to see their expressions and actions speak for them. I cant wait for Jet Jaguar to be introduced in this universe. Hes the craziest showa her to adapt to this.
